Haider Amaan Haider’s poetic journey began by sheer accident

Raghib Hassan, Staff Reporter

If you happen to see him in his office in Dubai, chances are that you will take notice of Syed Amaan Haider Zaidi. He has been working in Dubai for a very long time and walking on tip toe, dealing with multiple applicants at a time, helping them sort out their problems and constantly ringing phone calls are part and parcel of his daily routine.

But the effort does not show: he does this with ease, all the while wearing a humble and courteous smile. Apart from this, it must be said his profile also requires lots of travelling and interaction with top diplomats of the country. Perhaps nowhere, even in the recesses of your wildest imagination, could you think that this man is a celebrated Urdu poet who is extremely popular in poetic circles all across the Urdu speaking world.

It is indeed amazing to see how our poet-public servant manages to wear two different hats simultaneously with equal aplomb. The young writer — Haider Amaan Haider is his pen name — has recently published his collection of poems titled “Apni Amaan Mein Rakhna” (Keep me in your eyes), which has been well received. Born in Muzzaffarnagar, Uttar Pradesh, India, and brought up in Rishikesh, a holy city of the country, Amaan did his post-graduation in Economics.

A job landed him in Dubai almost one and a half decades ago. He had worked in many top organisations in Dubai before moving on to VFS. When asked how did Urdu poetry intrude into his fast paced corporate life, he replied: “It was the year 2012 or 2013, and I had to go through little ups and downs emotionally on a personal front. I had started feeling very low.

I even consulted a psychiatrist to manage my emotional issues.” While he was trying to manage his see-saw affairs, his friends asked him to attend a Mushaira or a gathering of Urdu poets. Though he had no interest in poetry then, his friends forced him to attend it in Dubai. He happened to listen to celebrated Indian poet Manzar Bhopali and others there — and fell in love with what he heard.

Soon afterwards, he happened to visit Makkah and Madinah for Umrah, or the Lesser Pilgrimage, where, on the request of his friends, he also participated in a Mehfil (poetic gathering). That was his second brush with Urdu poetry. “For many years, I kept attending poetic gatherings in Madinah,” he revealed. It was the year 2012-2013, that his serious romance with Urdu poetry started.

A poet was born, albeit accidentally. He remembers that “beautiful verses started descending on my mind and I started noting them down on a piece of paper; and that’s how my unplanned poetic journey began.”

Today he is an acclaimed literary figure, who has performed at some of the most reputed global platforms across India, Iran, Iraq, USA, Canada, UK, Europe, Australia and the Middle East.

Amaan’s love for his mother, his values and unwavering attachment for his homeland India, is clearly palpable in his writing. He is deeply rooted in his homeland despite living a wonderful life outside India.