M Sayeed Alam, with the help of his senior Danish Iqbal, co-wrote and directed the play Sir Iqbal. He shares with Shrabasti Mallik how Sir Mohammad Iqbal, who penned Saare jahan se accha, lost an eye when he was three years old
We are all familiar with the song Saare jahan se accha because we either sing or hear it at every patriotic event in the country. But very few people know about the person who penned the lyrics Sir Muhammad Iqbal. For several years, M Sayeed Alam has been harbouring a wish of putting together a play on the poet but could never do so.
But with the help of the Bengal Government and his senior professor Danish Iqbal, he was not only able to write a script but was also able to structure a play, titled Sir Iqbal, around it.
How did the thought of conceptualising a play on Sir Muhammad Iqbal cross your mindIJ
The thought of working on a play on Sir Muhammad Iqbal has been there in some corner of my head for a long times several years to be precise. But nothing materialised from it because I was always scared to write about him one of the greatest poet and philosopher of all times.
However, fortunately, we received an offer from West Bengal Government last year to do a play on Iqbal. I accepted the offer and requested my senior professor Danish Iqbal, who himself was planning to write a play on Sir Muhammad Iqbal, to help me.
He in fact did most of the research and gave me all the information that I required about the poet. Truthfully, my role as the script writer of this play is limited. It is the same case in preparing a stage friendly version out of the material/script provided by professor Danish Iqbal.
What kind for research did you do to write the script of the playIJ
Well, while professor Danish Iqbal was doing most of the research, I, too, took the opportunity to read about Sir Iqbal myself. I read his entire Urdu Kalaam (poetry) once again and a few biographical works on the poet which were written by his close friends. I was immensely helped by the works done on him by Iqbal Academy, Pakistan. And to my surprise I found them the most objective, neutral and authentic works on Sir Iqbal.
Which phase of the poet’s life will it portrayIJ
Sir Iqbal, the play, will portray all the phases of his life beginning from his tragic childhood to his tragic death and from his student days in lahore to his emergence as one of the greatest poet and philosophers of the world.
In the course of the research, were there any interesting and unknown facts about the life of Sir Iqbal that you foundIJ
Oh there were many! Not many people know, and I did not know at all, that Sir Iqbal lost his right eye when he was barely three years old. He could not see from his right eye all throughout his life.
In fact, he is also hailed as a gold medallist from the prestigious Government College of lahore and this is a much talked about fact. But not many people know that he earned the honour by virtue of being the only student of MA (philosophy) class.
Sir Iqbal will be staged on Sunday, March 20 at 7pm at Shri Ram Centre