Naa kisi ki aankh ka noor hoon
Posted on: December 25, 2008
Creating myths and perpetuating them is easy when the myth sounds plausible. One of the biggest myths surrounding “na kisi ki aankh ka noor hoon” is that it was written by the last Moghul Bahadurshah Zafar. Most people, including me, believed this myth. But I have come to know that this myth created is not true.
This poetry is in fact written by Muztar Khairabadi who was a prominent shayar of 19th century. Incidentally, he also happens to be the father of Jaan Nissar Akhtar and grandfather of Javed Akhtar. So, for trivia lovers, they are the first known instances of three generations of lyricists whose songs have been recorded in Bollywood movies. Of course, Muztar Khairabadi had not written his piece of self wallowing poetry for any movie. He belonged to an era before talkies came into existence.
This song formed part of the 1960 Bollywood movie “Laal Quila”. I am not sure, but I am reasonably certain that the movie too credited Bahadurshah Zafar as the lyricist of this song. But in my blog, I credit Muztar Khairabadi.
S. N .Tripathi was the music director of this movie.The picturisation shown Bahadurshah Zafar singing this song to the appreciation of his janta.
Audio
Video
Song-Na kisi ki aankh ka noor hoon (Laal Quila) (196o) Singer-Rafi, Lyrics-Muztar Khairabadi, MD-S N Tripathi
Lyrics
na kisi ki aankh kaa noor hoon
na kisi ki aankh kaa noor hoon
na kisi ke dil kaa qaraar hoon
jo kisi ke kaam na aa sake
main wo ek musht-e-gubaar hoon
na kisi ki aankh kaa noor hoon
na to main kisi kaa habeeb hoon
na to main kisi kaa raqeeb hoon
jo bigad gayaa wo naseeb hoon
jo ujad gayaa wo dayaar hoon,
na kisi ki aankh kaa noor hoon
meraa rang-roop bigad gayaa
meraa yaar mujhse bichhad gayaa
jo chaman fizaa se ujad gayaa
main usi ki fasl-e-bahaar hoon,
na kisi ki aankh kaa noor hoon
ae fatiha koyi aaye kyun
koy chaar phool chadhaaye kyun
koyi aake shaama jalaaye kyun
main wo bekasi ka mazaar hoon
na kisi ki aankh kaa noor hoon
na kisi ke dil kaa qaraar hoon
jo kisi ke kaam na aa sake
main wo ek musht-e-gubaar hoon
na kisi ki aankh kaa noor hoon
16 Responses to "Naa kisi ki aankh ka noor hoon"
December 25, 2008 at 1:56 pm
Merry Christmas to all the readers.
Yes, it is always desirable for people to know the actual facts behind the making of various songs.
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December 25, 2008 at 10:40 pm
I had also heard the story about this song having been composed by the Moghul emperor. Thanks for giving us the real facts. I do not know the context in which this song comes in the movie, but I do know that the lyrics are among the most depressing lyrics in Hindi songs, and rank just the same as the one in Pyaasa “Yeh mehlon yeh khwabon yeh takhton ki duniya …”! I guess these could be in the category of depressing songs, as opposed to the ones that are uplifting!
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February 19, 2009 at 12:18 pm
i want to know who wrote this gazel – hai kitna badnasib zafar dafn ke liye, do gaz jami bhi mil na saki ku a yar me. help me
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February 19, 2009 at 12:27 pm
lagta nahin hai dil mera ujray dayar main
kis kee banee hai aalam-e-na paedaar main
umr-e-daraaz maang ker laye the chaar din
do arzoo main kat gaye, do intezar main
in hasraton se keh do, kahin or ja basain
itni jaga kahan hai dil-e-daaghdar main
kitna hai badnaseeb zafar dafn ke liye
do gaz zameen bhi na mili koo-e-yaar main
From the words, it appears that this is one ghazal that Bahadurshah Zafar himself may have written.
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December 7, 2011 at 12:18 am
What is the source of your claim that it is not written by Bahadur Shah Zafar and instead written by Muztar Khairabadi?
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December 7, 2011 at 9:56 am
Atul ji, A Bhagwat ji
Here is a link that provides some details of research done on this ghazal, as well as on the ghazal “Lagta Nahin Hai Dil Mera Ujdey Dayaar Mein”.
http://sundeepdougal.tripod.com/Zafar.html
The research brings out evidence that the ghazal “Lagta Nahin Hai Dil Mera Ujdey Dayaar Mein” is attributed to Seemab Akbarabadi, and the ghazal “Na Kisi Ki Aankh Ka Noor Hoon” is attributed to Muztar Khairabadi.
With some more effort, I am sure we can locate more commentary on this controversy, but it is really an eye opener that the film and its credits have mis-attributed the authorship, but then that mis-attribution has become the better known and popular information.
Rgds
Sudhir
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December 7, 2011 at 12:02 pm
Thanks for the above information and the link. I heard this song yesterday after a long time. There are few discrepancies in the lyrics which need to be corrected.
meraa rang-roop bigad gayaa
meraa yaar mujhse bichhad gayaa
jo chaman “khizaan” se ujad gayaa
“Pae” fatiha koyi aaye kyun
koyi chaar phool chadhaaye kyun
Also there are more clearer audio links available, which sound much better.
While i am at it, this live version without music is a must :
Please note that “Lagta Nahin Hai Dil Mera Ujdey Dayaar Mein” is not posted yet.
Regards.
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December 7, 2011 at 11:54 pm
Muztar Khairabadi (born 1865 – 1927)
“Unfortunately, Muztar Khairabadi’s diwan – his entire collected works of poetry – was lost when a mob burned down the printing press in Delhi where they were housed, during the communal riots of 1947 associated with the Partition of India. What remains of his work are only certain poems that were in the possession of his descendants and admirers.”
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Muztar_Khairabadi
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Fazl-e-Haq_Khairabadi
Muztar Khairabadi belonged to illustrious family of poets, sufis and scholors. His Mother , Father, Brothers all are well known personalities, as per the information in Wikepedia. Muztar Khairabadi’s maternal grandfather Fazl-e-Haq Khairabadi was a contemporary of Bahadur Shah Zafar was instrumental in Ghadar of 1857.
excerpts :
“Fazl-e-Haq Khairabadi (1797–1861) was one of the main figures of the Indian Rebellion of 1857. He was a philosopher, a poet, a religious scholar, but is most remembered for his role as a freedom fighter. It was he who issued the fatwa in favour of Jihad against the English in 1857.”
“Khairabadi had been a chief judge in Lucknow. After the First War of Independence failed, he was arrested on 30 January 1859 at Khairabad, was found guilty of “revolt” against the Government and sentenced for life to the prison at Kalapani (Cellular Jail) with confiscation of his property by the Judicial Commissioner, Awadh Court.
His son, Abdul-ul-Haq, somehow managed to obtain the release order of his father. He reached Port Blair on 13 February 1861, but was too late — Khairabadi had been hanged on February 12.[citation needed]
Besides being a scholar of Islamic studies and theology, he was also a literary personage, especially Arabic and Persian literature. He edited the first diwan of Mirza Ghalib on his request. On account of his deep knowledge and erudition he was called Allamah and later was venerated as a great Sufi.”
na kisi ki aankh kaa noor hoon:
The more i think about it, i am certain i have read a reference somewhere reg. ” na kisi ki aankh kaa noor hoon, na kisi ke dil kaa qaraar hoon “. This poem is not about Bahadur Shah Zafar, it is from the point of view of Old city of Dilli. Dilli is be-wailing the destruction of its former glorious historical importance, its cultural and literature’s marginalization at the hands of the British.
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February 21, 2012 at 11:44 am
Atul ji,Sudhir ji,
The controversy over the writership of this Ghazal is a big issue only in India,that too due to the info provided by Wikipedia(and which was used by several others echoing the same info).In Pakistan or other muslim countries it is no issue at all,as it is unarguably accepted as written by Bahadur Shah Zafar.
Habib Wali Mohammed is a very senior and respected Ghazal singer of Pakistan.He was born in Rangoon in 1921,where he grew up and had college education.In college he used to sing Ghazals as a hobby.
He secured an MBA degree in those days from Syracuse University and came to Bombay where he learnt classical music,before migrating to Pakistan.
His actual family name is Tabani,a big business family of Pakistan.He himself is a businessman,but sings for and as a hobby.While in Rangoon,he had researched for Zafar’s poetry and now he emphatically says that this is his ghazal.
He sings this ghazal in every programme and informs that this is Zafar’s ghazal.His this Ghazal is available on you tube ,for intersted persons to listen.
As I have said several times,when it comes to info related to movies,Wikipedia is most untrustwothy.
-AD
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February 21, 2012 at 2:01 pm
It was accepted by HMV long ago and on its 78 rpm record, this ghazal is accredited to Bahadur Shah Zafar.
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February 21, 2012 at 2:30 pm
Sudhir ji,
,After i wrote the above post,I saw your earlier post and visited Sandeep Dougle’s page on tripod.After reading it I am convinced that those who were trying to prove the authorsip to khairabadi have no concrete proof,but only strong logic.
In any case there will always be a minority who will think against the establishment(and they have every right to do so ).
One must not forget that all the poetry of Khairabadi was destroyed in the partition fires in Delhi,so really speaking,nothing is left to prove anything.
-AD
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February 21, 2012 at 2:33 pm
contd…. one more point that came out was that neither Janisar Akhtar nor Javed Akhtar ever wrote in any article about this Gazal’s authorship.All this controversy seems to have been triggered by Wikipedia comment.
-AD
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February 21, 2012 at 2:58 pm
I had thought that Jaan Nisar Akhtar in his life time or now Javed Akhtar could have settled the issue either by claiming or denying it. But the fact that all the poetry of Khairabadi was destroyed in a fire probably made it impossible for them to claim or deny it.
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December 7, 2015 at 9:31 pm
Javed Akhtar, the grandson of Muztar Khairabadi has now opened up on the issue of the authorship of this ghazal. Excerpts from ‘Indian Express’ Dec.5, 2015:
“Poet and film lyricist Javed Akhtar has released ‘Kharman’ (harvest), a collection of selective poetry of his grandfather Muztar Khairabadi.
While releasing the book of poetry at a cultural and literary evening in Aligarh Muslim University recently, Akhtar revealed that he came across his grandfather’s rare collection while shifting flats in Mumbai.
“I found a cardboard box filled with odds and ends among my grandfather’s things. Not knowing what to do with it, I kept it in storage and promptly forgot about it,” he said.
It was much later that he found letters from Muztar’s friends and literary luminaries and manuscripts of Khairabadi’s collection of unpublished poetry, in his own handwriting.
Akhtar further added that the collection then appeared ready for printing, for it had a title, ‘Kharman,’ appended by his grandfather. The contents of the collection have now transformed into a handsomely produced five-volume compendium.
He said while none of Khairabadi’s poems were published in his lifetime, he was nevertheless a bit of an urban legend.
Akhtar said: “A very famous Ghazal of Muztar, ‘Na kisi ki ankh ka noor hoon, na kisi ke dil ka qarar hoon, Jo kisi ke kaam na aa sakey main woh ek musht-e-ghubar hoon’ (I am the light of no one’s eyes, the throb of no one’s heart, I am that fistful of dust that can be of no use to anyone) has been wrongly ascribed to Bahadur Shah Zafar, the last Mughal emperor.”
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Atul’s Song A Day- A choice collection of Hindi Film & Non-Film Songs 
December 25, 2008 at 9:13 am
I always thought that this song was written by Bahadurshah Zafar during his imprisonment in Burma by the British.Thanks for correcting Atul.
Merry Christmas and Happy New Year to Atul and other readers of the blog.
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