As a college student, Sahir was popular for his ghazals and nazms (poetry in Urdu) and empassioned speeches. He then enrolled at the Government College, Ludhiana. Sahir was educated at the Khalsa High School in Ludhiana. Sahir's place of birth is marked with a small plaque on the building's arched entrance. He loved his mother, and he hated his father." Sardar Begum required protection from Sahir's father and suffered financial deprivation.
In a recent biography titled Sahir: A Literary Portrait ( Oxford University Press) written by US-based author Surinder Deol, the author agrees with the very brief conclusion of Pakistani poet Ahmad Rahi, a friend of Sahir over the years, about Sahir's life story in a nutshell, "In his entire life, Sahir loved once, and he nurtured one hate. In 1934, Sahir's father remarried and sued (acrimoniously and unsuccessfully) for custody of his son. His mother, Sardar Begum, left her husband thus forfeiting any claim to financial assets from the marriage. This is the reason why he added the suffix Ludhianvi after his name. Sahir was born on 8 March 1921, in a red sandstone haveli in Karimpura, Ludhiana, Punjab, India, into a Punjabi Muslim family. On 8 March 2013, the ninety-second anniversary of Sahir's birth, a commemorative stamp was issued in his honor. He won a second Filmfare Award for Best Lyricist for his work in Kabhie Kabhie (1976).
Sahir won a Filmfare Award for Best Lyricist for Taj Mahal (1963).
His work influenced Indian cinema, in particular Hindi language films. He is regarded one of the greatest and revolutionary film lyricist and poet of the 20th century India. Abdul Hayee (8 March 1921 – 25 October 1980), popularly known by his pen name ( takhallus) Sahir Ludhianvi, was an Indian poet and film song lyricist who wrote primarily in Urdu in addition to Hindi.