Makhdoom: poet of love and labour

The shayer-e-inqilab celebrated the eternal human spirit in his poems – whether they were romantic or revolutionary

Makhdoom Mohiuddin was very hungry. He walked into a hotel late in the night and placed order for khushka-salan. Pat came the reply, ‘khallas’ (meaning finished).

‘Khorma-sheermal’

‘Khallas’ was the reply again.

Makhdoom was, naturally, upset when he reeled out names of a few other dishes and got the same reply – khallas.

In an irate tone, he asked, “Is it a hotel or Makdhoom’s house”.

During the 1950s when he went underground, he was forced to speak in halting Telugu for fear that he might be recognised. He was warned not to speak in Urdu and to say ‘Velama’ if anyone enquired about his caste. Those days, many Velamas spoke Urdu but their Telugu was imperfect.

One day, Makhdoom tried to speak in Telugu at a pan-shop. A customer wanted to know which caste he belonged to. “Vimla”, replied Makhdoom.


On another occasion, he had to attend a flag hoisting ceremony when a warrant for his arrest was already issued. To prevent identification, he donned dhoti-kurta and cycled to the venue. As ill-luck would have it, when he was nearing the venue, the dhoti came unstuck. Makhdoom dismounted from the cycle and was seen holding the cycle with one hand and the dhoti with the other. His friend, comrade Shankar Rao, recognised Makhdoom and fastened the dhoti properly.

These are some of the escapades of noted poet and Communist leader, Makhdoom Mohiuddin. A man of many parts, he combined rare qualities of head and heart. Those who knew him say his conversation sparkled with subtle blend of wit and humour.

The ‘shayer-e-inqilab’, as he is called, celebrated the eternal human spirit in his poems. His verses focused on the central theme of ‘mohabbat aur mehnat’, the values he struggled for his entire life. One could see depth of feeling and thought in his works. Like Faiz Ahmed Faiz of Pakistan, also a Communist, Makhdoom’s poetry stands out for vision, range and fine imagery. He was alive to the social problems of his time and gave them a poetic form, blending passion with thought. When he turned to love, romantic lyrics flowed from his pen and when the Marxist in him spoke, revolutionary fervour poured out. It is difficult to say at what point Makhdoom the Communist stops and Makhdoom the poet takes off.

Born Abu Sayeed Mohammed Makhdoom Mohiuddin Khudri at Andole in Medak, he took to active politics, joined the CPI and trade union movement, besides taking part in the Telangana Armed Struggle. Wedded to the idea of political and social revolution, he was in the forefront of the rebellion against the Nizam. He founded the Progressive Writers Union and what followed was poetry laced with social activism.

Sacrifice, labour, struggle and pain of common man figured in his poems. His moving song Ye jung hai jung-e-Azadi inspired many to join the Telangana Armed Struggle. Makhdoom himself is believed to have been inspired by the Spanish Civil war (1936-37) and this was reflected in his poem Andhera:

Mayyaten hat-kati panv-kati
Badh main uljhe hue insanon ke jism
Raat ke paas andhere ke siva kuch bhi nahin

Arguably the best poet of his times, Makhdoom wrote many soul-stirring poems which are contained in his anthologies — Surkh Savera (Red Dawn) and Gule Tar (Drenched Rose). He also penned plays and translated Bernard Shaw and Anton Chekhov’s works into Urdu. Though he wrote numerous ghazals, what immediately comes to mind are three iconic poems which were lapped up by Hindi movies.

Phir chidi raat baat phoolon ki
Raat hai ya barat phoolon ki

This love song is used in the film Bazaar while in the movie Gaman, this evocative ghazal figures:

Aap ki yaad aati rahi raat bhar
Chashm-e-nam muskurati rahi raat bhar

Yet another beautiful song of Makhdoom — Ek chameli ke mandwe tale… is used in the 1964 movie Cha Cha Cha. He is believed to have penned this song sitting beneath the jasmine arbour at Gunfoundry. Makhdoom, who breathed his last on August 25, 1969, has left this immortal couplet which comes in handy for politicians of all hues to pep up their talk.

Hayat le ke chalo, kayenatle ke chalo
Chalo to sare zamane to saath le ke chalo

Not just a poet, Makhdoom was a great actor too. He acted in a number of plays including Talibe Ilmi Ka Zamana written by Aziz Ahmed. In Ishtiaq Hussain’s drama Ham Zad, he played the role of a minister to perfection in 1931. “Makhdoom did shine and made the drama shine as well” was how Mirza Zafarul Hassan remarked. In the one act play, Naya Hunarmand, Makhdoom enacted the role of a jagirdar’s nephew with equal ease.

He bagged the best actor’s award for the play Hosh ke Naqun presented during Osmania University’s annual celebrations in 1934. Among the audience were the Nizam himself. Besides several of his companions, princes, Maharaja Kishan Prashad, Sir Akbar Hyderi, Nightingale of India, Sarojini Naidu and Rabindranath Tagore were present on the occasion. Tagore congratulated Makhdoom for writing the play and performing well. He also invited him to pursue his studies at Shanti Niketan.

A noted screenwriter, Khwaja Ahmed Abbas best summed up the persona of Makhdoom. He says: “Makhdoom was a glowing flame as also cool drops of dew. He was the call of revolution as also the soft tinkling of anklet. He was knowledge, he was action, he was wisdom. He was the gun of the revolutionary guerrilla and also the sitar of musician. He was the odour of gun powder and the fragrance of jasmine.”

J.S.Ifthekhar,

Hyderabad based journalist.

Article published in Telangana Today

Dated July 29,2018