The poet and lyricist's personal diaries and letters were discovered at a scrap dealer's in Mumbai. They have now been purchased by Shivendra Singh Dungarpur's Film Heritage Foundation.
Sahir Ludhianvi's handwritten letters, diaries, poems found in scrap
Mumbai - 09 Sep 2019 18:43 IST
Our Correspondent
In a scene reminiscent of Guru Dutt's Pyaasa (1957), Shivendra Singh Dungarpur's Film Heritage Foundation has discovered, and purchased, poet-lyricist Sahir Ludhianvi's handwritten letters, poems and notes from his diaries at a scrap dealer's in Mumbai. The foundation put out the news in a tweet on Sunday.
FHF recently rescued a trove of rare material of the one of the greatest lyricists of this country, Sahir Ludhianvi (1921 - 1980), famed for unforgettable lyrics of landmark films like Guru Dutt's “Pyaasa” “Phir Subah Hogi” “Gumraah” and “Kabhie Kabhie” from a scrap dealer. pic.twitter.com/IoZvVaMlIL
— FHF_Official (@FHF_Official) September 7, 2019
In a comment to the Press Trust of India, Shivendra Singh Dungarpur said, "The diaries found have details of his daily routines like where he would be going for a song recording and other personal life happenings. Then there are several poems and notes. The notes are related to his publishing house Parchaian [Shadows]."
The material includes photographs from his early days, handwritten diaries and couplets and letters that are priceless records of this great artist. pic.twitter.com/594SqLuy4d
— FHF_Official (@FHF_Official) September 7, 2019
All this material is integral to the fabric of our cinematic heritage and time and again we find that these pieces of history are discarded on the scrap heap. pic.twitter.com/JNYghvrkib
— FHF_Official (@FHF_Official) September 7, 2019
Sadly, much of this valuable material is lying forgotten in dusty damp cupboards, rusting steel trunks or old cardboard boxes at the mercy of heat, humidity, dust, termites, fungus and mould. pic.twitter.com/n5CWAX3zKj
— FHF_Official (@FHF_Official) September 7, 2019
The foundation reportedly purchased the entire collection for Rs3,000, and now aims to preserve and exhibit these items in its archive.
Remarking on the similarity of the incident with the film Pyaasa (1957), Dungarpur said, "This is reminiscent of a scene from Guru Dutt’s Pyaasa where the protagonist’s poems and writings are found at a scrap shop."
The film, directed by Guru Dutt, is known for Sahir's hard-hitting poems 'Jinhe Naaz Hai Hind Par', 'Jaane Woh Kaise Log The' and 'Yeh Duniya Agar Mil Bhi Jaye'.
People in this story
Sahir Ludhianvi
lyricist
Shivendra Singh Dungarpur
Director, Producer
Movies in this story
Pyaasa
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