Kunwar Mohinder Singh Bedi, pen name Sahar, was an Indian Urdu poet.[2][3] The Times of India called him a "noted Urdu poet".[4]
Sahar was born in Chak Bedi, Montgomery District, Punjab, British India on 9 March 1909.[1] Montgomery District fell in Pakistan after partition of India-Pakistan and his family shifted to Fazilka, India. Montgomery District was later named as Sahiwal District.
His poetry is varied and includes traditional themes of love and yearning but also themes of unity, peace between India and Pakistan and humor. His poetry is considered to belong to the same transreligious and transnational tradition as that of other well-known poets from the Indian subcontinent such as Muhammad Iqbal, Faiz Ahmad Faiz and Ahmad Faraz.[5]
Sahar's first book of poetry was T̤ulūʻ-i-Saḥar (1962)[6] (translation "Advent of Daybreak"; the title is a play on words as pen name "Sahar", in Urdu means daybreak). In 1983, he published a collection of autobiographical poetry titled Yādon̲ kā Jashn ("A Celebration of Memories").[7]
An international event to celebrate his poetry, called Jashan-e-Sahar ("A celebration for Sahar"), was held in the UAE in 1992.[8]
An example of his use of humor to make a serious point is the following ruba'i:
Waiz ki jawani bhi kiya shaiy hai khuda rakhay yeh waqaf e aghaz o anjam nahi hoti youn lazat e duniya se mehromi o nakami Allah ki lathi mein awaz nahi hoti
The preacher's youth is something to behold it does not know a beginning or an end this abstention from the joys of the world God's punishment is indeed silent
Kanwar Mohinder Singh Bedi was also involved in the Indian film industry and produced three movies:
An award was created in his honor known as the Kanwar Mohinder Singh Bedi Award, presented by Haryana Urdu Akademi. In 2023 it carried a cash prize of INR 21,000, a shawl, a memento and citation.[9][10]