Mushtaq Ahmad Yusufi

Early life and career

Yusufi was born in a learned family of Jaipur, Rajasthan, on 4 September 1923. His father, Abdul Karim Khan Yusufi, was chairman of the Jaipur Municipality, and later Speaker of the Jaipur Legislative Assembly.

Other famous Urdu books of his are Chiragh Talay (چراغ تلے), Khakam Badahan (خاکم بدہن), Zarguzasht (زرگزشت), Sham e Shair Yaran (شام شعر یاراں).

Considering the standard of previous works of Yousafi, Sham e Shair Yaran turned out to be a great disappointment for many Yousafi lovers. Mr Yusufi himself mentioned that he was not satisfied yet with the book but due to his frail health, everyone insisted on having it published on as is basis.

Contemporary comments Ibn-e-Insha, himself an Urdu satirist and humorist, wrote about Mushtaq Ahmad Yusufi: "...if ever we could give a name to the literary humour of our time, then the only name that comes to mind is that of Yusufi!" Another scholar, Dr Zaheer Fatehpuri, wrote, "We are living in the 'Yousufi era' of Urdu literary humour..." The Yousufi era started in 1961 when Yousufi's first book Chiragh Talay was published. So far 11 editions of this book have appeared. It has a foreword titled 'Pehla pathhar' written by the author himself plus 12 satirical and humorous columns and articles. In 2008, he was living in Karachi and often appeared on TV programmes as well as seminars. A major English-language daily newspaper in Karachi called him "a wordsmith par excellence".

Death On 20 June 2018, after a protracted illness he died in Karachi aged 94. On 21 June 2018, he was laid to rest after his funeral prayer was offered in Sultan masjid in DHA, Karachi.

Awards and recognition Sitara-i-Imtiaz (Star of Excellence) Award in 1999 by the President of Pakistan