Ever wondered what’s the connection between the word ‘Pahar’ and ‘Pahre-Daar’? In ancient India, ‘Pahar’ used to be the unit of keeping time - with each day consisting of 8 Pahars, and each Pahar as long as 3 hours.

During each Pahar, a ‘Pahre-Daar’ would be performing watchmanship, and at the end of each hour, he would strike a metal bell and announce that he was on guard; besides, it was also the way to know what time it was. ‘Pahar’ is derived from the Sanskrit word ‘Prahar’.

The word ‘Pahre-Daar’, however, has now been limited to meanings such as watchman, guard, or sentry. In Urdu poetry, the phrases ‘Aath Pahar’, ‘Raat Ke Pichhle Pahar’, and ‘Sih-Pahar’ are abundantly found. Like:
sih-pahar hī se koī shakl banātī hai ye shaam
ḳhud jo rotī hai mujhe bhī to rulātī hai ye shaam

In Persian, ‘Sih’ means three. And, the third Pahar of a day is also known as ‘Sih-Pahar’.

Guru Dutt loved the Urdu language immensely. A great many examples of beautiful Urdu language and poetry are there in his movies which still influence the film industry to this day.
His film "Pyaasa", which has been named one of the top ten films in the world by the famous British film scholar Laura Mulvey in Site & Sound magazine, has as its central character a poet, Vijay, played by Guru Dutt. Sahir wrote the songs for this 1957 film, which are still etched in our memories. One of Sahir’s old poems 'Chakle' was used in the film by Guru Datt after some modifications. Abrar Alvi, who hails from Lucknow, wrote the dialogues of the film in everyday, eloquent Urdu.
In one scene of the film, there is a small poetry session in which some poets are reciting verses. One poet, who is playing the role and has the appearance of Majaz, recites one of Majaz’s couplets:
is mahfil-e-kaif-o-mastii me.n is anjuman-e-irfaanii me.n
sab jaam-ba-kaf baiThe hii rahe ham pii bhii ga.e chhalkaa bhii ga.e

And, adorned in a Sherwani and Topi, an elderly poet recited this couplet of Jigar Moradabadi in classic Urdu style:
kaam aaKHir jazba-e-be-iKHtiyaar aa hii gayaa
dil kuchh is suurat se ta.Dpaa un ko pyaar aa hii gayaa

Dilip Kumar had an extremely cultivated taste of Urdu literature. He spoke and wrote a very refined Urdu and English language and also knew Persian, often reciting couplets of the likes of Rumi, Hafiz, and Iqbal during his conversations. What’s more, he had even committed to memory phrases from Urdu short-stories. He also read literary journals like Adab-e-Latif, Nuquush, Funuun, Saaqi and Adabi Duniya, and even had a large personal library; one where he would read every night. At Mushairas, he would very fervently participate and read speeches as the chief guest which were no less than any other piece of literature. In 1976, at a Mushaira in Hyderabad, he recited a Nazm by Akhtar-ul-Iman which he remembered word for word. Dilip Kumar was also a script writer. In 1964, he wrote the script for the film ‘Leader’ under an old thick-shaded tree in ‘Filmaaya Studio’. In this film, the politics of voting is depicted.