Najm Hosain Syed (born 1935) is a Pakistani writer of Punjabi language. He has written poetry and plays in the Punjabi language as well as literary criticism on Punjabi literature in his ''Recurrent Patterns in Punjabi Poetry'' (1968).

Early life and career

Najm Hosain Syed was born in 1935 in Batala, Punjab, British India and later moved to Lahore, Pakistan after the

independence of Pakistan The Pakistan Movement ( ur, , translit=Teḥrīk-e-Pākistān) was a political movement in the first half of the 20th century that aimed for the creation of Pakistan from the Muslim-majority areas of British India. It was connected to the per ...

in 1947. He received his master's degree in English from Forman Christian College, Lahore in 1958. For his career, he joined the

Pakistan Civil Service The Central Superior Services (CSS; or Civil Service) is a permanent elite civil service authority, and the civil service that is responsible for running the bureaucratic operations and government secretariats and directorates of the Cabinet o ...

and worked there until his retirement in 1995. He was married to classical singer Samina Syed, who died in 2016. Najm Hosain Syed has mentored many writers and has been a source of guidance for many others interested in Punjabi literature. He reportedly does not give interviews on television or radio. He chooses to publish his books with relatively less-known publishers.

Major works

Najm Hosain Syed has written poetry, criticism and plays in

Punjabi Punjabi, or Panjabi, most often refers to: * Something of, from, or related to Punjab, a region in India and Pakistan * Punjabi language * Punjabi people * Punjabi dialects and languages Punjabi may also refer to: * Punjabi (horse), a British Th ...

. He has published over 85 books. He is considered pioneer of the modern Punjabi literature. His Major Works include: *Deewa Mundri (2010), *Gal Waar Di (2010) * Khyal Dukkad (2011) * Rang (2000) * Khappay (1986) - Punjabi Adabi Markaz, Lahore * Kafian (1976) *Chandan Rukh Tay Vehda *Kkyal keh Khayal *Takht Lahore *Alfo Pairni Di Vaar * Bar di Var (1969) Download-able PDFs of his books are available on http://www.faridbhandar.org/. His music compositions, sung by his late wife Samina Hasan Syed and daughter Risham Syed, an eminent Visual artist are on https://m.soundcloud.com/saminahasansyed Many works of Syed are directed in the form of plays by Huma Safdar's theatre "Sangat" such as "Rajni" and Ik Raat Ravi Di.

References

External links

Articles by: Najm Hosain Syed on Academy of the Punjab in North America (APNA) website
Pakistani dramatists and playwrights Living people 1936 births Punjabi-language writers Punjabi-language poets Forman Christian College alumni Pakistani civil servants Punjabi people {{pakistan-writer-stub