LAHORE, Punjab: Pakistan is observing the 20th death anniversary of Ahmad Nadeem Qasmi, the Urdu poet, scholar, journalist and fiction writer, on Friday.
Qasmi was born Ahmad Shah Awan on November 20, 1916, in Anga village of Khushab district. He died in Lahore on July 10, 2006, at the age of 89 due to asthma complications at the Punjab Institute of Cardiology.
He wrote about 50 books covering poetry, short fiction, criticism, journalism, art and culture. He also wrote scripts for Radio Pakistan and edited the newspaper Imroze.
Qasmi published major poetry collections, including Jalal-o-Jamal and Shola-i-Gul. His short story collections included Chopaal, Sannata, Kapaas Ka Phool, Bagolay, Tal-o-Gharoob, Sailab-o-Gardab, Anchal and Ghar Se Ghar Tak.
Critics have described his short fiction as a major depiction of rural culture. Some ranked his rural storytelling second only to Munshi Prem Chand.
Qasmi also edited and published the literary magazine Funoon for almost half a century. The magazine became an important platform for Urdu writers and poets.
Read: Ahmed Nadeem Qasmi’s 10th death anniversary today
Renowned Indian writer, poet and filmmaker Gulzar has described Qasmi as his mentor and guru. Qasmi wrote both ghazals and nazms in Urdu poetry.
He received the Pride of Performance Award in 1968 and Sitara-i-Imtiaz in 1980. He also received a lifetime achievement award from the Pakistan Academy of Letters.
Qasmi served as secretary of the Progressive Writers Movement. Authorities arrested him several times in the 1950s and 1970s.
