Ahmad Faraz
Ahmed Faraz احمد فراز | |
---|---|
Born | Syed Ahmad Shah Ali 12 January 1931 Kohat, NWFP, British India (now Khyber Pakhtunkhwa, Pakistan) |
Died | 25 August 2008 Islamabad, Islamabad Capital Territory, Pakistan | (aged 77)
Pen name | Faraz Template:Lang-ur |
Occupation | Urdu poet, lecturer |
Nationality | Pakistani |
Citizenship | Pakistani |
Education | MA degrees in Urdu and Persian languages |
Alma mater | Edwardes College, University of Peshawar |
Period | 1950–2008 |
Genre | Urdu Ghazal |
Subject | Romance, political resistance |
Literary movement | Democratic Movement |
Notable awards | Sitara-i-Imtiaz Hilal-e-Imtiaz Hilal-e-Pakistan Nigar Awards |
Children | Saadi, Shibli Faraz and Sarmad Faraz |
Ahmed Faraz (Template:Lang-ur, born Syed Ahmed Shah (Template:Lang-ur) on 12 January 1931[1] in Kohat,[2][3] died 25 August 2008) was a Pakistani Urdu poet. He is widely acclaimed as one of the best modern Urdu poets of the last century. 'Faraz' is his pen name, (in Urdu takhalus تخلص). He died in Islamabad on 25 August 2008.[4][5] He was awarded Sitara-i-Imtiaz, Hilal-e-Imtiaz and posthumously the Hilal-e-Pakistan[6] by the Government of Pakistan.
Early life
Ahmad Faraz was born in Kohat, (then British India) to Syed Muhammad Shah Barq.[citation needed] His brother is Syed Masood Kausar. He moved to Peshawar with his family. He studied in famous Edwardes College, Peshawar and received Masters in Urdu and Persian from Peshawar University.[7]
During his college life, the progressive poets Faiz Ahmad Faiz and Ali Sardar Jafri were his best friends, who impressed him and became his role models.[8] Ethnically a Kohati Hindko Syed, Ahmad Faraz studied Persian and Urdu at the Peshawar University. He later became a lecturer at the Peshawar University.[citation needed]
Career
Ahmad Faraz served as Chairman of the National Book Foundation in Islamabad, Pakistan.[9]
Literary work
Faraz has been compared with Faiz Ahmad Faiz,[7] holds a unique position as one of the best poets of current times, with a fine but simple style of writing. Even common people can easily understand his poetry.
In an interview with the BBC Urdu, he recalls how his father once bought clothes for him on Eid. He did not like the clothes meant for him, but preferred the ones meant for his elder brother.[citation needed] This led him to write his first couplet:
:سب کے واسطے لائے ہیں کپڑے سیل سے
:لائے ہیں میرے لیے قیدی کا کمبل جیل سے
Sab kay waste laye hein kaprye sale se
Laye hein mere liye qaidi ka kambal jail se
(He brought clothes for everybody from the 'sale')
(For me, he brought a blanket of a prisoner from jail)[10]
Political activity
Faraz was arrested for writing poems that criticised military rulers in Pakistan during the reign of General Zia-ul-Haq . Following that arrest, he went into a self-imposed exile.[5] He stayed for 6 years in Britain, Canada and Europe before returning to Pakistan, where he was initially appointed as Chairman of the Pakistan Academy of Letters and later chairperson of the Islamabad-based National Book Foundation for several years. He has been awarded with numerous national and international awards. In 2006, he returned the Hilal-e-Imtiaz award he was given in 2004.[7]
He mentioned his current writings and said: "I now only write when I am forced to, from the inside."[citation needed] Maintaining a tradition established by his mentor, the revolutionary Faiz Ahmad Faiz, he wrote some of his best poetry during the days when he was in exile. Famous among the 'poetry of resistance' has been "Mahasara". Faraz was also mentioned by actor Shahzada Ghaffar in the Pothwari/Mirpuri telefilm "Khai Aye O".
Death
Faraz died of kidney failure in a private hospital in Islamabad on 25 August 2008. His funeral was held on the evening of 26 August, among many admirers and government officials at H-8 Graveyard, Islamabad, Pakistan.[11][12]
Samples of poetry
A sample of his poetry is:
Nazm:
Khwaab martay naheen
Khwaab dil hain, nah aankhen, nah saansen keh jo
Rezaa, rezaa huwe to bikhar jaayen ge
Jism kii maut se ye bhii mar jaayen ge
English translation.
Dreams do not die
Dream are heart, nor eyes nor breath
Which shattered, will scatter
Die with the death of the body
Another poetic translation of the above
Dreams do not die
Dreams are heart, nor eyes nor a breath
Which shatter and then they scatter,
Die they all, with end being nigh
List of Works/Bibliography
- Pas-e-Andaz-e-Mausam پس انداز موسم [13]
- Shehr-e-Sukhan Arasta Hai شہرِ سخن آراستہ ہے (Kulliyaat کلیات)
Collection of the following books: - Pas-e-Andaz-e-Mausam پس انداز موسم
- Jana jana جاناں جاناں
- Na-yaft نایافت
See also
References
- Ahmed Faraz Poetry, November 16, 2016.[14]
- Specific
- ^ "Tribute to a legend: Remembering Ahmed Faraz". The Express Tribune. Karachi, Pakistan. 12 January 2015., Retrieved 28 Jan 2016
- ^ "About Faraz". Ahmad Faraz Trust. Retrieved 28 January 2016.
- ^ http://allpoetry.com/Ahmad-Faraz, Ahmad Faraz 'Profile', allpoetry.com website, Retrieved 28 Jan 2016
- ^ http://archives.dailytimes.com.pk/national/26-Aug-2008/ahmed-faraz-poet-of-love-and-defiance[permanent dead link], Ahmad Faraz, poet of love and defiance, published 26 Aug 2008, Retrieved 28 Jan 2016
- ^ a b "سلسلے توڑ گیا وہ سبھی جاتے جاتے". BBC.co.uk. 26 August 2008. Retrieved 28 January 2016., BBC Urdu.com website, Retrieved 28 Jan 2016
- ^ "Hilal-e-Pakistan for Ahmed Faraz". The Nation (Pakistan). 11 November 2010. Retrieved 25 August 2017.
- ^ a b c "Ahmed Faraz, Outspoken Urdu Poet". The New York Times. 1 September 2008. Retrieved 28 January 2016.
- ^ http://www.siliconeer.com/past_issues/2007/siliconeer_september_2007.html#Anchor--CULTU-22201, Ahmad Faraz 'Profile', published Sep 2007, Retrieved 28 Jan 2016
- ^ http://www.ahmadfaraztrust.org/about_faraz.html, Biography of Ahmad Faraz, Retrieved 28 Jan 2016
- ^ "Ahmad Faraz's Interview". BBC.co.uk. Retrieved 29 January 2012., Retrieved 28 Jan 2016
- ^ "Ahmad Faraz in 'critical condition' in a U.S. hospital". Daily Times (Pakistan). 21 July 2008. Retrieved 28 July 2016.[permanent dead link]
- ^ "Ahmad Faraz laid to rest". Gulf News. 26 August 2008. Retrieved 28 January 2016.
- ^ Shehr-e-Sukhan Arasta Hai
- ^ alifseye, Ahmed Faraz Poetry, November 16, 2016
External links
- alifseye, Ahmed Faraz Poetry
- http://www.studybee.net/ahmed-faraz-love-poetry/, Ahmad Faraz love poetry on studybee.net website, Retrieved 28 Jan 2016
- https://rekhta.org/poets/ahmad-faraz/ Ahmad faraz collection on Rekhta
- https://web.archive.org/web/20160322201403/http://urduhits.com/category/poetry/ahmed-faraz-poetry/ Best of Ahmed Faraz Poetry
- Obituary of Ahmed Faraz, published 12 Sep 2008 in Jang Online newspaper, Retrieved 28 Jan 2016
- Nagma gar
- Rubaiyat e Faraz
- Use dmy dates from October 2012
- Ahmad Faraz
- People from Kohat District
- Pashtun people
- Urdu poets from Pakistan
- Urdu poets
- Ghazal
- Nigar Award winners
- Recipients of Hilal-i-Imtiaz
- Recipients of Sitara-i-Imtiaz
- Pakistani Sunni Muslims
- University of Peshawar alumni
- 1931 births
- 2008 deaths
- People from Islamabad
- Pakistani progressives
- Deaths from renal failure
- 21st-century Urdu writers
- 20th-century Urdu writers
- Urdu theologians
- 20th-century poets
- Edwardes College alumni