Jawayd Anwar

Jawayd Anwar
Anwar in c. 2005–2007
Born	(1959-04-18)18 April 1959 Lahore, Punjab, Pakistan
Died	25 November 2011(2011-11-25) (aged 52) Lahore, Punjab, Pakistan
Occupation	Poet doctor psychiatrist
Language	Urdu
Alma mater	Punjab Medical College Oriental College
Period	1991–2011
Genre	Nazms ghazals
Literary movement	Halqa-e Arbab-e Zauq
Notable works	Shahr Mayn Sham
Children	4

Jawayd Anwar (18 April 1959 – 25 November 2011) was a Pakistani poet and writer. He is considered a leading figure of nazms (regular poems) and ghazals (ode poems) in Urdu poetry and his works include five books.

Early life and education

Jawayd Anwar was born on 18 April 1959 in the Islampura suburb of Lahore, Punjab, Pakistan. The eldest member of a Muhajir family that emigrated from eastern Punjab of British India, he spent most of his childhood in Shahinabad, Sargodha. His father, Muhammad Anwar Ali, belonged to Amritsar and worked professionally as an engineer whereas Jawayd's mother, Nasir Akhtar, was a native of Jalandhar.

Anwar attended Government Primary School in southern Sargodha and later enrolled at the Punjab Medical College in Faisalabad and also studied at the Oriental College in Lahore. After completing his MBBS, Anwar attained a doctor's degree and served at the Lahore General Hospital and later at the Allama Iqbal Medical College. Anwar was also a qualified psychiatrist.

Poetic career

During his time in Sargodha, Anwar had become associates with several poetic figures such as the likes of Khurshid Rizvi, Ghulam-us-Saqlain Naqvi and Wazir Agha. It was here from where Anwar became fond of Urdu poetry and actively began writing poems in his teenage.

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 Lahore’s literary community expressed condolences at his demise and his funeral prayers were held at the EME Mosque. Days following his demise, Urdu literary critic Mansoor Afaq dedicated a short poem to Anwar titled Nazm Marr Gai Hai ("poems have died").

Legacy and reception

In 2007, The Herald deemed Anwar as one of the poets "with extensive nazms" (poems). At the age of 32, Anwar's first book Shahr Mayn Sham ("evening in the city") was published in 1991. 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 Main Dhanak ("sinking in tears"). 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").