Pakistan observes 94th birth anniversary of famous poet Ahmad Faraz

Today on Sunday, January 12, Pakistan observes the 94th birth anniversary of the poet Ahmad Faraz. Born in Kohat in 1931 as Syed Ahmad Shah, Faraz began his literary career as a young boy under the name of Ahmad Shah Kohati.

But it was with Faiz Ahmed Faiz that Ahmad took the pen name Ahmad Faraz, the name by now synonymous with grace and simplicity in Urdu poetry.

His first collection of poems, Tanha Tanha, was published when he was a student in college, and thereafter Faraz was destined for a glittering literary career spanning decades of fame and celebrity.

Ahmad Faraz, throughout his life, brought a contribution to the Urdu language, rendering and merging its emotions and colors through his life poetry.

His works went on to become simple but with an extraordinary depth that pleased both readers and critics alike. Consequently, Faraz is seen widely as one of that period’s greatest Urdu poets, with his poetry celebrated surely for its beauty and its grace.

The government of Pakistan awarded him several literary awards: the Adam Jee Literary Award, Sitara-e-Imtiaz, and Hilal-e-Imtiaz.

Although he passed away on Aug 25, 2008, Ahmad Faraz survives; his poetry provides an eternal legacy to the Urdu language and literature, and he was buried in Islamabad with his words inspiring and influencing subsequent generations of writers and poets.