No one could have
ever imagined that the son of a struggling
worker of Jute Mill in Angas, Hooghly will raise so high and touch the sky.Life had not been a bed of roses, infact he had all the thorns to prick him in
the journey of life.
Hailing from a poor family, being
financed for education and schooling was next to impossible on the part of his parents. But it was his
utmost zeal and love for education that kept him enlightened inspite of hurdles
in life.
"I never gave up in life" or " Himmat mat haro" are the motto
of the famous poet Kaiser Shamim. Ups and downs, twist and turns in life are
there to judge and bring the best out of you.
In 1946, he was
admitted to Presidency Muslim High School and his father was an encouraging factor
and constant stick of support in his life. Reading novel wasn't considered
favourable those days.Inspite of being caught reading Munshi Premchand's Bazaare Husn, he was not scolded, though initially he got scared.His father
did not utter a single word, on the contrary he promoted his reading habits.
In 1953,Shamim passed out from Hooghly
High Madarsah, with result in his hands and watery eyes, he approached his dad. Father gave a pat on his back and said "Don't worry,pass next
time" he replied,"Abbu I have scored 1st Division but I Stood 2nd
in board". His dad was both happy and sad at the same time.He was a strong
proponent of education and always said " Illm hasil karne ke liye Padho,
naukri pane ke liye nahi".Though we can now recollect this as a famous
catchline of the movie "3 idiots"
Little did Shamim started
earning that a family crisis popped up and he was made to tie the knot.People
started critiscisng "Ab aanchal ki hawa lagi hai" and nothing more
can he come up with. But again he proved others wrong and in 1951 started
working in a weekly called Paras whose
editor was Lala Karam Chand.
Life has been even more struggling in the later years,he took
admission in English(hons) but was not able to pursue it further, he got a
compart in economics and so he switched over to Urdu.
Simultaneously he started teaching in school, many people
opposed it, but he crossed all the hurdles and moved ahead.
Later in life we get
to see the journalistic side of the poet.In 1960 he worked
with Akhuwat daily and in 1961 he worked as a subeditor with Rozana Hind.Life has
been very hectic those days, on majority of occasion
He use to sleep
around 2'o clock and get up at 6 pm. There was a time when dictionary served
as a pillow and the desk as bed.
Fighting and struggling
has been the order of the day in his life but he never gave up.He has now
turned out to be figure whom others recognized and paid due respect.He has also
been the source of research for young scholars.
Compiled by: Saima Afreen and Hena Ahmed
