Kunwar Mohinder Singh Bedi Sahar

Kunwar Mohinder Singh Bedi ( کنور مہیندرا سنگھ بیدی سحر‎) pen name Sahar was an Indian Urdu poet.The Times of India called him a "noted Urdu poet".

Personal life

Sahar was born in Sahiwal, Punjab, British India in 1920, now in Pakistan and after Partition of India-Pakistan his family shifted to Fazilka, India

Career

His poetry is varied and includes traditional themes of love and yearning but also themes of unity, peace between India and Pakistan and humor. His poetry is considered to belong to the same transreligious and transnational tradition as that of other well-known poets from the Indian subcontinent such as Muhammad Iqbal, Faiz Ahmad Faiz and Ahmad Faraz.

Sahar's first book of poetry was T̤ulūʻ-i saḥar (1962)(translation "Advent of Daybreak"; the title is a play on words as pen name "Sahar", in Urdu meansdaybreak). In 1983, he published a collection of autobiographical poetry titled Yādon̲ kā jashn ("A Celebration of Memories").

An international event to celebrate his poetry, called Jashan-e-Sahar ("A celebration for Sahar"), was held in the U.A.E. in 1992.

Poetry

An example of his use of humor to make a serious point is the following Ruba'i:

Waiz ki jawani bhi kiya shaiy hai khuda rakhay

yeh waqaf e aghaz o anjam nahi hoti
youn lazat e duniya se mehromi o nakami
Allah ki lathi mein awaz nahi hoti

Translation

The preacher's youth is something to behold

it does not know a beginning or an end
this abstention from the joys of life
God's punishment is indeed silent

Kanwar Mohinder Singh Bedi Award

An award was created in his honor known as the Kanwar Mohinder Singh Bedi Award, presented by Haryana Urdu Akademi. It has included a cash prize of Rs. 25,000, a Shawl, memento and citation.