aaj ik aur baras biit gayā us ke baġhair
jis ke hote hue hote the zamāne mere
Zubair Razvi was born on 15 April 1935 in Amroha, Uttar Pradesh, to Mohammad Rizvi and Fahmeeda Rizvi in a religious and learned family. A distinguished poet, Zubair donned many hats in his prismatic career: Broadcaster; Secretary, Urdu academy; Lecturer, Mass communication; Jury for AIR, Writer, and a Magazine composer.
He began his career at the famed Hamdard Dawa-Khana, followed by a position as an interviewer, scriptwriter, and interviewer at All India Radio in Delhi. He interviewed celebrities such as Amitabh Bachchan, Dharmendra, Lata Mangeshkar, and Dilip Kumar. Later, he moved into sports coverage and eventually became the Director of Sports at AIR. During his tenure as director, he oversaw a staff of broadcasters who covered national and international games.
With an MA from Delhi University under his belt, Zubair Razvi, a member of the Press Club of India, Delhi, joined Urdu Academy, Delhi as Secretary after 30 years of service at All India Radio. He was the director of the academy for two years, during that time he did an incredible job of promoting and helping Urdu lovers learn flawless Urdu, seamlessly. He held seminars on popular topics such as “The Role of Urdu in Bollywood” which was attended by Yash Chopra, Gulzar, and Farooq Shaikh to name a few. He continued his affiliation with AIR by being on many jury committees for script selection. He was appointed as a guest lecturer in the Department of Mass Communication at Jamia Milia Islamia Delhi.
His journey as a poet started from Hyderabad at a very early stage; around the 1950s. He had the chance to share the stage with then-famed poets like Kaifi Azmi and Ali Sardar Jafri. Very soon, he made his distinguished place as an Urdu Poet. Be it critics or less-informed audiences, Zubair Rizvi is regarded very highly as an Urdu poet, writer, and a significant contributor to Urdu Literature. In verse, he mainly tried his hand at three genres: Ghazal, Nazm, and Geet. He has over 17 books to his name, some of the more important ones among these include, Lahar Lahar Nadiya Gahri (Collection of Poems), Khisht-e-Deewar, Musafat-e-Shab, Purani Baat Hai, Dhoop Ka Saibaan, Ungliyaan Figaar Apni, etc. Further, there have also been 2 books written on him and 24 books compiled by him.
His remarkable contribution to the field of literature can be fathomed by the breadth of awards he amassed during his lifetime. These included: All India Radio New Delhi- External Services Division Award; Sant Gyaneshwar National Award for the year 2009 by Maharashtra Urdu Sahitya Academy; All India Mushaira Award of Honor S.C.D. Govt College SAHIR Memorial Society Ludhiana (2002); Urdu Academy Delhi Award for Ghalib Aur Funoon-e-Lateefa; Consulate General Of India, Jeddah, Saudia Arabia- Certificate of Appreciation; Certificate for Sufi Studies-Maharaja Ranjit Singh Police Academy (2001); Karanataka Urdu Academy, Bangalore; Urdu Academy at Delhi Secretariat presented an award to his book Sang-E-Sada; Uttar Pradesh Urdu Academy, Lucknow Award for Sang-E-Sada (2014); National Council for Promotion of Urdu Language -World URDU Conference (2016).
As a poet, his beyond-the-borders following can be gauged in by the different mix of mediums where his works have featured. A few of these special features include: Door Darshan Serial “Khali Haath”, written by Dr. Harikrishna Devsare, had Zubair Rizvi’s lyrics. In five Indian states, the NCERT Urdu curriculum has selected Zubair Razvi's iconic patriotic song” Yeh hai Mera Hindustan, Mere Sapnon Ka Jahan Is Se Pyaar Mujhko” for school textbooks. He was also quite famous for his recitals and was invited to Mushairas in Asia, Canada, Europe, and especially America where he once performed in 15 different states in one tour.
Zubair Rizvi’s passion for Urdu was undying, and to spread this language of love to lands far and wide, he started the famous magazine Zehn-e-Jadid – Bari Zaban Ka Zinda Risala, which is now being published by his wife Ms. Jamshed Jahan, who also serves as the editor for it. Zubair Rizvi took his last breath on 21 February 2016, in Delhi.
Jashn-e-Rekhta | 13-14-15 December 2024 - Jawaharlal Nehru Stadium , Gate No. 1, New Delhi
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