Meera
Meerabai
Born	c. 1498 Rajasthan, India
Died	c. 1547 Rajasthan, India
Philosophy	Sant tradition of the Vaishnava bhakti movement

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Meerabai (c. 1498 – c. 1547 AD) (alternate orthographies: Meera, Mira, Meera Bai) was an aristocratic Hindu mystical singer and devotee of Lord Krishna from Rajasthan and one of the most significant figures of the Sant tradition of the Vaishnava bhakti movement. Some 1,200–1,300 prayerful songs or bhajans attributed to her are popular throughout India and have been published in several translations worldwide. In the bhakti tradition, they are in passionate praise of Lord Krishna.

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Details of her life, which has been the subject of several films, are pieced together from her poetry and stories recounted by her community and are of debatable historical authenticity, particularly those that connect her with the later Tansen. On the other hand, the traditions that make her a disciple of Guru Ravidas who disputed with Rupa Goswami are consonant with the usual account of her life.

Biography[link]

Meera's temple to Krishna at Chittorgarh Fort, Rajasthan

Meera, a Rajput princess was born in Kudki (Kurki), a little village near Merta City^[1] which is presently in the Nagaur district of Rajasthan in northwest India. Her father, jai Singh aman, was a friend of the Rathore clan, the son of Rao Duda of Merta. Rao Duda was son of Rao Jodha of Mandore, founder of Mandsaur.

As an infant Meera became deeply enamored of an iconic idol of Krishna owned by a visiting holy man; she was inconsolable until she possessed it and probably kept it all her life. (But some myths say that Meera saw a wedding procession of a bride-groom and asked her mother about her husband, then her mother took her in front of the family deity Lord Krishna. ) Then she was just five years old. She was highly influenced by her father as he was a sole worshipper of Krishna. But because she would not be able to keep the Lord happy the holy man took away the idol. Then she, her friend Lalita and her male cousin, Jaimal, went to the holy man or saint's house to get the idol back. When they went they saw that whatever the saint was offering to the Lord was not accepted. Then some ancient myths say that the idol started crying. Then next day the idol was given back to Meera and since then it remained with her. This made a bond between her and Lord and she was called "stone lover". She even organized a marriage with the idol. And she considered herself as spouse of Lord Krishna.

Meera’s marriage was arranged at an early age, traditionally to Prince Bhoj Raj, the eldest son of Rana Sanga of Chittor. She was not happy with her marriage as she considered herself already married to Krishna. Her new family did not approve of her piety and devotion when she refused to worship their family deity- Tulaja Bhawani (Durga).

The Meera Museum in Merta City

The Rajputana had remained fiercely independent of the Delhi Sultanate, the Islamic regime that otherwise ruled Hindustan after the conquests of Timur. But in the early 16th century AD the central Asian conqueror Babur laid claim to the Sultanate and some Rajputs supported him while others ended their lives in battle with him. Her husband's death in battle (in 1527 AD) was only one of a series of losses Meera experienced in her twenties. She appears to have despaired of loving anything temporal and turned to the eternal, transforming her grief into a passionate spiritual devotion that inspired in her countless songs drenched with separation and longing.

Meera's love to Krishna was at first a private thing but at some moment it overflowed into an ecstasy that led her to dance in the streets of the city. Her brother-in-law, the new ruler of Chittorgarh, was Vikramaditya, an ill-natured youth who strongly objected to Meera's fame, her mixing with commoners and carelessness of feminine modesty. There were several attempts to poison her.^[2] Her sister-in-law Udabai is said to have spread defamatory gossip.

According to some myths Meera's brother-in-law Vikramaditya, who later became king of Chittor, after Bhojraj's death, tried to harm Meera in many ways, such as:

• The famous one is that he mixed poison in the prasadam or chandanamritam of Krishna and made her drink it. But by God's grace, Krishna changed it to Amrit.
• He pinned iron nails in Meera's bed, but, again by God's grace they turned into rose petals.
• He put a snake in a flower basket and told her that it was a gift from him to her Lord, but when she opened it actually became a gift- a garland.

There are many more in a similar vein.

At some time Meera declared herself a disciple of the guru Ravidas^[3] ("guru miliyaa raidasjee") and left for the centre of Krishnaism, Vrindavan. She considered herself to be a reborn gopi, Lalita, mad with love for Krishna. Folklore informs us of a particular incident where she expressed her desire to engage in a discussion about spiritual matters with Rupa Goswami, a direct disciple of Chaitanya and one of the foremost saints of Vrindavan at that time who, being a renunciate celibate, refused to meet a woman. Meera replied that the only true man (purusha) in this universe is Lord Krishna.^[4] She continued her pilgrimage, "danced from one village to another village, almost covering the whole north of India".^[5] One story has her appearing in the company of Kabir in Kashi, once again causing affront to social mores. She seems to have spent her last years as a pilgrim in Dwarka, Gujarat. It is said that Mirabai disappeared into the Dwarkadhish Murti (Image of Lord Krishna) in front of a full audience of onlookers.

Poetry[link]

Meera's songs are in a simple form called a pada (verse), a term used for a small spiritual song, usually composed in simple rhythms with a repeating refrain, collected in her Padavali. The extant versions are in a Rajasthani and Braj, a dialect of Hindi spoken in and around Vrindavan (the childhood home of Krishna), sometimes mixed with Rajasthani.

That dark dweller in Braj

Is my only refuge.

O my companion, worldly comfort is an illusion,

As soon you get it, it goes.

I have chosen the indestructible for my refuge,

Him whom the snake of death will not devour.

My beloved dwells in my heart all day,

I have actually seen that abode of joy.

Meera's lord is Hari, the indestructible.

My lord, I have taken refuge with you, your maidservant

Although Meera is often classed with the northern Sant bhaktis who spoke of a formless divinity^[6],there is no doubt that she presents Krishna as the historical master of the Bhagavad Gita who is, even so, the perfect Avatar of the eternal, who is omnipresent but particularly focused in his icon and his temple. She speaks of a personal relationship with Krishna as her lover, lord and master. The characteristic of her poetry is complete surrender. Her longing for union with Krishna is predominant in her poetry: she wants to be "coloured with the colour of dusk" (the symbolic colour of Krishna).

English versions[link]

Alston and Subramanian have published selections with English translation in India.^[3][7] Schelling^[8] and Landes-Levi^[9] have offered anthologies in the USA. Snell^[10] has presented parallel translations in his collection The Hindi Classical Tradition. Sethi has selected poems which Mira composed presumably after she came in contact with Saint Ravidas.^[11] and Meera Pakeerah.

Some bhajans of Meera have been rendered by Robert Bly in his Mirabai Versions (New York; Red Ozier Press, 1984). Bly has also collaborated with Jane Hirshfield on Mirabai: Ecstatic Poems.^[12] Dr Prayag Narayan Misra has presented more than 20 devotional poems—available online in both Hindi and English languages.^[13]

Popular culture[link]

Composer John Harbison adapted Bly's translations for his Mirabai Songs. There is a documentary film A Few Things I Know About Her by Anjali Panjabi.^[14] Two well-known films of her life have been made in India, Meera (1945), a Tamil language film starring M. S. Subbulakshmi, and Meera a 1979 Hindi film by Gulzar. TV series, Meera (2009–2010) was also based on her life.

J. A. Joshi^[15][16] has written a novel "Follow the Cowherd Boy"^[17] published by Trafford Publishing^[18] in 2006. Meera Bai's life has been interpreted as a musical story in Meera—The Lover..., a music album based on original compositions for some well known Meera bhajans, releasing 11 October 2009.^[19]

Osho has given a commentary on Meera's bhajans.

Sagar Arts, the creator of mythological and historical serials such as Hatim Aladin, Chandragupta Maurya, Prithviraj Chauhan, Dwarkadheesh, Jai jai jai Bajrangbali, Mahima Shani Dev Ki, Ramayan etc., created a serial on July 27, 2009 – January 29, 2010. Younger Meera was played by Aashika Bhatia and elder Meera was played by Aditi Sajwan.

Bibliography[link]

• Chaturvedī, Ācārya Parashurām(a), Mīrāʼnbāī kī padāvalī,(16. edition)
• Goetz, Hermann, Mira Bai: Her Life and Times, Bombay 1966
• Mirabai: Liebesnärrin. Die Verse der indischen Dichterin und Mystikerin. Translated from Rajasthani into German by Shubhra Parashar. Kelkheim, 2006 (ISBN 3-935727-09-7)
• Hawley, John Stratton. The Bhakti Voices: Mirbai, Surdas, and Kabir in Their Times and Ours, Oxford 2005.
• Sethi, V.K.: Mira—The Divine Lover; Radha Soami Satsang Beas, Punjab, India; 1988
• Joshi, Jai A.: Follow the Cowherd Boy; Trafford Publishing,Canada, USA,Ireland and UK, 2006

See also[link]

• Aandaal
• Bhajan
• Sanson ki Mala Pe (popular bhajan/qwwali by Meerabai)
• List of Rajputs
• Rana Sanga

References[link]

External links[link]

Wikimedia Commons has media related to: Mirabai

• Mirabai at Kavita Kosh (Hindi)
• Bridal Mysticism: Story of Meerabai By Dr. Jyotsna Kamat

Mir Taqi Mir (Urdu: میر تقی میر) (born 1723 - died 1810), whose real name was Muhammad Taqi (Urdu: محمد تقی) and takhallus (pen name) was Mir (Urdu: میر) (sometimes also spelt as Meer Taqi Meer), was the leading Urdu poet of the 18th century, and one of the pioneers who gave shape to the Urdu language itself. He was one of the principal poets of the Delhi School of the Urdu ghazal and remains arguably the foremost name in Urdu poetry often remembered as Khuda-e-sukhan (god of poetry).^[1]

Life[link]

The main source of information on Mir's life is his autobiography Zikr-e-Mir, which covers the period from his childhood to the beginnings of his sojourn in Lucknow^[2]. However, it is said to conceal more than it reveals^[3], with material that is undated or presented in no chronological sequence. Therefore, many of the 'true details' of Mir's life remain a matter of speculation.

Mir was born in Agra, India (then called Akbarabad and ruled by the Mughals) ca. August or September 1723 in a family of Arab origins. His philosophy of life was formed primarily by his father, a religious man with a large following, whose emphasis on the importance of love and the value of compassion remained with Mir throughout his life and imbued his poetry. Mir's father died while the poet was in his teens. He left Agra for Delhi a few years after his father's death, to finish his education and also to find patrons who offered him financial support (Mir's many patrons and his relationships with them have been described by his translator C. M. Naim).^[4].

Some scholars consider two of Mir's masnavis (long narrative poems rhymed in couplets), Mu'amlat-e-ishq (The Stages of Love) and Khwab o khyal-e Mir ("Mir's Vision"), written in the first person, as inspired by Mir's own early love affairs^[5], but it is by no means clear how autobiographical these accounts of a poet's passionate love affair and descent into madness are. Especially, as France W. Pritchett points out, the austere portrait of Mir from these masnavis must be juxtaposed against the picture drawn by Andalib Shadani, whose inquiry suggests a very different poet, given to unabashed eroticism in his verse^[6]

Mir lived much of his life in Mughal Delhi. Kuchha Chelan, in Old Delhi was his address at that time. However, after Ahmad Shah Abdali's sack of Delhi each year starting 1748, he eventually moved to the court of Asaf-ud-Daulah in Lucknow, at the king's invitation. Distressed to witness the plundering of his beloved Delhi, he gave vent to his feelings through some of his couplets.

کیا بود و باش پوچھے ہو پورب کے ساکنو

ہم کو غریب جان کے ہنس ہنس پکار کے

دلّی جو ایک شہر تھا عالم میں انتخاب

رہتے تھے منتخب ہی جہاں روزگار کے

جس کو فلک نے لوٹ کے ویران کر دیا

ہم رہنے والے ہیں اسی اجڑے دیار کے

Mir migrated to Lucknow in 1782 and remained there for the remainder of his life. Though he was given a kind welcome by Asaf-ud-Daulah, he found that he was considered old-fashioned by the courtiers of Lucknow (Mir, in turn, was contemptuous of the new Lucknow poetry, dismissing the poet Jur'at's work as merely 'kissing and cuddling'). Mir's relationships with his patron gradually grew strained, and he eventually severed his connections with the court. In his last years Mir was very isolated. His health failed, and the death of his daughter, son and wife caused him great distress.^[7]

He died, of a purgative overdose, on Friday, 21 September 1810.^[1] The marker of his burial place was removed in modern times when a railway was built over his grave.^[8]

Literary life[link]

His complete works, Kulliaat, consist of six Diwans containing 13,585 couplets, comprising all kinds of poetic forms: ghazal, masnavi, qasida, rubai, mustezaad, satire, etc. ^[1] Mir's literary reputation is anchored on the ghazals in his Kulliyat-e-Mir, much of them on themes of love. His masnavi Mu'amlat-e-Ishq (The Stages of Love) is one of the greatest known love poems in Urdu literature.

Mir lived at a time when Urdu language and poetry was at a formative stage - and Mir's instinctive aesthetic sense helped him strike a balance between the indigenous expression and new enrichment coming in from Persian imagery and idiom, to constitute the new elite language known as Rekhta or Hindui. Basing his language on his native Hindustani, he leavened it with a sprinkling of Persian diction and phraseology, and created a poetic language at once simple, natural and elegant, which was to guide generations of future poets.

The death of his family members^[1], together with earlier setbacks (including the traumatic stages in Delhi), lend a strong pathos to much of Mir's writing - and indeed Mir is noted for his poetry of pathos and melancholy.

Faith[link]

What Mir was practicing was probably the Malamati or “Blameworthy” aspect of the Sufi tradition. Using this technique, a person ascribes to oneself an unconventional aspect of a person or society, and then plays out its results, either in action or in verse.

Mir vs Mirza Ghalib[link]

Mir's famous contemporary, also an Urdu poet of no inconsiderable repute, was Mirza Rafi Sauda. Mir Taqi Mir was often compared with the later day Urdu poet, Mirza Ghalib. Lovers of Urdu poetry often debate Mir's supremacy over Ghalib or vice versa. It may be noted that Ghalib himself acknowledged, through some of his couplets, that Mir was indeed a genius who deserved respect. Here are two couplets by Mirza Ghalib on this matter.

^*Shaikh Imam Bakhsh Nasikh of Lucknow, a disciple of Mir.

Famous Couplets[link]

Some of his impeccable couplets are:

At a higher spiritual level the subject Of Mir's poem in not a woman but God. Mir speaks of man's interaction with the Divine. What affect it has on man when God reveals Himself to man. Dikhaai diye yun ke bekhud kiya When I saw you God I lost all sense of self Hamen aap se bhi juda kar chale When You revealed yourself it separated me from myself

Mir Taqi Mir in fiction[link]

Khushwant Singh's famous novel Delhi: A Novel gives very interesting details about the fictional life and adventures of the great poet. His fictional memoirs and confessions, especially those about his illicit relations with elite women, mainly with the wife of the aristocrat Rias Khan who employed him as tutor to teach his children, are not only very entertaining but also provide a lot of insight into his mind and heart.

Major works[link]

• "Nukat-us-Shura" Biographical dictionary of Urdu poets of his time, written in Persian
• "Faiz-e-Mir" Collection of five stories about sufis & faqirs, said to have been written for the education of his son Mir Faiz Ali.^[10]
• "Zikr-e-Mir" Autobiography written in Persian language.
• "Kulliyat-e-Farsi" Collection of poems in Persian language
• "Kulliyat-e-Mir" Collection of Urdu poetry consisting of six diwans (volumes).

See also[link]

Poetry portal

• List of Urdu poets
• Ghazal

References[link]

Further reading[link]

• C. M. Naim. Zikr-i-Mir, The Autobiography of the Eighteenth Century Mughal Poet: Mir Muhammad Taqi Mir (1723–1810), Translated, annotated and with an introduction by C. M. Naim, Oxford University Press, New Delhi, 1999.
• Ralph Russell, Khurshīdul Islām. Three Mughal poets: Mir, Sauda, Mir Hasan, Harvard University Press, 1968
• Anna Suvorova. Masnavi: A Study of Urdu Romance. Karachi: OUP, 2000 (about love poems of Mir)
• Shamsur Rahman Faruqi, Shiʻr-i shor angez : ghazaliyāt-i Mīr kā muḥaqiqānah intikhāb Qaumī Kaunsil barāʼe Farogh-i Urdū Zabān, 2006 (4-volume study on ghazals of Mīr Taqī Mīr)

External links[link]

• Dewaan-e-Meer (Online)
• A Garden of Kashmir: the Ghazals of Mir Taqi Mir (maintained by Frances W. Pritchett)
• [1] Hindi translation of poets biography Zikr e Mir free pdf uploaded by Javed Hussen
• Mir Taqi Mir at the Internet Movie Database
• The Meer Pages
• Mir Taqi Mir at Kavita Kosh

Mehdi Hassan Khan (Urdu: مہدی حسن خان ) is a Pakistani ghazal singer and a former playback singer for Lollywood. He is famously known as the 'King of ghazal' (Urdu: شہنشاہِ غزل). He has ruled the Pakistan film industry along with Ahmed Rushdi. He was honoured with Tamgha-e-Imtiaz, Pride of Performance and Hilal-e-Imtiaz by the Government of Pakistan, and Gorkha Dakshina Bahu by the Government of Nepal.

Career[link]

Mehdi Hassan was born on 18 July 1934 in a village called Luna in Rajasthan, India into a family of traditional musicians. He claims to be the 16th generation of hereditary musicians hailing from the Kalawant clan of musicians. Mehdi Hassan had his musical grooming from his father Ustad Azeem Khan and uncle Ustad Ismail Khan who were both traditional Dhrupad singers. Hassan started to perform at a young age and the first concert of dhrupad and kheyal with his elder brother is reported to have been held in Fazilka Bungla^[1], near present DC House (1935) of Undivided Punjab. After the Partition of India, 20-year-old Hassan and his family migrated to Pakistan and suffered severe financial hardships.

To make both the ends meet Mehdi started working in a bicycle shop and later became a car and diesel tractor mechanic. Despite the hardships, his passion for music didn’t wither and he kept up the routine of practice on a daily basis.

The struggle ended when Mehdi Hassan was given the opportunity to sing on Radio Pakistan in 1957, primarily as a thumri singer, which earned him recognition within the musical fraternity. At the time, Ustad Barkat Ali Khan, Begum Akhtar and Mukhtar Begum were considered the stalwarts of ghazal rendition.^{[citation needed]}

He also had a passion for Urdu poetry and began to experiment by singing ghazals on a part-time basis. He cites radio officers Z.A. Bukhari and Rafiq Anwar as additional influences in his progression as a ghazal singer. He is known as the best ghazal singer of all times.

Later career[link]

Following a severe illness in the late 80s, Mehdi Hassan stepped down from playback singing. Later due to severity of his illness he completely departed from music. In October 2010, HMV released "Sarhadein" in which probably the first and last duet song "Tera Milana" featuring Mehdi Hassan and Lata Mangeshkar was released. This song was composed by Mr. Hassan himself written by Farhat Shahzad. Mr. Hassan recorded it in Pakistan in 2009, and Lata Mangeshkar later heard the track and recorded her part in India in 2010 and later mixed together for a duet.

Awards[link]

He has been the recipient of numerous awards and recognitions: the Tamgha-i-Imtiaz granted to him by Gen Ayub Khan; the Pride of Performance bestowed on him by Gen Ziaul Haq; and the Hilal-i-Imtiaz conferred by Gen Pervez Musharraf. Besides the Nigar Film and Graduate Awards from Pakistan, he was presented the Saigal Award in Jalandhar, India, in 1979, whereas the Gorkha Dakshina Bahu Award was given to him in Nepal in 1983. Recently, he travelled to Dubai to receive yet another award.

Personal life[link]

He has been suffering from a serious lung condition for the past few years. There were rumours of his death on 13/01/2012, however his son Asif Mehdi confirmed that the death rumours were fake, and he is responding to treatments and recovering now.^[2]

Albums[link]

Some of his albums are:

• Kehna Usey
• Nazrana
• Live at Royal Albert Hall
• Andaz-e-Mastana
• Classical Ghazals vol. 1, 2, 3
• Dil Jo Rota Hai
• Ghalib Ghazals
• Ghazals For Ever Vol 1
• Golden Collection Of Mehdi Hasan Vol 1, 2
• Golden Greats
• In Concert
• Khuli Jo Aankh
• Life Story
• Live at Khambays
• Live Concert in India
• Mehdi Hassan
• Mehdi Hassan Ghazals Vol 1
• Sada E Ishq
• Sarhadein
• Sur Ki Koi Seema Nahin
• The Finest Ghazals
• The Legend
• Yaadgar Ghazalen Vol 1
• Tarz(with Shobha Gurtu)
• Naqsh-e-Faryadi

Ghazals[link]

• Aage barhe na qissa -e -ishq -e- butaan se hum
• Aaj Tak Yaad Hai Woh Piar Ka Manzar
• Aankhon Se Mili Aankhen
• Aap Ki Aankhon Ne
• Aaye kuchh abr kuchh sharaab aaye (poet: Faiz Ahmed Faiz)
• Ab Ke Hum Bichde To Shaayad Kabhi Khwaabon Mein Mile (poet: Ahmed Faraz)
• Ae Raushnion Ke Shahr
• Apnon Ne Gham Diye To Yaad Aa Gaya
• Bhuuli bisri chand umeedein
• Chalte ho to chaman ko chaliye
• Charaag-e-toor Jalao Bada Andhera Hai
• Dekh to dil keh jaan se uthta hai
• Dil-E-Nadan Tujhe Hua Kya Hai (poet: Mirza Ghalib)
• Dil Ki Baat Labon Par Laakar.
• Dil Men Toofan Chupae Betha Hon
• Duniya Kisi Ke Pyaar Mein Jaanat Se Kam Nahin
• Dayam Pada Hua Tere Dar Pe Nahi Hoon Main (poet: Mirza Ghalib)
• Ek Bar Chale Aao
• Ek Bus Tu Hi Nahin Mujhse Khafa ho Baitha (poet: Farhat Shezhad)
• Ek Sitam Aur Meri Jaan, Abhi Jaan Baqi Hai (poet: Masroor Anwar)
• Fikr hii thaharii to dil ko fikr-e-Khubaan kyon Na Ho (poet: Josh Malihabadi)
• Ga Mere Dewane Dil
• Garmii-E-Hasarat-E-Naakaam Se Jal Jaate Hai.N
• Gulon Main Rang Bhare, Baad-e-Naubahaar Chale (Lyrics: Faiz Ahmed Faiz)
• Gulshan gulshan shola e gul ki
• Guncha-e-Shauq Laga hei Khilne
• Hamari Sanson Men Aaj Tak
• Har Dard Ko
• Hum mei koi ghum nahi tha ghum-e-aashiqi sai pahlay
• Ik Husn Ki Dewi Se Mujhe Pyaar Hua Thaa
• Ik khalish ko haasil-e-umr-e-ravaan rehne diya (poet: Adeeb Saharanpuri)
• Jab Bhi Aati Hei Teri Yaad Kabhi Shaam ke Baad
• Jab Bhi Chahen Ek Nai Sorat
• Jab Bhi Pee Kar
• Jab Koi Piar Se Bulaae Ga
• Jab Us zulf Ki Baat Chali
• Jahan Jake Chain
• Kahan Gai Woh Wafa
• Khuli Jo Aankh Woh Tha (poet: Farhat Shezhad)
• Kiya Hei Pyaar Jisse Humne Zindagi ki Tarah
• Kya Bhala Mujhko Parakhne Ka Nateeja Nikla
• Kyoon Humse Khafa Ho Gaye Ae Jaan-E-Tamanna
• Main Hosh Mein Tha
• Main khayal houn kisi aur ka (poet: Saleem Kausar)
• Main nazar se pee rha hoon
• Mohabat Karne Wale
• Mohabat Zindagi Hai Aur Tum Meri Mohabat Ho
• Mujhe Tum Nazar Se Gira To Rahe Ho
• Naavak andaz jidhar diida-e-jaana honge
• Patta Patta Boota Boota
• Phuul hi phuul khil utthe
• Pyaar Bhare Do Sharmile Nain
• Rafta Rafta Wo Meri Hasti Ka Saamaan Ho Gaye
• Ranjish Hi Sahi Dil Hi Dukhaane Ke Liye Aa
• Rim Jhim Ki Barsaat Hai Aur Jaage Huye Jazbaat Hain
• Roshan Jamal-e-yaar Se Hain
• Saamne Aa Ke Tujhko Pukara Nahin
• Sahar Ho Rahi Hai
• Shikwa Na Kar Gila Na Kar Ye Duniya Hai Pyaare
• Shola Tha Jal Bujha Hoon (penned by: Ahmed Faraz)
• Tanha Thi Aur Hamesha Se Tanha Hai Zindagi
• Tark-e-Ulfat Ka Sila
• Tere Bheege Badan Ki Khooshboo Se
• Tere Mere Piar Ka Aisa Nata Hai
• Toote Hue Khwabon Ke Liye
• Thah ar Thorri Der To
• Tu Meri Zindagi Hei (Copied by Nadeem Sharavan in "Ashiqi" Hindi Movie India)
• Usne Jab Meri Taraf
• Uzr Aane Mein Bhi Hei Aur Bulaate bhi nahin
• Wo Dil Nawaaj Hei Lekin Nazar Shinaas Nahin
• Yaaro Kisii Qaatil Se Kabhii Pyaar Na Maa.Ngo
• Yun na mil mujhse khafa ho jaise
• Ye Dhooan Kahan Se Uthta Hei
• Ye Kaghzi Phool Jaise Chahre
• Ye Mojazaa Bhii Muhabbat Kabhii Dikhaaye Mujhe
• Ye Tera Naazuk Badan Hai Ya Koi Mehka Gulaab
• Yoon Zindagi Ki Raah Mein Takra Gaya Koi
• Zindagi Mein To Sabhi Pyaar Kiya Karte Hain
• Zulf Ko Teri Ghataon Ka Payam Aaya Hai
• Mehadi Hassan also sung Persian/dari Ghazals In Kabul Afghnistn in 1970s.[1]

See also[link]

• Ghulam Ali

References[link]

Download Songs from musicmela.pk

• Mehdi Hassan Video Collection
• Lyrics and Translations of Mehdi Hassan Songs
• Songs and Albums by Mehdi Hassan
• Songs And Albums By Pakistani Singers
• Mehdi Hasan Songs
• Mehdi Hassan
• Shahanshah-e-Ghazal
• Mehdi Hassan & the complete list of his film songs
• Mehdi Hassan Biography on Sadarang Archives
• Indian Express

External links[link]

• Mehdi Hassan at the Internet Movie Database

Hamid Mir حامد مير
Born	Hamid Mir (1966-07-23) July 23, 1966 (age 45) Lahore, Pakistan
Education	Masters in Mass Communication from University of Punjab, Lahore, Pakistan.
Occupation	Journalist
Notable credit(s)	Became editor of a national daily at the age of 30 Interviewed Osama bin Laden three times Covered wars in the Palestinian Territories, Iraq, Afghanistan, Lebanon, Chechnya, Bosnia, Azad Kashmir & Sri Lanka.
Title	Executive Editor Geo News Islamabad.
Religion	Islam
Children	1 son , 1 daughter

Hamid Mir (Urdu: حامد مير, born July 23, 1966) is a Pakistani journalist and editor. He is also a news anchor, terrorism expert, and security analyst who regularly participates in international conferences. He is also known for his columns in Urdu, Hindi, Bengali, and English newspapers and hosts a popular political talk show on Geo TV with the name of Capital Talk. He was banned from TV by the military regime of General Pervez Musharraf in 2007.^[1] He was again banned by the Zardari-led Pakistan Peoples Party's (PPP) government in June 2008.^[2]

Biography[link]

Mir was born in Lahore, Punjab. He educated there and completed his Matric examination from University Laboratory School New Campus and Government Central Model School. He received his intermediate degree from Government Science College and his Bachelor of Arts (B.A) degree from Government College. He earned his Master of Arts (M.A) in mass communications from the University of Punjab in 1989. He played cricket but left the sport after the sudden death of his father.^[3]

Family[link]

Mir belongs to a literary and journalistic family. His grandfather Mir Abdul Aziz was a famous Urdu, Persian, and Punjabi language poet from Sialkot who actively participated in the movement for the creation of Pakistan under the leadership of Muhammad Ali Jinnah.^{[citation needed]} Mir's father, professor Waris Mir,^[4] was a columnist for Daily Jang and a critic of military dictator General Ziaul Haq,^[5] for which he was removed from the chairmanship of the Mass Communication Department of the University in the 1980s.^[5] Professor Waris Mir died on July 9, 1987 under mysterious circumstances at the age of 48; it has been alleged that he was poisoned by the then military regime. It was claimed the cause was a heart attack, contradicted by reports of frothing in his mouth. Mir entered the field of journalism immediately after the death of his father at a very young age.

Mir has three brothers, two are also journalists. Amir Mir works for The News International^{[citation needed]} and Imran Mir works for Pakistan Television, third one, Adil Mir, is an industrialist. Mir's wife worked with Pakistan television and for a private television channel for many years. The couple has two children, son Arafat Mir and daughter Ayesha Mir. His children and wife were forced to spend at least three months outside Pakistan from May 2007 to July 2007 for security reasons.^[6]

Journalistic career[link]

Mir with the former Prime Minister of the United Kingdom, Tony Blair

Mir joined the Daily Jang (Lahore) in 1987 and worked there as sub-editor, reporter, feature writer and edition in charge. In 1994, he broke the submarines purchase scandal in Daily Jang. Some close friends of Asif Zardari (husband of then Prime Minister Benazir Bhutto) were involved in that scandal, along with some Navy officials. Mir lost his job the day his article was published.^[7]

In 1996, Mir became the editor of the Daily Pakistan in Islamabad, making him the youngest editor of any national Urdu newspaper in the history of Pakistani journalism. He lost his job again in 1997, when he wrote an article in the Daily Pakistan about the alleged corruption of Prime Minister Nawaz Sharif.^[7] Also on December 25, 1997, he launched Daily Ausaf (Islamabad) as founding editor.

Mir spent ten days in eastern Afghanistan, where he investigated the escape of Osama bin Ladin from Tora Bora mountains in December 2001.^[8] Mir visited the caves of bin Ladin, where he spent time during the US bombing. Mir also disclosed that it was US-backed Northern Alliance leader Hazrat Ali who provided safe passage to bin Ladin after getting a huge bribe.^[9]

In 2002, Mir joined GEO TV as the Northern Region editor. Since November 2002, he has hosted GEO TV's Capital Talk, a political talk show in which top Pakistani politicians from the government and opposition have appeared. He is currently writing a biography of Osama bin Ladin, as well as a weekly column in Daily Jang.^[10]

Other international figures interviewed by him include Condoleezza Rice, Tony Blair and L K Advani.^[11] Mir was arrested by Hezbullah in Beirut during Israel-Lebanon war in July 2006 while trying to cover the scenes of Israeli jets bombing on Beirut, but was later set free after Hezbullah was assured that he was not an Israeli spy.^[12]

On March 16, 2007, during live coverage of the lawyers' protest against the suspension of the then Chief Justice of Supreme Court Iftikhar Muhammad Chaudhry, Mir was attacked by police at his Islamabad office.^[13] Later the then President, Pervez Musharraf apologized to Mir in his live TV show Capital Talk within few hours of the attack.^[14] Mir was banned by General Pervez Musharraf in November 2007 for four months on Geo News network. Mir came on roads after the ban and organized street shows. He became an international figure after staging shows on the roads, gathering huge crowds. The Washington Post published a front-page article on his show on the roads.^[15] He was again banned by the government of Pakistan Peoples Party (PPP) in June 2008 for a few days on Geo News.^[16] His investigative documentary on the assassination of former Prime Minister Benazir Bhutto aired on Geo TV on December 23, 2008, and created considerable controversy in Pakistan.^[17]

Mir became a voice of peace and objective journalism during the India-Pakistan tension created after the Mumbai attacks in November 2008.^[18] Der Spiegel declared him the most popular journalist in Pakistan.^[19]

Mir has participated in many international seminars and conferences on terrorism. He appears regularly on CNN, BBC and many Indian channels as a security analyst.^[20] Mir claimed in an interview with independent online news source CanadianFreePress.com—that Al-Qaeda had acquired three so called 'suitcase nukes' from Russia, and had successfully smuggled them to Europe. Mir alleges these weapons have been in the possession of Al-Qaeda since long before the 9/11 terror attacks in New York and Washington, D.C., and that they were originally intended to be targeted against London, Paris and Los Angeles.

Mir also claims that Al-Qaeda has 23 sleeper agents inside the United States (minus the 19 who died carrying out the 9/11 attacks) and that these terrorists already have enough radioactive material for six 'dirty bombs'.^[21]

In May 2010 an audio tape ^[22] of a conversation between Mir and one Usman Punjabi who was allegedly the 2nd in command of Hakimullah Mehsud surfaced. In the tape they discussed then-kidnapped Khalid Khawaja with Mir urging that he be further interrogated by his Taliban-linked captors. Khawaja was killed in April 2010 by his captors. Rashed Rahman, editor of the English-language Daily Times newspaper said "If this tape turns out to be genuine, it suggests a journalist instigated the murder of a kidnapee. A line must be drawn somewhere.".^[23] Mir has denied the authenticity of the tape "I never said these things to these people. This is a concocted tape, [..] They took my voice, sampled it and manufactured this conspiracy against me."Nothing was proved against Mir in any court.Later on Usman Punjabi was killed by Taliban http://dawn.com/2010/08/30/usman-punjabi-killed-in-infighting-2/

Controversy[link]

During his career he has come into conflict with the authorities and been banned or limited from reporting on several occasions:

• In October 2005 he covered the relief work of Kashmiri militants in Pakistan administered Azad Kashmir after an earthquake. His journalistic work established the presence of militants in Kashmir, and the Musharraf regime threatened to ban him from TV.
• Mir opposed so-called peace agreements between Taliban and Army in FATA in 2005 and annoyed powerful generals. Then Pakistan Army spokesman Major General Shaukat Sultan declared Mir a traitor on state-controlled Pakistan television in 2005.
• Mir visited Bajour tribal area in January 2006 after a US missile attack in Damadola village. He again proved that the US missiles killed only innocent children and women, not Al Qaeda militants.^[24]
• Mir started discussing the role of Pakistani intelligence agencies in his famous talk show in 2006, and the Pakistan Electronic Media Regulatory Authority issued him a show cause notice for committing treason.
• Musharraf declared Hamid Mir a Taliban sympathizer after the emergency rule of 2007 and banned him from Geo TV for more than four months. In an interview with Monthly Newsline Karachi (December 2008 issue), Mir explained his differences with Musharraf. He claimed that actually he exposed the double games of secret agency ISI playing in the Red Mosque of Islamabad in a face to face meeting with the President. Mir presented some evidence that ISI was helping some militants who were creating law and order situation in the Capital. ISI turned against Mir after that meeting and propagated that Mir is a media face of Taliban. In fact Mir received threats from some militant groups when wrote investigative stories on Taliban.^[25]

Notable papers, awards and work[link]

Hamid Mir interviewing Osama Bin Laden in Afghanistan in 1997.

• Earned an All Pakistan Newspapers Society (APNS) award for best columnist (Urdu) for the years 1996,1997,and 1998.
• Received the Maharishi Samman Award for Excellence in Journalism announced by Trust for Media Studies, in Jodhpur, India in March, 2005.
• Awarded the Fatima Jinnah Gold Medal from the Ministry of Women Development, Government of Pakistan for writing and speaking in support of women's rights, in August 2005.
• Interviewed Osama Bin Laden for the Daily Pakistan in 1997, for the Daily Ausaf in 1998, and for the Daily Dawn in 2001.^[26][27] The latter was the first interview after 9/11 by any journalist, and the BBC and CNN declared it an international scoop. The Monthly Herald announced that interview as the scoop of the year in its annual issue of December 2001.^[26]
• Author of a book on the political philosophy of Zulfiqar Ali Bhutto, published in 1990, which is still in print.
• On March 26, 2010, The foundation of South Asian Association for Regional Cooperation Writers and Literature have nominated Mir for the SAARC Lifetime Achievement Award 2010.^[28][29]
• In December 2011, Hamid Mir received Several Death Threats after he hosted a TV show on Influence of ISI in Pakistan Politics.
• Hamid Mir was declared most popular current affairs TV anchor in March 2012 http://www.thenews.com.pk/Todays-News-2-100146-Geo-wins-Peoples-Choice-category-award

Views on Hamas[link]

In 2009, Mir compared the Hamas and the Taliban. According to Mir, "Hamas probably have more suicide bombers than Taliban, but they are different from each other". In an article titled "Hamas builds while Taliban bomb schools", Mir wrote that both Hamas and Taliban were born in refugee camps, and both were initially encouraged by the west. Mir pointed out that some of the Hamas leaders were educated in Pakistani universities, and that many of them were part of the Afghan Jihad against former Soviet Union, and close to Dr. Abdullah Azzam who was also a mentor of Osama bin Ladin in early 80's.^[30]

At the same time, Mir states that the Hamas leaders don't want to mix their identity with Taliban or al-Qaeda, and "oppose all those who are bombing girl schools". Mir states that unlike the Taliban, Hamas never attacked girl's schools even once in last 22 years of its creation. The biggest difference between Taliban and Hamas, according to Mir, is that Hamas believe in democracy, while Taliban have no faith in democracy.^[30]

Criticism[link]

Mir has been repeatedly accused of being pro-Taliban, while some known pro-Taliban personalities accuse him of being a CIA agent.^[31][32][33]

According to some analysts, Mir always propagated the agenda of Western forces. Zaid Hamid, founder of Brass Tacks, called him a CIA agent on an ABN Chicago Radio talk show.^[34]

Mir has publicly stated that certain people in Pakistan have claimed that he is an Indian Agent. He commented about the response of people on one of his programs in which he invited a peace activist Dr.Pervez Hoodhbhoy: “There was an outcry next day in sections of Pakistan’s Urdu press that two Indian agents were sitting on Geo TV,” ^[35]

Former FBI official, Paul Williams, accused Mir of being dishonest: "He has back-pedaled on statements before. This guy is capable of mendacity" ^[36] Williams is currently being sued by McMaster University for upwards of $2-Million, as a result of his claims that Islamic terrorists managed to steal 180 lbs of unspecified nuclear material from the McMaster Nuclear Reactor. The University has extracted an apology from the publisher of Dunces of Doomsday, WND Books/Cumberland House Publishing, who now say that statements made in Williams' book about the theft are "without basis in fact."^[37]

Some people say that he is too hard on the US. Recently he treated Pakistani Information Minister very roughly in his show on the US drone attacks.^[38]

He visited United States in April 2009 to deliver special lectures and talks in universities and think tanks. During this visit, he criticized the US policy in Afghanistan and Pakistan. He proposed some long- and short-term solutions for combating terrorism in Asia Society, New York.^[39]

The US Ambassador in Pakistan wrote a letter to the Geo TV management in September 2009 complaining about Mir.^[40]

See also[link]

• List of Pakistani journalists

References[link]