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Urdu Academy pays tribute to Saghir Siddiqui
The second session was dedicated to the life and work of another prominent Urdu poet, Saghir Siddiqui. Poet Arshad Rashid, a senior member of the Urdu Academy was MC of the second literary session. Arshad Rashid presented a well researched maqala on the tragic life and work Saghir Siddiqui. 
Saghar Siddiqui was born in 1928 in Ambala, East Punjab. He was named Muhammad Akhtar at birth. Saghar was the only child of his parents and he spent the early years of his life in Ambala and Saharanpur (UP, India).
Young Akhtar got interested in Urdu poetry. He started writing at the age of seven or eight and soon became so fluent in Urdu that people used to come to him to get their letters written.
At age 16, he would regularly attend mushairas. He was also active in an Urdu Majlis (society) formed for the advancement of Urdu literature by Dr. M. D. Tasir and Maulana Tajwar Najibabadi and attended its mushairas.
Upon creation of Pakistan, Saghir moved to Lahore, Pakistan where his poetry blossomed.
1950's were the golden creative years for Saghir. A career that was going nowhere, unrequited love and the general apathy of Lahore's intelligentsia towards a poor young man who was head and shoulders above most of them in literary talent and the sheer fire of creativity led to a downward spiral, with morphine addiction.
Sometimes he would have to sell his ghazals to other poets for a few rupees. He would use the waste paper spread around to light fires to stay warm during winter nights while wondering at streets. Ultimately he passed away on the street in Lahore on 19 July 1974 at age 46. His dead body was found one early morning outside one of the shops.
Despite his shattered life, some of his verses (ash'aar) are among the best in Urdu poetry. It is unbelievable that he kept his inner self so pure and so transcending.
His long time friend Younis Adeeb collaborated with the renowned Lahore publisher Safdar Husain (Al-Hamd Publishers, Lahore) to publish his Collected Verse as "Kulliyaat e Saghir Siddiqui" which is a master piece in modern Urdu poetry.
The Urdu ghazals of Saghir Siddiqui are steeped in the birth pangs of a newly born, raw and bloody Pakistan.
A number of Urdu lovers recited Saghir Siddiqui’s poetry: Abdus Sattar Ghazali, Syed Aslam, Hatim Rani, Tasadduq Attari, Syed Babar, Moiz Khan, Zafar Khan, Ahmar Shehwar, Salman Siddiq, Nagesh Avadhani, Mehmoodul Hasan, Syed Mujeebur Rehman, Khalid Rana, Jaafar Shah and Mobeen Khalil.
Nagesh Avadhani stole the show with his melodious voice Saghir Siddiqui’s ghazal Hay dua yaad magar harf-e-dua yaad naheen.
See three pages of pictures P1 P2 P3
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