Saeed Khan

Saeed Khan سعید خان
Born	(1966-07-19) 19 July 1966 Khanpur Dam, Hazara, Pakistan
Nationality	Australian Pakistani
Occupation	IT Management Consulting
Known for	Urdu Poetry, advocacy

Saeed Khan (Urdu: سعید خان‎; born 19 July 1966) is an Australian writer, Urdu poet and social and environmental advocate.^[1] Saeed's poetry is a combination of classical and modern Urdu ghazal and poems full of romance. Famous poet Ahmad Faraz praised his poetry.^[2]

Early life

Khan was born in Khanpur area (Khanpur Dam) in Hazara Pakistan, Pakistan on 19 July 1966.^[1] He received master's degrees in management and an MBA (e-business management) from the University of Technology, Sydney.^[3]

Khan has lived in Sydney for over 25 years. He was the general secretary of the Pakistan Association of Australia from 1999 to 2001 and for many years campaigned for refugee rights and multiculturalism.^[1][4] Khan grew up in the north of Pakistan and continued his passion for poetry after he moved to Sydney, Australia, during the late 1980s. Khan is married to an Urdu poet, Noshi Gilani and they live in Sydney.^[5]

Career

Khan co-founded the Urdu Academy of Australia (Sydney) with his wife Noshi Gilani in 2009. The academy organises monthly sittings in Sydney to promote Urdu poetry and literature.^[1][6][7][8] Khan joined the Australian Greens in 2003 as he was attracted to their environmental, social and human rights policies. Khan left politics in 2008 after one term on Marrickville Council. Some of the highlights included: Marrickville Council, Sydney: Elected as a Greens' Councillor from March 2004 – September 2008, chaired a number of Council and Advisory committees. Australian Greens candidate for the Sydney electorate of Grayndler, succeeded in gaining nearly 20% of the primary vote in Greens 2nd largest electorate in the country.^[3]

Ethnic Communities' Council of New South Wales* (ECC NSW): Elected Deputy chairman (2007–2009, 2009–2011) and vice-chairman (2005–2007) of the ECC, the peak representative body of diverse migrant communities of NSW. Founding board member since 2007. Co-founded the ICD, a think-tank to promote a cross-political approach to issues of cultural diversity.^[9] The Across My Bridge project concept was conceived of by Khan during his time at Marrickville Council. Khan initiated the approach to Beyond Empathy and brokered the relationship with the lead funding body: The Department of Immigration and Citizenship (DIAC). Across My Bridge (2006–2009) was an innovative and responsive project that was designed to provide young people from the Muslim community with a ‘stepping stone into the mainstream’. One effective way of creating a sense of balance is to provide arts and cultural interventions. Utilising a secular, integrated approach and targeting youth who (as a result of their isolation) do not access existing services, Across My Bridge provided a creative, safe space for these young people from the Muslim community to explore their lives and role in the community.^[10][11][12]

During his time as a Marrickville Councillor (2004–2008) Khan was one of the main activists campaigning against the federal government unfair laws that protect Sydney Airport from both State and local Planning Controls. In August 2004, Khan revitalised the campaign against the Sydney Airport expansion and was successful in uniting neighbouring councils in a mayoral campaign against the Airport overdevelopment and forcing the State Government to challenge Federal Government planning powers.^{[13][14][15][16]}

Reviews

The acclaimed Urdu poet Ahmad Faraz praised his poetry by saying "Saeed's voice is like a fresh breeze for Urdu poetry".^[17][18]

Urdu poet and critic Dr Abrar Ahmad reviewed Saeed Khan's second book Eik Muthi Mein Mere Khwab (A Handful of Dreams) in 2007. He wrote;

"The collection is heavily dominated by ghazal and unfolds a promise of going ahead with brilliance in this genre. The strongest point he scores here is his creative ability to utilize words in their proper meaning. His stance is essentially neoclassical. He seems deeply immersed in the greater ghazal tradition, and understands high class ghazal. All his work is meant to convey some thoughts, ideas and feelings. Subjective issues occupy the main bulk of his content. These include a longing, a sense of loss, an unquenched thirst for love and allied feelings. But he is fully conscious of the objectivity around and far from him".^[18] "At places he offers political comments, at others he turns philosophical. A wave of romanticism runs through as an undercurrent in all his poetry".^[2]

Publications

• manzar baat karte hain (منظر بات کرتے ہیں), published in Lahore/Sialkot by Bangash Publishers, 2003
• Aik Muthi Mein Merey Khwab 2007 (ایک مٹھی میں مرے خواب)
• Hijrat Ke Parinday (ہجرت کے پرندے), (Migratory birds) published by Mavra Publishers, Lahore.2007/2011
• Sehra Ka Gulab (Desert Rose), published by Mavra Publishers, Lahore.2012

References