Syed Akbar Hussain, popularly known as Akbar Allahabadi was an Indian Urdu poet, widely acknowledged as a master of satire. He was born in the town of Bara, eleven miles from Allahabad, to a family of Sayyids who originally came to India from Persia as soldiers.
His father, Moulvi Tafazzul Hussain served as a naib tehsildar and his mother belonged to a zamindar family of Jagdishpur village from the Gaya district in Bihar.
Akbar received his early education from his father at home. In 1855, his mother moved to Allahabad and settled in Mohalla Chowk. Akbar was admitted to the Jamuna Mission School for English education in 1856, but he abandoned his school education in 1859. However, he continued to study English and read widely.
A very infamous Ghazal “Hungama Hai Kyon Barpa” written by Akbar Allahabadi and most prominently sung by Ghulam Ali. Verses from his poetry also found their way into the famous qawwali “Tum ik Gorakh Dhanda Ho” by Nusrat Fateh Ali Khan. A number of Akbar Allahabadi’s poems were used in the 2015 Hindi film Masaan.
Here’s looking at famous Shayari by Akbar Allahabadi:
Ham aah bhī Karte haiñ to ho jaate haiñ badnām
vo qatl bhī Karte haiñ to charchā nahīñ hotā
log kahte haiñ badaltā hai zamāna sab ko
mard vo haiñ jo zamāne ko badal dete haiñ
aah jo dil se nikālī jā.egī
kyā samajhte ho ki ḳhālī jā.egī
jo kahā maiñ ne ki pyaar aatā hai mujh ko tum par
hañs ke kahne lagā aur aap ko aatā kyā hai
ishq nāzuk-mizāj hai behad
aql kā bojh uThā nahīñ saktā
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