Poet Nirmal Darshan passes away, donates body for research
LUCKNOW : ‘Jism to azaad hamne kar liye, zehan bhi azaad hone chahiye’ (we have emancipated our bodies, but still need to do so with our minds). This was the last facebook post shared by poet Nirmal Darshan, 48, who passed away due to cardiac arrest in Agra on Saturday night after a year-long battle with cancer.
Paying homage to Darshan, poet Kumar Vishwas said, “He was one of my close friends -- a great human being. He lost his battle with cancer but will always remain among us.”
“I can’t forget his verses: Ye dil sab kuch gawana chahta hai, na jaane kya ye pana chahta hai. Ye aansu to bahana chahta hai, magar koi bahana chahta hai,” said Vishwas. Poet Sarvesh Asthana, another of Darshan’s close friends, said, “His original name was Nirmal Das Gurubhakt Darshan and he used to write poetry under the name ‘Nirmal Alami’. However, I advised him to change his name to Nirmal Darshan.”
Born in Ashrafpur village in Mehmoodabad, near Sitapur, Nirmal Darshan was the son of Shivbaranlal Varma -- a known ‘shayar’ (Urdu poet) of his time. He used to write ‘ghazals’ under the name of Beqran Alami. Darshan started reciting ‘shayari’ as a child. Poet Sanjay Mishra ‘Shauq’, who shared a long association with Darshan, said, “His poetry used to bring out the reality of our villages and the common man. For instance, lines like ‘Pehle mujhe saza di gayi, phir adalat mein laya gaya’.”
He said Darshan also penned a song for Muzaffar Ali’s ‘Husn-eJana’ -- a collection of Sufi ghazals. “He had the honour of reciting his poetry in the Sri Lankan Parliament as well,” said Mishra
After being diagnosed with cancer, Darshan decided to donate his body for medical research. True to that promise, on Sunday, his body was taken to the Lucknow Medical College after being brought here from Agra.