ehsan danish: yoon na mil: mehdi hassan (ed) یوں نہ مل : احسان دانش

The Poet: Ehsan Danish احسان دانش ( takhallus: Danish دانش) was born in 1914 at Kandhla, UP, India. By 1928, he had moved to Lahore, Pakistan (then India), looking for work. His poetry depicts the feelings and sufferings of ordinary people. He himself was a self-made man. He was forced to quit school after the fourth grade due to poverty. In his earlier adult life he was an ordinary laborer. In his autobiography, Jahaan-e Danish جہانِ دانش , he has narrated his struggles. He states that he once used to work as a laborer at the Punjab University, Lahore, building a wall. He was later a celebrity at the same Punjab University. He was also once a gardener at Simla Pahari شملہ پہاڑی park. He wrote numerous books, though it is said that most of his poetry is still unpublished. He passed away in Lahore in 1982. In a time and age when the left-leaning elite of Urdu poets spoke for the hardworking classes, he, with his religious leanings was a rarity. His another verse:

صد شُکر کہ افلاس کی یلغار میں دانشؔ
فاقہ کوئی توہینِ ہُنر تک نہیں پہنچا

Other verses from this ghazal:

ایسے انجان بنے بیٹھے ہو
تُم کو کچھ بھی نہ پتہ ہو جیسے
ہچکیاں رات کو آتی ہی دہیں
تُو نے پھر یاد کیا ہو جیسے
زِندگی بیت رہی ہے دانشؔ
ایک بے جُرم سزا ہو جیسے

The Singer: Mehdi Hassan مہدی حسن was born in Luna, Rajasthan, India in 1927. After partition of the Indian Sub-continent, he moved to Pakistan in 1947. He first sang on Radio Pakistan in 1952. He is presently (2009) incapacitated by a stroke. He has been awarded 3 of the highest civil awards (Hilal-e Imtiaz ہلالِ امتیاز , Tamgha-e Imtiaz تمغۂ امتیاز , and the Pride of Performance Award تمغۂ حُسن کارکردگی ) by the Government of Pakistan.

خاموش تماشائی
KhamoshTamashai