Zamir Jafri

Syed Zamir Jafri
Born	(1916-01-01)January 1, 1916 Chak Abdul Khaliq, Dina Jehlum, Punjab, Pakistan
Died	May 12, 1999(1999-05-12) (aged 83) Islamabad, Punjab, Pakistan
Occupation	Major (Retd.), Urdu poet, Scholar
Alma mater	Habib Public School, Karachi
Genre	Humorous poetry
Notable works	"Maa fizzamir"(humorous poetry),"Nishat e tama' etc
Children	Maj. Gen. (Retired) Syed Ehtesham Zamir Jafri

Syed Zamir Jafri (Urdu: سيد ضمير شاه جعفري) (January 1, 1916 – May 12, 1999) was a Pakistani poet, best known for his Urdu humorous poetry. He was a comedian, columnist, broadcaster, and telecaster who was well known both nationally and internationally.

Syed Zamir Jafri (Syed Zamir Hussain Shah) was born in a well known Syed family. He was an accomplished poet, writer, and social critic. His native village, Chak Abdul Khaliq, is located near Dina, in the Jhelum district. He has also produced many Army and Civil personalities.

Jafri has had a great influence on Urdu poetry, and has focused on themes of peace and love for mankind. During his career, he had published 78 books of poetry and prose representing a wide range of creative works.

Besides Urdu, he also wrote in Punjabi and English. In addition to original works, he also translated Malay folklore (Pantuns), poems by Nazar-ul-Islam, and translations from the monumental Punjabi classic the “Saif-Ul-Malook” by Mian Muhammad Bakhsh. As a humourist, he had a stamp of his own, making him the most sought after poet in poetry recitals (Mushiara) within the country and abroad.

As a Co-Editor, he is responsible for the production of the “Urdu Punch”, which is considered to be the most sophisticated and esteemed journal of Urdu Humor.

After graduation from Islamia College, Jafir started as a journalist in Lahore but soon afterwards he joined the Indian Army War Propaganda Directorate when the Second World War started. He was stationed at the headquarters in Delhi, alongside writers and intellectuals like M.D.Taseer, Majid Malik and Faiz Ahmed Faiz.

Syed Zamir Jafri was posted to the Far East where Maulana Chiragh Hassan Hasrat and N.M. Rashed were already posted. He continued to serve in the Education Corps of Pakistan Army, and participated in the Indo-Pakistani wars of 1947–1948 and 1965. He served in the Inter services Public Relation Directorate. He retired from the Army as a Major in 1965 and thereafter was appointed the first Director Public Relations of Capital Development Authority - a body formed to look after the development of Pakistan’s newly announced capital at Islamabad. He remained on this post for over fifteen years and had the unique honour of naming the roads and residential/commercial sectors of the new Capital. Thereafter, he served on contract assignments as Deputy Director General of Pakistan National Centre in the Ministry of Information, as Advisor to the Chief Commissioner Afghan Refugees and lastly as Chief Editor in the Academy of Letters.

Syed Zamir Jafri was a serious and a humourist poet. But he emerged as the most respected and acclaimed humourist. He was also known as a prose writer and a columnist. He had a knack of combining serious, even grim facts with humour. He seldom used irony or burlesque, or horse laughter: He was most of time at the level of pure humor, apparently non-serious, and some times even nonsensical as defined in literary criticism.

His poetic process can be seen at its best in his most popular collection “Ma Fiz Zamir”. This anthology presents Syed Zamir Jafri as a cultured, sophisticated humourist. He watches the reality around him with amusement. He deals with cruel, bitter and uncivilized situations and unreasonably aggressive persons. However, he renders them in such a manner that he emerges as a pure humourist. Nowhere does he betray himself as a satirist or a cruel comic making fun of them. He thus controls his subjective response to maintain the level he keeps.

He was the father of former Pakistan Inter Services Intelligence (ISI), Chief Syed Ehtesham Zamir.

External links

• Official home page