About Ahmad Faraz

Ahmed Faraz (Urdu: احمد فراز) was considered one of the greatest modern Urdu poets of the last century. Faraz is his pseudonym 'takhallus', whereas his real name is Syed Ahmad Shah (سید احمد شاہ). Ahmed Faraz died in Islamabad on August 25, 2008.  

Ahmed Faraz, who has been compared with Faiz Ahmed Faiz, 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. Ethnically a Hindko speaking Pashtoon, Ahmed Faraz studied Persian and Urdu at the Peshawar University. He later became lecturer at the Peshawar University.

Early life

In interview to the Daily Jang, Ahmad Faraz says that he was born in Kohat. He was the son of Syed Muhammad Shah Barq and the brother of Syed Masood Kausar. ^[3] In an interview with Rediff he recalls how his father, once bought clothes for him on Eid. He didn't like the clothes meant for him, but preferred the ones meant for his elder brother. This lead him to write his first couplet:

Layen hain sab ke liye kapre sale se (He brought clothes for everybody from the sale)

Layen hain hamare liye kambal jail se (For me he brought a blanket from jail)

He was told by his parents once to learn mathematics from a class fellow during the summer vacation. "I was weak in mathematics and geography. I still don't remember maps and roads".

Coming from a respectable family of Syeds, descendents of ''Haji Bahadar" a famous saint of Kohat, he moved to Peshawar with entire family. Studied in famous Edwards College, Peshawar and then did his Masters in Urdu and Persian from Peshawar University.

During his time in college, Faiz Ahmed Faiz and Ali Sardar Jafri were the best progressive poets, who impressed him and became his role models. Ahmed Faraz initially worked as a script writer at Radio Pakistan Peshawar and then moved on to teaching Urdu at Peshawar University. In 1976, he became the founding Director General (Later Chairman) of Pakistan Academy of Letters.

Death

In July 2008, a rumour was spread that Ahmed Faraz had died in a hospital in Chicago. Faraz's physician, Tahir Rohail MD who was a childhood friend of Faraz's son Shibli Faraz, was quick to deny this erroneous report, but it was confirmed that Faraz was exceedingly ill.

Faraz's health continued to deteriorate and he died from kidney failure in a local Islamabad hospital on 25 August 2008. His funeral was carried out on the evening of the 26th, by many admirers and government officials on at H-8 Graveyard, Islamabad, Pakistan.

Awards

National Awards

• Adamji Award (Pakistan's highest literary award), 1966
• Abaseen Award, 1970
• Dhanak Award, 1971
• Dr. Muhammad Iqbal Award, 1991
• Naqoosh-e-Adab Award, 1992-93
• Sitara-i-Imtiaz, 1993
• Kamal-e-Fan Award, 1994
• Pakistan Academy of Letters Award, 2000
• Hilal-e-Imtiaz, 2004 (returned in 2006)

International Awards

• Firaq International Award (India), 1982
• Academy of Urdu Literature Award (Canada), 1991
• JN Tata Award (India), 1992
• 2000 Millennium Medal of Honors (USA), 1999
• First Kafi Azmi Award (UAE), 2002
• ETV Kamal-e-Fan Award (India), 2004

This artical is taken from wikipedia