Khumar Barabankvi was an Urdu poet whose real name was Mohammed Haider Khan. Hailing from Barabanki in Uttar Pradesh, he wrote under the pseudonym Khumar, which is a derivative of the Arabic word meaning ‘intoxication’.

Born in 1919, Barabankvi has left his mark in the Hindi film industry through movies like “Shahjahan” (1946), “Baradari” (1955) and “Saaz Aur Awaaz” (1966). His closest association in the industry was with music composer Naushad, for whom he has written many songs.

A collection of his poems has been published under the title, “Aatish-E-Tar”. Khumar passed away in 1999 at the age of 80.