Ashfaq Ahmed
- Not to be confused with the Pakistani physicist Ishfaq Ahmad or the Indian football player Ishfaq Ahmed.
Ashfaq Ahmed اشفاق احمد | |
|---|---|
| Born | August 22, 1925 Garhmukteshwar village, Ghaziabad, British India |
| Died | September 7, 2004 (aged 79) Lahore, Pakistan |
| Occupation | Writer, playwright, intellectual |
| Nationality | Pakistani |
| Genre | Fiction, Non-Fiction |
| Subject | Literature, philosophy, psychology, socialism |
| Literary movement | Sufi literature |
| Notable works | Zaviya Aik Muhabbat Sau Afsanay Gadaria Mun Chalay Ka Sauda Hairat Kadah, |
| Notable awards | Sitara-i-Imtiaz[1] [2] Pride of Performance[3] |
| Spouse | Bano Qudsia |
| Website | |
| www.zaviia.com | |
Ashfaq Ahmed (Template:Lang-ur; 22 August 1925 – 7 September 2004) was a writer, playwright, broadcaster, intellectual and spiritualist from Pakistan. [4] Ashfaq Ahmed authored more than twenty books in Urdu. His works included novels, short stories and plays for television and radio.[5]
He was awarded President’s Pride of Performance and Sitara-i-Imtiaz for meritorious services in the field of literature and broadcasting.[6]
Early Life
Ahmed was born in Garhmukteshwar village, Ghaziabad, British India. He obtained his early education in his native district. Shortly before independence in 1947, he migrated to Pakistan and settled in Lahore, Punjab.[7] He completed his Masters in Urdu literature from Government College Lahore. Bano Qudsia, his wife and companion in Urdu literary circles, was his classmate at Government College.[8]
Education
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After Partition, when Ashfaq Ahmed arrived at the Walton refugee camp with millions of other migrants, he used to make announcements on a megaphone around the clock. Later, he got a job in Radio Azad Kashmir, which was established on a truck that used to drive around in various parts of Kashmir. He then got lectureship at Dayal Singh College, Lahore for two years. Whereafter, he went to Rome to join Radio Rome as an Urdu newscaster.[8] He also used to teach Urdu at Rome university. During his stay in Europe, he received diplomas in the Italian and French languages from the University of Rome and University of Grenoble, France. He also earned a special training diploma in radio broadcasting from New York University.[7]
Career
He started writing stories in his childhood, which were published in Phool [Flower] magazine. After returning to Pakistan from Europe, he took out his own monthly literary magazine, Dastaango [Story Teller], and joined Radio Pakistan as a script writer. He was made editor of the popular Urdu weekly, Lail-o-Nahar [Day and Night], in place of famous poet Sufi Ghulam Mustafa Tabassum by the Government of Pakistan.[4]
In 1962, Ashfaq Ahmed started his popular radio program, Talqeen Shah [The Preacher] which made him immensely popular among the people in towns and villages.[9] He was appointed director of the Markazi Urdu Board in 1966, which was later renamed as Urdu Science Board, a post he held for 29 years.[7] He remained with the board until 1979. He also served as adviser in the Education Ministry during Zia-ul-Haq's regime.[3] In the 60s, he produced a feature film, Dhoop aur Saie [Shadows and Sunshine], which was not very successful at the box office.
Later Years and Death
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Besides his personality as a great author of impressive and laudable books, Ashfaq Ahmed, in his later years of life, was greatly inclined towards Sufism.[10] His close association with Qudrat Ullah Shahab and Mumtaz Mufti was also attributed for this tendency. He used to appear in a get together with his fans in PTV program Baittakh (The Guest Room) and Zaviya (The Dimension) where he gave swift but satisfying responses to each and every question posed by the youth audience.[4]
On 7 September 2004, Ashfaq Ahmed died of pancreatic cancer. He was laid to rest in a Model Town, Lahore.[5]
Works
- Aik hi boli
- Aik mohabbat 100 affsanay
- Aik muhabbat sau afsaney
- Arz-e-musannif
- Aur dramey
- Band gali
- Baba sahiba (which was completed by Bano Qudsia)
- Dhandoraa – Talqeen Shah
- Gadaria – ujlay phool
- Gulldan
- Hairat kaadah
- Hasart-e-tameer
- Jung ba jung
- Khail tamasha
- Khatiya watiyaa – Poetry
- Man chaley ka sauda
- Mehmaan saraey
- Nangey paoon
- Neeli chirrya
- Safar dar safar
- Safar-e-maina
- Shahla Kot
- Shehre aarzoo
- Shora shori – Talqeen Shah
- Subhaey ifsaney
- Talism hosh afza
- Tota kahani
- Uchay buraj Lahore dey
- Waday-e-jang
- Talqeen Shah Radio program
- Zaviya
See also
Further reading
Ashfaq Ahmed: Shakhsiat-o-Fuun (ISBN: 969-472-112-1) is a 1998 book written by A. Hameed and Mohammad Hameed Shahid as part of a project of the Pakistan Academy of Letters titled "Pakistani Adab Kae Mehmar".
External links
- Read Online: Zavia by Ashfaq Ahmed (All Volumes)
- Read Books and Articles by Ashfaq Ahmed
- Ashfaq Ahmed on PTV Drama
References
- ^ "Ashfaq Ahmed".
- ^ "Ashfaq Ahmed Passes Away".
- ^ a b "Famed intellectual Ashfaq Ahmed being remembered today".
- ^ a b c "About Ashfaq".
- ^ a b "Literary icon Ashfaq Ahmed laid to rest".
- ^ "Famed intellectual Ashfaq Ahmed remembered".
- ^ a b c "ASHFAQ AHMED – An Unforgettable Personality".
- ^ a b "In life, in literature: the Siamese twins".
- ^ "Daily Times".
- ^ "Ashfaq Ahmed promoted sufism".
| International | |
|---|---|
| National | |
| Other | |
- Use dmy dates from October 2012
- 1925 births
- 2004 deaths
- People from Lahore
- Pakistani writers
- Urdu-language writers
- Pakistani philosophers
- Pakistani scholars
- Urdu scholars
- Pakistani novelists
- Urdu-language novelists
- Pakistani short story writers
- Urdu short story writers
- Government College University, Lahore alumni
- Pakistani literary critics
- Pakistani radio personalities
- Pakistani television personalities
- Recipients of the Pride of Performance award
- Sitara-i-Imtiaz
- Cancer deaths in Pakistan
- Deaths from gallbladder cancer
- Muhajir people
- Writers from Lahore
- Radio personalities from Lahore