Jawayd Anwar

Jawayd Anwar (18 April 195925 November 2011) was a Pakistani poet and writer. He is widely recognized as a significant writer in modern Urdu poetry, particularly for his nazms (thematic poems). He authored four volumes of poetry, including a posthumous collection published in 2016 titled Barzakh Kay Phul.

Early life and education Jawayd Anwar was born on 18 April 1959 in the Sant Nagar suburb of Lahore, Punjab, Pakistan. The eldest member of a Bhatti family that emigrated from eastern Punjab of British India, he spent most of his childhood in Shahinabad, Sargodha. Anwar was fluent in at least four languages, Urdu, Punjabi, English and German, and also had a working knowledge of Persian.

While on a short return to Pakistan, Anwar spent a few days at a mushaira with poets in Islamabad and died of a sudden heart attack in Lahore on 25 November 2011. One of his last poems Agr Apnay Betay Ko Tum Nay Usama Kaha ("if you named your son Usama") became a topic of discussion for its style among intellectuals and was considered innovative in modern Urdu literature. Members of the Urdu literary community expressed condolences at his demise and his funeral prayers were held at the EME Mosque.

Legacy and reception Anwar is counted among the contemporary Urdu poets who contributed to modern nazms. In 2007, The Herald deemed Anwar as one of the poets "with extensive nazms". Some of Anwar's couplets were initially published in the Mahe Nao and Funoon literary magazine. Academic Afsar Sajid described the book as a "concise but expressive flap". Anwar's other works include Bheriay Soay Nahin ("the wolves didn't sleep") and Ashkon Mayn Dhanak ("sinking in tears"). His most popular poem "Ham Kay Hiro Nahin" (we are not the heroes), written in Ashkon Mayn Dhanak, has been the subject of poetic discourse. Anwar also co-authored the book Qahqaqa Insan Nay Ijad Kiya ("humans invented laughter") along with fellow writers Masood Qamar and Hussain Abid. Some of Anwar's unreleased poems were posthumously published by his associates in 2016 under the title Barzakh Kay Phul ("flowers of the barrier"). Renowned author Mustansar Hussain Tarar described the book as between dukh aur sukh (sadness and happiness).

In November 2013, on the occasion of his second death anniversary, members of the Halqa-e Arbab-e Zauq held a gathering in memory of Anwar at the iconic Pak Tea House in Lahore.