Wazir Agha ( ur, ) was a Pakistani Urdu language writer, poet, critic and essayist. He has written many poetry and prose books. He was also editor and publisher of the literary magazine "Auraq" for many decades. He introduced many theories in
Urdu literature
Urdu literature ( ur, , ) is literature in the Urdu language. While it tends to be dominated by poetry, especially the verse forms of the ''ghazal '' غزل and ''nazm '' نظم, it has expanded into other styles of writing, including that of t ...
. His most famous work is on Urdu humour. His books focus on modern Urdu poets, notably those who have written more poems instead of ghazals. Agha's poems have mostly an element of story.
Agha has received Sitara-e-Imtiaz for his best contributions to Urdu literature. He was also nominated for the Nobel Prize.
Personal life
Background
Agha was born on 18 May 1922 in the village Wazir Kot in the Sargodha district. His father was a businessman who dealt in horses from the Persian-speaking
Qizilbash
Qizilbash or Kizilbash ( az, Qızılbaş; ota, قزيل باش; fa, قزلباش, Qezelbāš; tr, Kızılbaş, lit=Red head ) were a diverse array of mainly Turkoman Shia militant groups that flourished in Iranian Azerbaijan, Anatolia, the ...
family. Wazir's father obtained of land from the British government in the Sargodha district.
Agha learned
Persian
Persian may refer to:
* People and things from Iran, historically called ''Persia'' in the English language
** Persians, the majority ethnic group in Iran, not to be conflated with the Iranic peoples
** Persian language, an Iranian language of the ...
from his father,
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 ...
from his mother. During his school years, he developed a strong fondness for Urdu ghazals and started composing poetry on his own. He graduated from Government College,
Jhang
Jhang (Punjabi language, Punjabi, ur, ), ) is the capital city of Jhang District, in the central portion of the province of Punjab, Pakistan, Punjab, Pakistan. Situated on the east bank of the Chenab river, it is the List of most populous c ...
and later received his master's degree in economics from Government College, Lahore. He gained his PhD from the University of Punjab in 1956 for his research on ''humor and satire in Urdu Literature''.
Wazir Agha died on 8 September 2010 in Lahore. He was buried in his native village, Wazirkot, near Sargodha,
Punjab, Pakistan
Punjab (; , ) is one of the four provinces of Pakistan. Located in central-eastern region of the country, Punjab is the second-largest province of Pakistan by land area and the largest province by population. It shares land borders with the ...
.
Literary career
Agha was the editor of the college magazine ''Chanab'' in Government College, Jhang. In 1944, he came across ''Salahuddin Ahmad'' who was the editor of the famous monthly magazine, Adabi Duniya. He encouraged Wazir Agha to write. He was asked to contribute by writing essays on topics uncommon in Urdu Literature of that time, such as economics, philosophy, psychology. In 1953, his work on "In search of happiness" was compiled as a book that opened a formal paradigm of research in Urdu literature.
From 1960 to 1963, he acted as a co-editor of ''Adabi Duniya'' and from 1965 onwards, he remained editor of monthly ''Auraq'' for many decades. He established himself as a critic.
The
Pakistan Academy of Letters
The Pakistan Academy of Letters (PAL) ( ur, ) is a national academy with its main focus on Pakistani literature and related fields. It is the largest and the most prestigious learned society of its kind in Pakistan, with activities throughout th ...
(PAL) has published a book on Agha's life and work as part of its publishing project, "Makers of Pakistani Literature". He was also Life Fellow of PAL since 1995. He also wrote an autobiography ''Shaam Ki Mundair Sey''.
President of Pakistan
The president of Pakistan ( ur, , translit=s̤adr-i Pākiṣṭān), officially the President of the Islamic Republic of Pakistan, is the ceremonial head of state of Pakistan and the commander-in-chief of the Pakistan Armed Forces.Wazir Agha's award info on The News International website Published 9 September 2010, Retrieved 23 May 2017
Bibliography
Books
*''Adab Mein Tanz-o-Mazah'' (1958)
*''Takhleequi Amal'' (1970)
*''Urdu Shairi Ka Mizaaj'' (1965)
*''Tasawuraat-e- Ishq-o- Khird – Iqbal Ki Nazar Mein'' (1977)
*''Majeed Amjad Ki Dastaan-e-Muhabbat'' (1991)
*''Ghalib Ka Zauq-e-Tamasha'' (1997)
Essays
*''Khayal Paray'' (''Inshaiye'' or light essays)
*''Nazam-e-Jadeed Ki Karwatein'' (1963)
*''Tanqeed Aur Ehtesaab'' (1968)
*''Naye Maqaalaat'' (1972)
*''Naye Tanaazur'' (1979)
*''Maani Aur Tanaazur'' (1998)
*''Tanqeed Aur Majlisi Tanqeed'' (1975)
*''Tanqeed Aur Jadeed Urdu Tanqeed'' (1989)
*''Daairey Aur Lakirein'' (1986)
*''Inshaiye Kei Khad-o-Khaal'' (1990)
*''Saakhtiat Aur Science'' (1991)
*''Dastak Us Darwaazey Par'' (1994)
*''Imtizaji Tanqeed Ka Scienci Aur Fikri Tanaazur'' (2006)
Poetry
*''Ghaas Mein Titlian''
*''Aadhi Sadi ke Baad'' (After 50 years)Wazir Agha's poem Retrieved 23 May 2017
See also
*
List of Pakistani poets
This is a list of noted Pakistani poets, poets born or raised in Pakistan, whether living there or overseas, and writing in one of the languages of Pakistan.
A
B
* Baqi Siddiqui
* Bushra Farrukh
D
* Daud Kamal
* Dilawar Figar
E
* Ehsan ...
*
list of Urdu poets
The following is a List of Urdu-language poets.
13th century
15th century
16th century
17th century
18th century
* Mirza Muhammad Rafi, ''Sauda'' (1713–1780)
* Siraj Aurangabadi, ''Siraj'' (1715–1763)
*Mohammad Meer Soz Dehlvi, '' ...
*
List of Pakistani writers
This is a List of Pakistani writers, writers of fiction and nonfiction who are native to, or born in Pakistan, writing in any language.
__NOTOC__
A
B
* Badam Natawan
*Bano Qudsia
*Bapsi Sidhwa
* Begum Akhtar Riazuddin
*Bina Shah
* Bushra Ra ...