Author Description

Product DescriptionJosh Malihabadi (1895-1982) was hailed as a master of both poetry and prose, both of which he imbued with a rich and unique diction. After Iqbal's death, and because of espousing the cause of freedom, Josh came to dominate the Urdu literary scene. In all the types of poetry Josh composed,whether reflective, revolutionary or romantic, he was hailed as a consummate stylist. After his migration to Pakistan in 1956 Josh continued his struggle for political emancipation. Accused of being a skeptic-Josh nevertheless composed devotional poetry which is dramatic in its effect and epic inits reach. Josh was an avid poet of nature, but he took time off to comment poetically on every significant political event from 1914 to 1974. His corpus is extra ordinarily large and this selection has been made with extra care.About the AuthorShabbir Hasan Khan Josh was born at Malihabad on 5 December 1895. He wrote poetry which gained esteem at the highest level. He joined the film industry from 1943 to 1946. In 1947 he became editor of the Government of India literary journalAj Kal and was awarded Padma Vibhushan. On his migration toPakistan in 1956, he became Editor of the large multivolumeUrdu Dictionary. A ban had been placed on his works in the official media in 1979 by the military regime. He died after a long illness at Islamabad on 22 February 1982.Dr Muhammad Reza Kazimi has an MA and PhD from the University of Karachi. He is critic of Urdu literature and the author ofNuqoosh-i-Josh, a critical study of Josh Malihabadi (Hayat Academy, Karachi, 1995). He has taught for more than thirty years in different colleges, and at the University ofKarachi, the Aga Khan University and M.A. Jinnah University in Karachi. His latest English book isA Concise History of Pakistan (OUP 2009).