मेलाराम वफ़ा

Mela Ram Wafa (1895–1980) was an Urdu poet, journalist and novelist from Dipoke in Sialkot district, Punjab, who also wrote songs for Hindi films of the 1940s. He began writing poetry at seventeen under the guidance of Raj Narayan 'Arman' Dehlvi, went on to edit several newspapers, and taught Urdu and Persian at National College, Lahore. His fiery nationalist poem 'Aye Farangi' earned him two years in a colonial prison, and the Punjab government later honoured him with the title of Raj-Kavi. His literary works include the verse collections Soz-e-Watan and Sang-e-Mil and the novel Chand Ka Safar. In cinema, he wrote lyrics — sharing credits with Qamar Jalalabadi — for Pagli (1943), whose songs included 'Piye Jaa Piye Jaa', 'Gulshan Me Ummido Ke Tum' and 'Husn Ki Ye Meharbani Phir Kaha', and he also contributed songs to Ragni (1945) under composer Pandit Amarnath. He died in Jalandhar in 1980.