Noted poet Bashir Badr passed away at the age of 91 in Bhopal after a prolonged illness, a family member said on Thursday.
Badr had been suffering from dementia for several years and died at his residence in Bhopal, his son Syed Badr told PTI.
One of the most widely quoted Urdu poets of his generation, Badr was known for memorable lines such as “Ujale apni yaadon ke hamare saath rehne do.”
“For me, for my mother, and for all his loved ones, it is a very painful day. His poetry is poetry of love and life. ‘Ujaale unki yaddon ke’.... This couplet is a representation of his life; it is his trademark. I would like all of you to celebrate this” said Syed.
“He had dementia and had not been part of any mushaira (gathering of poets) for the past 10 years. That was his conscious decision because he was a showman... That is why he retired from mushairas when he realised that his memory was weakening, and he had not been active in writing or public life for quite some time,” Syed further shared.
“But the impact of his couplets and verses on the world has its own life,” Syed noted.
Born in Ayodhya, Uttar Pradesh, on February 15, 1935, Badr was widely regarded for his command over the Urdu language, particularly ghazals, and was also proficient in Persian, Hindi and English.
During the 1972 Shimla Agreement between India and Pakistan, Badr composed the well-known couplet, “Dushmani jam kar karo lekin ye gunjaish rahe, jab kabhi hum dost ho jayein to sharminda na hon.”
The couplet was later recited by Congress leader Mallikarjun Kharge during a Lok Sabha debate in 2018, to which Prime Minister Narendra Modi responded with another verse by the poet- “Jee bahut chahta hai sach bolein, kya karein haunsla nahi hota.”
Lyricist Javed Akhtar paid tribute to Badr following his demise on X.
“Today, our language Urdu has become a little poorer. Bashir Badr, an extremely melodious poet, has departed from our gathering forever. This poet and his poetry will live on in our memories forever.”
Aas, a celebrated collection of 69 ghazals, is considered a landmark work in Badr’s career and won him the Sahitya Akademi Award in Urdu in 1999.
Badr reportedly began writing poetry at the age of seven. He published over seven Urdu poetry collections and one in Hindi, including Ikai, Image, and Kulliyate Bashir Badr.
He also wrote two books of literary criticism, Azadi Ke Bad Urdu Ghazals Ka Tanqidi Mutala and Biswin Sadi Mein Ghazal, and released a Devanagari-script collection titled Ujjale Apni Yadon Ke.
His works have been translated into English and French and published in Gujarati.
Apart from the Padma Shri, Badr received four awards from the Uttar Pradesh Urdu Academy and one from the Bihar Urdu Academy.
He was also honoured with the Meer Academy Award, along with several other recognitions.
Badr is survived by his wife and two children.