Saghar Sadiq’s father had rejected Saqib’s love interest, stating that they were from a prestigious family and couldn’t accept a daughter-in-law from a modest background. Frustrated, Saghar married the girl in a remote district of Hafizabad, Punjab, but the marriage didn’t lead to success.
زندگی جبر مسلسل کی طرح کاٹی ہے
جانے کس جرم کی پائی ہے سزا، یاد نہیں
آؤ اک سجدہ کریں عالم مدہوشی میں
لوگ کہتے ہیں کہ ساغر کو خدا یاد نہیں
Despite the challenges, Saghar abandoned all the comforts of his home and began living in Data Nagar, Lahore. When his beloved found out about Saghar’s new residence in Data Darbar, she finally decided to approach him.
Saghar was living in poverty, struggling with depression and addiction during his last few years. He often resorted to begging on the streets, sometimes sleeping on the footpaths, but he never gave up on his poetry.
His life had been a continuous struggle, and he expressed his pain and frustration in his poetry. His poems reflected the harsh realities he faced, the unknown crime for which he was punished, and the bitterness of life.
People say that when General Ayub Khan was the President of Pakistan, he was invited as a special guest to an event in India. During the event, a poet recited a poignant poem, and when he finished, General Ayub Khan praised the poem, believing it must have been written with tears of blood. When he asked the poet for his name, the poet replied that it was Saghar Sadiq, a poet from Pakistan.
Upon his return to Pakistan, General Ayub Khan sent a delegation with a message of respect and honor for Saghar Sadiq. However, when the delegation arrived at Data Darbar and inquired about Saghar Sadiq’s residence, they were met with laughter and mockery from the locals who assumed that Saghar, the beggar and addict, couldn’t possibly be the same poet. They pointed to the chaotic scene of beggars and addicts and said that he was somewhere among them. The delegation returned with the disheartening news.
General Ayub Khan later visited Lahore to meet Saghar Sadiq personally. When he finally confronted Saghar, who was in a wretched state due to addiction and misery, General Ayub’s eyes filled with tears. He reached out to shake Saghar’s hand, but Saghar, with a bitter smile, pulled his hand back and recited a couplet:
“جس عہد میں لٹ جائے غریبوں کی کمائی
اس عہد کے سلطاں سے، کوئی بھول ہوئی ہے ”
Saghar’s life had taken a toll on his art and well-being, but he remained a poet till the end.
