When Javed Akhtar returned Sahir Ludhianvi ‘s money

Mumbai(Team Nexsbuddy) : There was a time when Javed Akhtar was going through tough times. In such moments, he decided to seek help from Sahir Ludhianvi. He called and arranged to meet him.

On that day, Sahir saw sadness on Javed’s face and asked, “Hey young man, how are you feeling, feeling down?” Javed explained that he was going through difficult times, running out of money. He asked Sahir if he could help him find some work.

Javed Akhtar recalls an odd habit of Sahir’s; when troubled, he would take a small comb from the back pocket of his pants and run it through his hair. When something troubled his mind, he would comb his hair. He did the same then. After thinking for a while, he said in his familiar tone, “Sure young man, let’s see what I can do.”

Pointing towards the nearby table, he said, “I’ve seen bad days too young man, for now, take this, let’s see what can be done.” Javed Akhtar saw that there were two hundred rupees on the table.

They could have placed the money in my hand, but it was the sensitivity of that man that made him feel that he might feel bad. It was his nature that even while giving money, he wasn’t looking at me.

Their meetings with Sahir increased, as the stories in films like Trishul, Deewar, and Kaala Patthar were by Salim-Javed, and the songs were by Sahir Sahab. They often sat together discussing stories, songs, dialogues, and more. During this time, Javed would often mischievously tell Sahir, “Sahir Saab! You have those two hundred rupees of yours with me, I can give them to you, but I won’t.” Sahir would smile. When people sitting with them asked which two hundred rupees, Sahir would say, “Ask him about them,” and this cycle continued.

Meetings between Sahir and Javed Akhtar continued, literary gatherings continued, time passed.

And then after a long time, the date came, October 25, 1980. It was late evening when Javed received a call from Sahir’s family doctor, Dr. Kapoor. There was urgency and pain in his voice. He said Sahir Ludhianvi was no more. He had suffered a heart attack. Hearing this was not easy for Javed Akhtar.

As quickly as he could, he reached their home only to see the most charismatic star of Urdu poetry wrapped in a white shroud. He says, “Apart from his two sisters, B.R. Chopra and other people from the film industry were also present there. When I went close to him, my hands were trembling. When I removed the shroud, both his hands were placed on his chest. I remembered the time when I used to meet him in the early days. I touched his palms and felt that these were the same hands that wrote such beautiful songs but now they were cold.”

Arrangements were made to bury Sahir in Juhu Cemetery. It was the time of early morning, after waiting all night, Sahir was to be buried in the morning. This is the same cemetery where the graves of Mohammad Rafi, Majrooh Sultanpuri, Madhubala, and Talat Mahmood are. Sahir was buried with all the rituals of a Muslim funeral. All the people who came returned after a while, but Javed Akhtar sat by the grave for a long time.

After sitting for a long time, Javed Akhtar got up and started to leave with moist eyes. He was about to sit in his car when someone called out to him. Javed Akhtar turned around and saw Sahir’s friend Ashfaq Sahab.

Ashfaq, at that time, was the husband of the famous writer Wahida Tabassum, who had a good rapport with Sahir. Ashfaq was coming hurriedly; he was wearing a suit, perhaps he got the news early in the morning and came straight from home. As soon as he came, he said to Javed, “Do you have some money? It needs to be given to the one making the grave, I came in a hurry.” Javed Akhtar took out his wallet and asked, “Yes, how much do I need to give?” He said, “Two hundred rupees.”