Naqsh Lyallpuri

Jaswant Rai Sharma (24 February 1928 – 22 January 2017), popularly known by his pen name Naqsh Lyallpuri, was an Indian ghazal and Bollywood film lyricist.

Jaswant Rai Sharma was born in Lyallpur (now called Faisalabad and in present-day Pakistan) on 24 February 1928 to a Punjabi Brahmin family.

His father, a mechanical engineer, wanted Jaswant to be an engineer, too.

He disapproved of Jaswant's affinity for literature, saying that he would never be able to earn a living through writing stories and ditties.

Sharma was only eight years old when his mother died of chickenpox.

His father remarried a couple of years later, something which the young Sharma resented.

In 1946, the 18-year-old Sharma moved to Lahore looking for work and took a job at a publishing house named Hero Publications.

After the Partition of India, the entire family migrated to Lucknow in India.

In 1951, Sharma moved to Bombay and started working at The Times of India as a proofreader.

Around this time, he married Kamlesh, a lady of his own community and similar family background, in a match arranged by their families in the usual Indian way.

The marriage was conventional and entirely harmonious.

Lyallpuri credits his wife as his "pillar of strength" who supported him in his unsuccessful years.

The couple had three sons, Bappan, Rajendra, and Suneet.

His family members also adopted "Lyallpuri" as their surname.

His second son, Rajendra "Rajan" Lyallpuri, is a cinematographer.

Sharma used to write ditties and small poems since a young age.

It was a natural talent he had.

After the partition of India made the family quite destitute, and his job brought him to Mumbai, which was the hub of the Hindi film industry, Sharma decided to see if he could make some money on the side by writing songs for films.

He started writing stage plays and was introduced to actor Ram Mohan, who was an assistant to actor-director Jagdish Sethi.

Mohan introduced Sharma to Sethi, who listened to his poetry and asked him to write songs for his next film.

At this point, Sharma took on the pen name "Naqsh" – meaning an impression, a mark or a print – and added "Lyallpuri" to it, following the tradition of Urdu poets to associate with their birthplace.

Lyallpuri debuted as a film lyricist with the 1953 film Jaggu, writing the lyrics of "Agar Teri Aankhon Se Aankhein Mila Doon", rendered by Asha Bhosle and composed by Hansraj Bahl.

He also penned one of the most memorable Talat Mehmood hits from 1956 film "Diwali Ki raat", "zindagi kis mod par" with music director Snehal Bhatkar.

Until the 1970s, Lyallpuri's work did not meet with much success.

He worked first at the Times of India and then in the postal department to earn his living.

Music director Jaidev introduced him to television serials and asked him to write lyrics for the Hindi television series Shrikant.

Lyallpuri went on to write songs for about 50 TV serials along with nearly 40 Punjabi films.

Lyallpuri collaborated with various Bollywood music directors, including Madan Mohan, Khayyam, Sapan Jagmohan, Jaidev, Naushad, and Ravindra Jain, and Punjabi music composers like Surinder Kohli, Hansraj Bahl, Ved Sethi, and Husnlal-Bhagatram.

He had a close association with director B. R. Ishara from their first film, Chetna, in 1970, which Lyallpuri's song "Main Toh Har Mod Par Tujhko Doonga Sada" performed by Mukesh.

Lyallpuri's songs have been noted for being "hummable", although they did not make a major impact on the overall industry.

He avoided unwarranted wordplay and kept the lyrics simple, although he used Urdu words frequently.

His command of Urdu made many doubt his Punjabi ethnicity.

In his earlier career, he faced competition from Sahir Ludhianvi, Hasrat Jaipuri, and Shailendra and later from other Urdu-poets like Gulzar and Majrooh Sultanpuri, who were all well established in the Hindi film industry.

Lyallpuri hence focused on Hindi B-grade films and Punjabi films.

He is best known for the songs "Rasm-e-Ulfat Ko Nibhayen" (Dil Ki Rahen, 1973), “Ulfat Mein Zamaane Ki” (Call Girl, 1974), "Tumhe Ho Na Ho" (Gharonda, 1977), "Yeh Mulaqaat Ek Bahana Hai " (Khandaan, 1979), "Pyar Ka Dard Hai" (Dard, 1981), and "Chitthiye Ni Dard Firaaq Vaaliye" (Henna, 1991).

His 1973 song "Rasm-e-Ulfat Ko Nibhayen" for the film Dil Ki Rahen was sung by Lata Mangeshkar.

Mangeshkar counts it as her favourite Lyallpuri song but gives credit for its success to the music composed by Madan Mohan, based on raag Madhuvanti and the lyrics written by Lyallpuri, rather than her own singing.

Lyallpuri is best known for the song "Tumhe Ho Na Ho" from the film Gharonda (1977), sung by Bangladeshi singer Runa Laila.

The song is often wrongly ascribed to Gulzar, who wrote the other songs in the film, whereas the song "Do Deewane Shahar Mein" in the same film is misattributed to Lyallpuri.

The 1979 song "Yeh Mulaqaat Ek Bahana Hai" in the film Khandaan is noted for its unusual ghazal format.