His poetry was used as a vehicle of reform and education in all its true colours
He comes across as a sober and genteel person. For Rayees Akhter poetry is a vehicle of education and reform. He wields the pen to depict the joys and sufferings of people and pinpoint their faults and foibles – in true colours.
His use of language is bold and original. There are no overtones and suggestions. There is nothing above, beyond or below what he says. Akhter’s wit is not boisterous, his humour does not border on horseplay either. And this trait makes him stand out from his contemporaries. Akhter always endeavoured to enrich and widen the scope of Urdu and to raise the standard of poetry and prose. His three volumes of poetry – Aain-e-Dil (1979), Ashkon Ke Phool (1994) and Rooh-e-Dil (1998) bear this out.
Akhter’s love for literature was evident right from his student days. Even as he was in school, he was enchanted by shayeri. His father had an intense liking for Urdu literature although by profession he was a police inspector. Young Akhter thus grew up in a literary environment. After finishing school in Bidar, he shifted to Hyderabad and did B.A from Osmania University. Though he was writing poetry for long, it was in 1953 that he got an opportunity to publish it in the college magazine. In 1957 he landed a job in the A.P. Housing Board and many thought it was the end of his dalliance with Urdu literature.
But Akhter proved everyone wrong. His love for shayeri only grew and matured over the years. Interestingly he didn’t acquire a house for himself though he worked in the Housing Board for three decades. A true poet that he was, Akhter lived in the world of ‘sher-o-adab’. There are always some contributory factors behind great deeds. In his case the credit goes to well-known poets Rasheed Ahmed Rasheed and Shaheed Siddiqui, who moulded his mind and crystallised his thoughts. They helped in widening his horizon.
No wonder his poetry is vibrant and alive to the social milieu. Not one to live in ivory towers, Akhter’s shayeri is reflective of everyday concerns, the stress and strains of life. Basically a ghazal poet, he also penned some fine nazms.
Hum kya batain dosto kab haath kat gaye
Us waqt jab duaon se daman bhara na tha
No one can be a good poet unless one is mauled by ‘ishq’ in some way. Akhter’s poetry is full of pangs of lovelorn aashiq traversing the whole hog – from kooche dildar se daar tak. The agony of gul-o-bulbul, the lure of saqi-o-jam – can be gleaned from his works. During the early days of his marriage, Akhter had to suffer frequent periods of separation from his wife who was employed in Bidar. This only helped the poet in him to vent his feelings thus:
Mujh se mere wajood ka aalam na puchiye
Taqseem ho raha hun mohabbat ke naam per
Akhter doesn’t embellish his language with far-fetched similes nor couches his ideas in difficult dictions.
Is daure kashmakash mein muhabbat ka naam bhi
Danista log bhool na jayen to kya karen
Wakif hain hum bhi ishq ke aadab se magar
Diwana khud hi log banayen to kya karen
Akhter grapples with burning social issues and also simple down to earth themes in his poetry. He does it with élan and in a disarming way. And this is why many find his poetry to be at once objective and large hearted. Apart from love, he waxed eloquent on leaders like Jawaharlal Nehru, Indira Gandhi and Neelam Sanjeeva Reddy. His canvass of shayeri also includes social issues like communal riots and cyclone.
Hamen to ek hi chehra dikhai deta hai
Jise bhi dekhiye apna dikhai deta hai
Ye kis ne aise ujalon ki aarzu ki thi
Har ek ghar yahan jalta dikhai deta hai
Akhter regularly participated in mushairas all over the country. And with his brand of shayeri he proved to be an instant hit with the audience. His poetry gained recognition and wide acclaim. Urdu Academies of different states conferred awards to him on his various books. In 1998 he was presented the State Literary award by the Andhra Pradesh government. What’s more his ghazals have been sung by such noted singers like Vitthal Rao and the Jagjit Singh-Chitra Singh duo.
When asked what were his future plans, Akhter used to recite this couplet:
Sitare tod kar ruk jaon, ye mumkin nahin mujh se
Mere paye-talab ko aasman ke paar jana hai
J.S.Ifthekhar,
Hyderabad based journalist.
Article published in Telangana Today
Dated June 16,2019
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