....THE INTERVIEWEE: Charagh Din چراغ دین (Ustad Daman استاد دامن ) was born on 4 September 1911 inside Lohari Gate, in the walled (old) city of Lahore. His father's name was Miraan Bakhsh میراں بخش and mother's name was Kareem Bibi کریم بی بی. His parents moved to Baghbanpura, outside the walled city when he was a young boy. He also had an older brother (Firoz Din فیروز دین) and an older sister. He started sitting at his father's tailor shop in Grade 4 to help him. His father and older brother both worked in the railways and part-time as tailors. He passed his Matric (Grade 10) exam from Dev Samaj High School. He applied for a clerk's job at the Lahore Municipal Committee. His mother spent considerable money to buy him a new suit (of half a Rupee), a huge pagri, and shoes of high heels (he was of short height), so that he could be selected. He did not get the job and to his last days he would cry while talking about that incident. He was a darvesh poet in every sense. His dwelling was always very ordinary, but he always kept a library. Around 1947 he lost his wife (a Hindu young lady) to cancer. People burnt his library and shop after 1947 for his pro-Congress sympathies. Along with precious books, the manuscript of "Heer Ranjha", which he was writing was also lost. For some time he lived in the verandah of the Badshahi Mosque, Lahore. In 1950 he moved to a hujra (a small room) where it is believed that Shah Hussain (the famous Punjabi sufi poet) had lived. One day Mian Iftikharuddin (a leader of the INC who later switched to the Muslim League) heard his poetry as he was there to get his suit stitched. He was impressed by him and requested him to sing his poem in a political meeting outside Mochi Gate. Pandit Jawaharlal Nehru, who was also at the stage, was greatly impressed and gave him the title of "the Poet of Independence". Ustad Daman was publically last seen on the funeral of Faiz Ahmad Faiz on 20 November 1984. He very seriously ill but had managed to reach Model Town in a rickshaw. He followed Faiz 13 days later, as he died on 3 December 1984. To his last day he remained unconquered, unlike most of the ordinary folks, and never begged for any favor. He roared against all the Pakistani dictators, both military and civilian.
....THE FIRST INTERVIEWER: Karam Nawaz کرم نواز was born in village Kathu Nangal near Amritsar, India. While he was in his early teens, the family emigrated from Amritsar to Lahore around 1947, where they settled in a house in Gawalmandi. After his college, Nawaz worked for a while as a clerk at the Post Office, which was his only regular job in life. He then wrote scripts for movies, radio, and television. He wrote an Urdu novel ghar pyara ghar گھر پیارا گھر. In Punjabi, he wrote a play: sham rangi kuri شام رنگی کُڑی. His collection of Punjabi short stories was published as dhoongian shaamaan ڈُوہنگیاں شاماں ۔ He had dedicated his life for his friends and the children of his dear ones. He had moved with his younger brother Rana, who passed away in 1991. Then Nawaz took care of his late brother's children. Nawaz was diagnosed with a chronic lung condition (probably as a result of lifelong smoking), and passed away on 10 May 1995. He never married. From the time he starting writing, he preferred to be called just "Nawaz".
....THE SECOND INTERVIEWER: Muneer Ahmad Qureshi منیر احمد قریشی ( aka Munnu Bhai منّو بھائی ) was born on 6 February 1933 in Wazirabad, District Gujranwala, Punjab, British India. His paternal grandfather, Ghulam Haider, was an Imam Masjid who earned his living as a calligraphist and a book binder. His father Muhammad Azim retired as a Station Master from the railways. He started his school late as he developed a speech impairment. He completed his education from Government College Attock (then Campbellpur), Rawalpindi Division. He started his career as a translator for Urdu newspaper Tameer تعمیر from Rawalpindi. He then worked for Imroze امروز, and later joined Musawat مساوات at the request of ZA Bhutto. He also writes a regular column for daily Jang. He casually writes poetry and has been a scriptwriter for television serials, most popular of which have been Sona Chandi and Dasht. Even today, he is loyal to the PPP and the Bhutto dynasty. In his case, one can perhaps quote this line by Ghalib: وفاداری بشرطِ اُستواری اصلِ ایماں ہے
THE INTERVIEW: It was conducted on 29 June 1974. Then ZA Bhutto was the PM of Pakistan and Hanif Ramey was the CM of Punjab. What is common in these 3 gentlemen is that they made the common folks, the have nots, the subject of their creations. The interview is posted on the Radio Pakistan channel. It has been re-edited to increase its usefulness.
KhamoshTamashai
Dated: 11 December 2011
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Ustad Daman - Poet.wmvby radiopakistanonline1,492 views
great pakistani
fxawan 1 month ago