(Web Desk)- Josh Malihabadi, one of the subcontinent’s most eminent and eloquent poets, is being remembered with great admiration on the occasion of his 127th birthday.
Born on ‘5 December 1898’ into a family known for its scholarly and literary traditions, his real name was ‘Shabbir Hasan Khan’, while ‘Josh’ was the pen name he adopted.
Since he hailed from the town of Malihabad, he added it to his literary identity. After the partition of the Indian subcontinent, he migrated and eventually settled in Karachi.
Josh Malihabadi was regarded as a ‘master of powerful expression’, often described as an “ocean of words.” Remarkably, he composed his first couplet at the age of only nine.
He possessed an exceptional command over ‘Urdu, Hindi, Persian, Arabic, and English’, which enriched the depth and diversity of his writing.
He authored numerous poetic works, and among his most celebrated publications are ‘Shola-o-Shabnam’, ‘Junoon-o-Hikmat’, ‘Fikr-o-Nishat’, ‘Aroos-e-Adab’, ‘Harf-o-Hikayat’, ‘Rooh-e-Adab’, ‘Aawara-e-Haq’, ‘Sunbal-o-Salasil’, as well as his renowned autobiography ‘Yaadon Ki Barat’, considered a milestone of Urdu prose.
Josh was not only a poet but also a ‘freedom fighter, prose writer, editor, lyricist, and an accomplished journalist’. In 1948, he was appointed editor of the literary magazine ‘Aaj Kal’, a position he held until 1955.
Endowed with multiple talents, Josh continued to write relentlessly wherever he lived. This towering figure of Urdu literature who was truly an endless sea of words, passed away on ‘22 February 1982’, leaving behind a monumental legacy.