Sahir Ludhianvi's 100th birth anniversary: Lesser-known facts about the legendary lyricist

Sahir Ludhianvi was a poet, lyricist who often spoke about the sensitive issues that Indians faced during the British colonisation era. Some of Sahir Ludhianvi's songs that have left a mark in the history of music include Kabhie Kabhie mere Dil Mein, Ude Jab Jab Zulfein Teri, Woh Subha Kabhi Toh Aayegi and many more. On the occasion of his 100th birth anniversary, let's take a look at 15 lesser-known facts about the legendary lyricist whose writings travelled beyond romantic and love lyrics to patriotism and empathy.

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Sahir Ludhianvi's facts

• Sahir was born to a zamindari Muslim family in Ludhiana on March 8, 1921, in the Karimpura district of Ludhiana in pre-independent Punjab.

• His birth name is Abdul Hayee.

• Sahir completed his schooling at the Khalsa School in  Ludhiana, the moved to Lahore for further studies. He studied in a government college and during the college programs he would recite his writings to the audience in the form of ghazals and nazams.

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• Sahir stands for magician and Abdul Hayee changed his name to Sahir when he started doing poetry and literary work. He picked up the surname Ludhianvi because he hails from Ludhiana.

• Sahir published his first book in 1943 when he was just 22. His book titled Talkhian was a reminisce about his bitter childhood. His father re-married, several times, and his mother finally took the bold step of leaving her husband and foregoing all financial assistance to raise his only son. His childhood was spent in fear as his father threatened to kill him and his mother to ensure that his son did not live with his mother. He also sued them in court for custody.

• Sahir fell in love with Amrita Pritam a famous Punjabi novelist. They were classmates in college and he fell in love with her after he got a chance to read her lyrics and writings.

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• One of Sahir Ludhianvi's trivia includes Sahir and Amrita's relationship though intense did not work out. Her father opposed Sahir as he was a Muslim. When Amrita and Sahir would meet, once Sahir left, Amirta would hurriedly smoke the ends of his cigarette butts praying that their smoke would mix up in the air and they would meet up in heaven.

• Sahir was also expelled from college in 1943 after Amrita's father objected to their relationship and went to the college boards to take action against it.

• After being expelled, Sahir started writing for Urdu magazines and joined the Progressive Reuters Association and his writings were mostly related to Indian independence. Due to his pro-India views, an arrest warrant was issued against him by the Government of Pakistan.

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• Sahir managed to flee from Lahore and did not have to face jail time for the warrant issued against him. After staying in Delhi for a while, Sahir moved to Mumbai and entered the world of showbiz and entertainment.

• Sahir was always vocal about women inequality and the oppression that women face on the basis of their gender and his writings reflected his bold thoughts.

• Sahir was rewarded with a Filmfare award twice in this career for best lyricist. He won these awards for his work in Taj Mahal in 1963 and later for Kabhie Kabhie in 1976.

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• While Sahir had a lot of romantic affairs, he never married and remained a bachelor till the end.

• Sahir had worked in the Hindi film industry for more than three decades dedicating his life to the world of music and poetry.

• Sahir died at the age of 59 due to cardiac arrest on October 25, 1980.