Noon Meem Rashid
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Nazar Muhammad Rashid (Template:Langx), (1 August 1910 – 9 October 1975) commonly known as Noon Meem Rashed (Template:Langx) or N.M. Rashed, was a Pakistani poet of modern Urdu poetry.<ref name=Rekhta>Profile of Noon Meem Rashid on rekhta.org website Retrieved 1 June 2018</ref>
Early life and education
Rashid was born Nazar Muhammad into a Punjabi family of the Rajput in the village of Kot Bhaaga, Alipur Chatha,<ref>{{#invoke:citation/CS1|citation |CitationClass=web }}</ref> Wazirabad, Gujranwala District, Punjab. His father Fazal Ilahi Chishti was an Islamic scholar fond of Urdu poetry, especially Ghalib.<ref name=":0">Raza Mir. I Come Bearing Dreams: N.M. Rashed and Modernist Urdu Poetry. The Punch Magazine. Accessed May 7, 2025.</ref>
He earned a Master's degree in Economics from the Government College Lahore.<ref name="Poets122006">Template:Cite encyclopedia</ref> He also studied English literature.<ref name=":0" />
Writing career
Rashed his first poem Jurrat-e-Parwaz (The Courage to Fly) in 1932 as a college student while he published his first collection of poetry in a book-form, Maavra (Beyond), in 1940.<ref name=":0" />
He is considered to be the 'father of Modernism' in Urdu Literature. Along with Faiz Ahmed Faiz, he is one of the great progressive poets in Pakistani literature.<ref name="Poets122006" />
His readership is limited and recent social changes have further hurt his stature and there seems to be a concerted effort not to promote his poetry. His first book of free verse, Mavra, was published in 1940 and established him as a pioneering figure in 'free form' Urdu poetry.<ref name="Poets122006" />
Other work
Military service
He served for a short time in the Royal Indian Army during the Second World War, attaining the rank of captain.<ref name=":0" />
Politics
For some time he was associated with Inayatullah Khan Mashriqi.<ref name=":0" />
Radio work
Before independence of Pakistan in 1947, he worked with All India Radio in New Delhi and Lucknow starting in 1942. He was transferred to Peshawar in 1947 where he worked until 1953. Later he was hired by Voice of America and had to move to New York City for this job. Then, for a short while, he lived in Iran.
Diplomacy
Later on, he worked for the United Nations in New York.<ref name="Poets122006" />
Rashed served the UN and worked in many countries.
Last years and death
He retired to England in 1973 and died in a London hospital in 1975.<ref name=Rekhta/>
Reception and legacy
Faiz Ahmad Faiz called him Malik-ush-Shoara (the king of poets).<ref name=":0" />
Bollywood
His poem "Zindagi sey dartey ho" was set to music in the 2010 Bollywood movie, Peepli Live. It was performed by the Indian music band, Indian Ocean, and received critical appreciation as "hard-hitting" and "a gem of a track" that "everyone is meant to sing, and mean, at some point in life".<ref name="indiatimes2010grx">Template:Citation</ref><ref name="bollycurry2010ubl">Template:Citation</ref>
College hall
At Government College Lahore a hall is named after him as "Noon Meem Rashid Hall" at Postgraduate Block Basement.<ref name="Poets122006" />
Books
- Mavraa (Beyond) 1940<ref name=southasian/>
- Iran Main Ajnabi (A stranger in Iran)
- La Musawi Insaan (Nothingness = Man) 1969
- Gumaan ka Mumkin (Speculations) published posthumously in 1976 <ref name=southasian>Profile of Noon Meem Rashid on the-south-asian.com website Template:Webarchive Published January 2002, Retrieved 1 June 2018</ref>
- Maqalat (Essays)- Ed. Shima Majeed, 2002.