Kanwar Mohinder Singh Bedi Literary Trust
Preserving the Dawn · One Verse at a Time

کنور مہندر سنگھ سحر

Kunwar Mohinder Singh Bedi — sketch portrait

مرنا تو لازم ہے اک دن، جی بھر کے اب جی تو لوں
مرنے سے پہلے مر جانا میرے بس کی بات نہیں

मरना तो लाज़िम है इक दिन, जी भर के अब जी तो लूँ
मरने से पहले मर जाना मेरे बस की बात नहीं

Die I must, one day — so let me first drink life right to its brim;
To die before my dying — that lies beyond my reach.

He wrote for people who felt more than they could say.

What brings you here

His poetry His life Sahar in Song Yaadon ka Jashn
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Sher of the moment

آئے ہیں سمجھانے لوگ
ہیں کتنے دیوانے لوگ

आए हैं समझाने लोग
हैं कितने दीवाने लोग

They come to counsel, to set me right —
yet how many madmen wear the teacher's light.

— Yaadon ka Jashn

دیر و حرم میں چین جو ملتا
کیوں جاتے میخانے لوگ

दैर-ओ-हरम में चैन जो मिलता
क्यूँ जाते मैख़ाने लोग

If temple and mosque could set the soul at rest,
why would seekers turn to the tavern's guest?

— Kulliyaat e Sahar

جان کے سب کچھ کچھ بھی نہ جانیں
ہیں کتنے انجانے لوگ

जान के सब कुछ, कुछ भी न जानें
हैं कितने अनजाने लोग

Knowing everything, they know nothing at all —
strangers in wisdom, deaf to wisdom's call.

— Jashn e Sahar

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Now Available — A Milestone Release

A Celebration of Memories

The English translation of Yaadon ka Jashn — Sahar’s luminous memoir, now open to the English-reading world.

A Celebration of Memories — English edition cover

First English Edition

From the Trust · March 2026

“Memory is the poet’s first country — Sahar returned to it again and again, and we are richer for the journey.”

Translated with grace and erudition by Kamna Prasad — with an intimate introduction by Ashwajit SinghA Celebration of Memories carries Sahar’s Urdu memoir across the threshold of language, without surrendering its soul.

Part autobiography, part literary reverie, the book traces eight luminous decades — from a boyhood in pre-Partition Montgomery, through the corridors of administration, into a second life of mushairas and verse. The reader walks beside a poet-statesman who saw empire end, a nation born, and the dawn of a literary voice that is still breaking.

Author

KMS Bedi ‘Sahar’

Translator

Kamna Prasad

Introduction

Ashwajit Singh

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کوثر و گنگا سے پی کر بادۂ عرفان کا جام
آؤ اک دنیا کو دے ڈالیں محبت کا پیام
ہو یہی اپنا وطیرہ ہو یہی طرزِ کلام
با مسلمان اللہ اللہ، با برہمن رام رام

कौसर ओ गंगा से पीकर बादा-ए-इर्फ़ान का जाम
आओ एक दुनिया को दे डालें मुहब्बत का पैग़ाम
हो यही अपना वतीरा, हो यही तर्ज़-ए-कलाम
बा मुसलमान अल्लाह अल्लाह, बा ब्राह्मण राम राम

Let us drink from Kausar and Ganga — the wine of deeper sight;
Come, let us fill the world with love, with gentle light.
Let this be our way, our word, our calm —
To the Muslim, greet with 'Allah'; to the Brahmin, with 'Ram'.

— Kanwar Mohinder Singh Bedi 'Sahar'

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Enter His World

Eight portals into the life, mind, and voice of Kanwar Mohinder Singh Bedi Sahar.