Meet Dubai executive who turns poet and lyricist after hours, creating magic with Bollywood singers

Dubai: By day, he is Amaan Haider Zaidi, a top executive with a global visa outsourcing and technology services company in Dubai. By evening and on weekends, he becomes Haider Amaan Haider, an Urdu poet who found solace in verse during his darkest days seven years ago.

The Indian expat has now embarked on a musical journey, taking his poetry from book pages to streaming platforms worldwide. Earlier this year, he released his debut ghazal album with celebrated Bollywood singer Shaan and is now working on a Sufi project with composer Salim Merchant of the renowned Salim-Sulaiman duo.

Shaan’s album, Ghazal Ho Gayi, features six ghazals—four from Haider’s poetry book Apni Amaan Main Rakhna and two written specially for the album. The release has struck a chord with listeners across generations discovering Urdu poetry through music.

"This album is very close to my heart. I'm humbled by the love it has received. From traditional ghazal lovers to young listeners, the response has been overwhelming and deeply encouraging," Haider told Gulf News.

The collaboration with Shaan began during Expo 2020 Dubai at the India Pavilion. The two share a connection through Indian classical music legend and Padma Vibhushan awardee Ustad Ghulam Mustafa Khan, who was close to Haider and also Shaan’s guru.

"He had heard some of my ghazals and once said, 'These words already have music in them.' That's how our journey began," Haider recalled.

Hearing his poetry performed in Shaan’s voice for the first time was emotional. "Unreal. It felt like my emotions had finally found their own sound. His voice added a new dimension to my words," he said.

Some ghazals were written specifically with Shaan’s voice in mind. "His voice carries both depth and delicacy—perfect for ghazals," Haider explained.

Haider is now collaborating with Salim Merchant on a spiritually inspired project.

"It’s very close to my heart and dives into the spiritual essence of poetry, blending the timeless depth of Sufi thought with contemporary global sounds," he revealed.

Unlike Ghazal Ho Gayi, which celebrated love and longing, this new work explores self-discovery.

"The album with Shaan dada was about love and beauty. This collaboration with Salim bhai moves in a different direction—less about romance, more about the spiritual journey within," Haider explained.

Haider admires Salim’s ability to bridge cultures through music. "It blends Indian roots with global sounds, giving my poetry a universal language that touches hearts beyond borders," he said.

The collaboration aims to create music that feels both rooted and universal. "It’s an experiment, but one we hope will touch listeners on a deeper, more personal level," Haider added.

Haider believes such collaborations are reviving Urdu poetry. "Music has reintroduced Urdu poetry to the youth. Today, ghazals are streaming everywhere," he said.

He sees a global revival of Urdu verse. "Through social media and streaming, it’s connecting hearts beyond boundaries," he noted.

Haider has represented Indian Urdu poetry across continents, earning international recognition.

"Every stage feels like home because poetry has no borders. Audiences connect not just with words but with emotions—and that’s the most rewarding part," he said.

He was recently honoured by the World Book of Records London for his literary and cultural contributions.

He has a new poetry collection forthcoming and plans multilingual projects. "I'm planning cross-language collaborations in English, Arabic, Singali, and Pashto," he revealed.

As noted in a first report on him in Gulf News four years ago, Haider turned to poetry to overcome depression following personal tragedy. Since then, his creative focus has evolved toward spirituality and self-discovery.

"They feel like the essence of this phase of my life," he reflected.

Music, he says, added another layer of healing. "Music turned silence into serenity. It gave my pain a rhythm and my hope, a voice," said Haider, who works as Head of Corporate Affairs at VFS Global in Dubai.

Born in a remote village in Muzaffarnagar, Uttar Pradesh, and raised in Rishikesh, Uttarakhand, Haider credits the UAE, his home for 17 years, for life-changing experiences through poetry and music.

Drawing inspiration from legends like Mir Taqi Mir, Faiz, Ahmed Faraz, Rahat Indori, Syed Irtaza Ali, Jagjit Singh, Shaan, A.R. Rahman, and Salim Merchant, Haider has carved his own space in the industry.

"The words come first—music finds them later. Write what you feel, not what sells. Poetry isn’t about perfection; it’s about honesty. If your words move even one heart, they’ve done their job,” he said in a message to budding poets.