Meeraji

Meeraji was a famous Urdu poet and lyricist born on 25 May 1912. His original name was Mohammad Sanaullah Dar, and Meeraji was his penname. Meeraji was born in a Kashmiri family and lived his early life in Kucha Sardar Shah, Lahore. His father, Munshi Mohammad Mahtabuddin, was a railway engineer. Meeraji started writing in his school days. He translated several works of Sanskrit poets as he is highly interested in Hindu Mythology. He adopted his pen name from a girl in his school, Meera Sen, with whom he fell in love deeply. He failed in Matriculation, and against his father’s wish, he started working for the magazine Adni Duniya for Rs 30/month. Meeraji had left his family and went to live as a wanderer, making his livelihood by selling songs.

Meeraji worked in All India Radio, Delhi, and Adabi Duniya, Lahore. He also wrote magazine columns. He settled in Bombay after the partition to try his luck in the film industry, where he struggled for three months. Later he moved to Pune and came back to Bombay again disappointed. In Bombay, he got a job as editor in Akhtar-Ul Imam’s magazine Khayaal for Rs 100/month. Meeraji was a leading poet of Halqa- e-Arbab-e-Zauq. Excessive drinking and irregular eating had damaged his liver, and his health started deteriorating at an early age. His last days were pitiful, and he died at the age of 37 at King Edward Memorial Hospital, Mumbai, on 3 November 1949.

Meeraji is known as the founder of a new school of poetry. Meeraji Ke Geet, Teen Rang, Iss Nazm Mein, Intikhab-e-Kalam, Baqiyat-e-Marij, Paband Nazmen, Khemay Ke Aas Paas, Mashriq o Maghrib Ke Naghmay, and Nigar Khana are some of his famous creations. He wrote 223 Nazms, 136 Geets, 17 Ghazals, and 22 verified translations. Moreover, Meeraji also wrote criticism articles.