Ashfaq Ahmed Passed Away

Ashfaq Ahmed (1925-2004)

LAHORE: Writer, intellectual and playwright Ashfaq Ahmed was born on August 22, 1925 in Muktasar district of Ferozepur in India. Javed Tariq, Mr Ahmed’s nephew, told Daily Times that his uncle got his early education at Ferozepur, and then did his BA from Lahore and Masters in Urdu from Government College in Lahore. He started writing stories in his childhood, which were published in Phool magazine. He said very few people know that Mr Ahmed was also a poet. He quoted Mr Ahmed’s verse

Kis ki amad hai kay taron nay bichah deen aankhain
Kehkashan ban gaie har rah guzar aaj ki raat.

He said Mr Ahmed had been into Sufism for the last thirty years. He was a disciple of Baba Jee Noor Walay, whose ‘astana’ was in Mian Mir. He said other people who used to visit Baba Jee Noor Walay included Hanif Ramay, Qudaratullah Shahab and Sheikh Manzoor Elahi. Mr Tariq said after Partition, when Mr Ahmed arrived at the Walton refugee camp with millions of other migrants, he used to make announcements on a megaphone round the clock. He said Mr Ahmed got a job in Radio Azad Kashmir, which was established on a truck that used to drive around in various parts of Kashmir.

Achievements: Writer Ashfaq Ahmed did diplomas in the Italian and French languages from the University of Rome and Grenoble University, France. He got special training in broadcasting from New York University. He was a lecturer at Diyal Singh College for two years and was later appointed professor of Urdu at Rome University. When he returned to Pakistan, he published his literary magazine Dastan go. He was also the editor of weekly Lail-o-Nehar for two years. He was appointed director of the Markazi Urdu Board in 1966, which was later renamed the Urdu Science Board. He remained with the board until 1979. Mr Ahmed was also appointed advisor in the Education Ministry during Ziaul Haq’s regime. Mr Ahmed became a prominent short story writer in 1955 when his short story Gadariya was published. He used Punjabi literary words very well in Urdu and introduced a new kind of prose, which was unique to him. His command of story writing was also rare. Aik Mauhababt Sau Afsaanay and Ujlay Phool are his early short story collections. He later wrote Safar Dar Safar, (travelogue), Khail Kahnai (novel) and Tota Kahani (dramas), which are his most prominent works. Mr Ahmed introduced his famous character Talqeen Shah in 1962 at Radio Pakistan Lahore. It was a weekly feature that ran for three decades, the longest weekly radio show in the subcontinent. In the 60s, Mr Ahmed produced a feature film Dhoop aur Saie. Its songs were written by Munir Niazi and Tufail Niazi composed the music. Actor Kavi Khan made his debut as a lead in that film. However, it did not do well at the box office. In the 70s, the prolific writer wrote a drama series Aik Mauhbbat so Afsanay based on the short story collection of the same name. In the 80s, his Tota Kahani and Man Chalay Ka Sauda were televised. The shows steeped in Sufism and were criticised a lot. He used to focus more on dialogue than the plot of the play and his characters used to utter long dialogues. Currently, he was hosting a TV programme named Zavia. The late Qudaratullah Shahab and Mumtaz Mufti were his friends. Mr Ahmed’s wife Bano Qudsia is a novelist.

---shoaib ahmed

http://www.dailytimes.com.pk/default.asp?page=story_8-9-2004_pg7_12

Ashfar Ahmed laid to rest:

http://www.dailytimes.com.pk/default.asp?page=story_8-9-2004_pg7_11