In Other Words

Apart from being a successful scriptwriter in the Hindi f ilm industry, lyricist and poet, Javed Akhtar belongs to a family without whose mention the history of Urdu literature cannot be considered complete. Javed is the son of the famous progressive poet Jan Nisar Akhtar and the writer Saf iya Akhtar of Zer-e-Lab fame, and the nephew of the legendary poet Majaz. One of the most respected names of his time, the poet Muztar Khairabadi was Javed’s grandfather. Muztar’s father, Syed Ahmad Husain Ruswa, was a stellar poet, too. Muztar’s mother, Syeda Hirmaan, was among the handful of women poets of the nineteenth century who f igure in the history of Urdu literature. Hirmaan’s father, Allama Fazl-e Haq Khairabadi, was not merely one of the most well-regarded scholars of his age but also a philosopher, a leader and a poet who wrote in Arabic. He was a close friend of Ghalib’s, and the Diwan-e-Ghalib, that the world considers so precious, was edited by him. He was sent to prison in the Andamans for his role in the First War of Independence in 1857, which is where he died and his grave still lies. Javed Akhtar has received literature, culture and learning as a legacy from all these ancestors. And through his own poetry, Akhtar continues to increase the wealth he has inherited.