Riffat Murtaza
1/23/2013

Last night I was reading an Urdu newspaper, published from NY and saw a news about someone who every now and then when talking about the places we had lived in, would come in our conversation. Shkeel Aazad. He died a few days ago in New York. We don’t know when did he come to US but I remember he got our number from a friend and called once. After that he was lost to us. Also, there was never a friendship to keep a follow up. He was someone we knew from a place, and remembered him but for a beautiful she’r.

dat Brelvi and two others on the penal would discuss. I remember Shakeel Aazad standing on the other side of the glass door and listening. When we came out, he stepped forward and expressed his appreciation.
He was a good poet. Really good poet, but never got his due recognition. The newspaper reported that he was a famous naat reciter. He was; but he wrote some excellent ghazals too that I heard him reciting in AD mushairahs. Though the only she’r by him that I remember is naatiyah

اِک شب کے لئے یا رب ،تو اپنا قلم دے دے
لکھنی ہے مدح مجھ کو، کونین کے مالک کی۔

ik shab key liyay yaarab tou apna qalam de dey
likhni hey mdah mujh-ko konain key maalik ki.
Rest in peace Shakeel Aazad!

Wednesday, January 23, 2013.