Noon Meem Rashid

Noon Meem Rashid Biography

Nazar Muhammad Rashed, popularly called Noon Meem Rashid or N.M. Rashed was an influential poet of modern Urdu poetry. Born in Alipur Chattha, Punjab, British India, his native place belongs to Pakistan after India partition. His poem "Zindagi sey dartey ho" was used for 2010 Aamir Khan’s productions – Peepli Live, performed by popular Indian music band - Indian Ocean. His works are prescribed in college and university Urdu syllabi. He is regarded as one of the pioneers of blank verse and free verse in Urdu.

His real name is Nazar Muhammad Janjua. He was born in 1910 in Alipur Chattha, Punjab, British India. After completing Master’s degree in economics from the Government College Lahore, he served for a short term in Royal Indian Army during the Second World War. Later he worked in AIR for Delhi and Lucknow till independence. Then he worked in United Nations in different countries and retired from service in 1973. He died in 1975 in London and his body was cremated.

He is regarded as one of the greatest progressive poets in Pakistani literature. He often highlighted Persian elements through his works. He was the first major exponent of free verse in Urdu Literature and also stood against the traditional ghazal style of writing in Urdu. His first collection - Ma’wara was published in the year 1941. His second published collection was Iran Mein Ajnabi. La Musavi Insan, 1969 and Gumaan Ka Mumkin, 1977 are his last published works. Gumaan Ka Mumkin was published posthumously. In 2010, Noon Meem Rashid’s birth centenary was widely celebrated.

Published: N/A

Updated: July 21, 2014