Dareechah-e-Nigaarish

 سُدرشن  فاقر ؔ  (سُدرشن  کامرا؛  1934  سے  2008)  فیروزپور،  برٹش  انڈیا  میں  پیدا  ہوئے۔  میٹرک  کرنے  کے  بعد  (اور  محبت  میں  ناکامی  کے ردّ  ِ عمل  کے  طور  پر)  سنہ 1950  میں فیروزپور  چھوڑ  کر  جالندھر  آ  رہے۔    یہاں  سنہ  1960    تک  رہے  اور    پولیٹیکل سائنس  اور  انگریزی  ادب  میں  ایم ۔ اے۔  کی  ڈگریاں  حاصل  کیں۔  آل  انڈیا  ریڈیو،  جالندھر  سے  بھی  منسلک  رہے۔  پھر  بمبئی  آ  گئے  جہاں  مختلف  فلموں  کے  لیے  گیت  لکھے  اور  سکرین  پلے  بھی  تحریر  کیے۔  فلم  " دورُیاں"  کے  لیے  لکھا  اُن  کا  گیت/آزاد نظم  "میرے  گھر  آنا  زندگی"،  اِسی  فلم  میں شامل  غزل  "زندگی  میں  جب  تمہارے  غم  نہیں  تھے"،   فلم  "آج"  کے  لیے  لکھا  گیت  "وُہ  کاغذ  کی  کشتی " ،  جگجیت  سنگھ  کی  گائی  اُن  کی  غزلیں  "ہم  تو  یوُں  اپنی  زندگی  سے  مِلے" ،  "غم  بڑھے  آتے  ہیں "  اور  بیگم  اختر  کی  گائی  اُن  کی  غزل  "کچھ  تو  دنیا  کی  عنایات  نے  دل  توڑ  دیا"   مقبول  ہوئیں۔ 

ہم تو یوں اپنی زندگی سے مِلے اِس لنک پر سُنی جا سکتی ہے

 غم بڑھے آتے ہیں اِس لنک پر سُںی جا سکتی ہے

زندگی میں جب تمہارے غم نہیں تھے  اِس لنک پر سُنی جا سکتی ہے

 کچھ تو دنیا کی عنایات نے دل توڑ دیا اِس لنک پر سُںی جا سکتی ہے

Sudarshan Faaqir was born in Ferozepur, Punjab, British India in 1934. After completing high school in 1950, he moved to Jalandhar and completed B.A. from DAV College. During college, he was very active in dramatics and poetry. In an interview given by Sudarshan to the Indian daily Tribune, a failed love affair in Ferozepur made him leave his birthplace forever and caused him to shift his base to Jalandhar where he initially lived as a bachelor in a dingy room. This room was also the meeting place for some of his poet friends. It is said that during this period, he dressed like a Majnoo (legendary Persian equivalent of Romeo), wandered like a faqir (perhaps the inspiration for his pen name) and got addicted to alcohol. His ghazals and nazms written during this period reflected mostly his anguish in the aftermath of his failed love affair.

He obtained Masters degrees in Political Science and English Literature from DAV College, Jalandhar in the late 1950s. Active in dramatics and poetry right from his college days, he directed Mohan Rakesh’s play "Ashadh ka ek din" in his college days at Jalandhar. He also joined All India Radio's Jalandhar station and eventually left for Bombay where he later wrote for music directorJaidev. His song ‘Zindagi, zindagi, mere ghar aana zindagi' from Bhim Sen’s ‘Dooriyan’ as well as dialogues for the film ‘Yalgaar’ are popular till date. It is also claimed that the song, "Hum sab Bhartiya hain", which is sung at the National Cadet Corps camps across India's student campuses was penned by him.

Faaqir belonged to the small and diminishing group of non-Muslim Urdu poets from East Punjab. Sudarshan Faaqir is the first lyricist to have won a Filmfare Award for his very first song. He has penned lyrics for various Bollywood movies. Sudarshan ‘Faaqir’ was the favorite poet of the great Indian classical ghazal singer Begum Akhtar in her last phase. She sang five of his ghazals. Faaqir's songs and ghazals have also been composed to music and sung by the famous Indian ghazal singer Jagjit Singh (Woh kaghaz ki kishti, woh barish ka paani; 1982).

A perfectionist to the core, he labored hard over his poetry. Faaqir is perhaps one of the last of the tribe of vanishing poets who lived for poetry and it is noteworthy that he put together his poetry in an anthology and published his first ‘diwan’ only after he became a much-celebrated poet.

Sudarshan died on 18 February 2008, at a hospital in Jalandhar, at the age of 73, after a prolonged illness. He was cremated at Model town. Faaqir was married to Sudesh and the couple had a son, Maanav.