Pakistani poet (1923–2006)
Munir Ahmed Niazi (Punjabi, Urdu: منیر نیازی; 9 April 1923 – 26 December 2006), was a Pakistani poet of the Punjabi and Urdu languages. He also wrote for newspapers, magazines and radio.[1] In 1960, he established a publication institute, Al-Misal. He was later associated with Pakistan Television, Lahore and lived in Lahore till his death.
Early life and career
Munir Ahmed Niazi was born on 9 April 1923, in a village in Hoshiarpur district, Punjab, British India to a Punjabi family of Niazi Pashtun ancestry.[2] He was initially educated at Khanpur. After the partition of India in 1947, he migrated and settled in Sahiwal, where he passed his matriculation examination.[2][1] He earned an intermediate degree from Govt. Sadiq Egerton College, Bahawalpur and a B.A. degree from Dayal Singh College, Lahore.[3][1] Munir Niazi launched a weekly, Seven Colours, from Sahiwal in 1949. Some of his poetry was used in films and these film songs became popular super-hit songs among the Pakistani public which established him as one of the foremost movie songwriters of Pakistan in the 1960s. For example, the film song in film Shaheed (1962), Uss Bewafa Ka Shehar Hai Aur Hum Hain Dosto and many others.[4][5]
Below are some of his Urdu publications:
- Taiz Hawa Aur Tanha Phool[2] [7]
- Jungle Mein Dhanak[2]
- Dushmanoon Kai Darmiyan Sham
- Mah-e-Munir[2]
- Kulyat e Munir[8]
- Jungal Ma Dahanak[8]
- Aik Lamha Taiz Safar ka[8]
In Punjabi language, he has published:
- Safar Di Raat[2]
- Char Chup Cheezan[2]
- Rasta Dassan Walay Tarey[2]
- Che Rage Arwaze[8]
Effective imagery in his poetry conveys pictures in a few words.[citation needed] He had experimented with poetic forms and had tried to create a new style, rhythm and diction in Urdu poetry. Innocence, mythology, nostalgia, dreams, eroticism, and romance are some of his most common themes. Selected English translations of Munir Niazi's poetical works were edited by Suhail Safdar and published in 1996.[9]
Munir Niazi died of respiratory illness on 26 December 2006 in Lahore, Pakistan.[2][1]
On his 86th birth anniversary, a book titled 'Munir Niazi Ki Baatain, Yadain' was launched to honor him at the Punjab Institute of Language, Art and Culture (Pilac) at Lahore. This book has interviews of the late Munir Niazi and opinion columns about him.[3]
