Ashfaq Ahmed

Ashfaq Ahmed, PP, SI (Urdu: ( ) August 22, 1925 September 7, 2004) was a distinguished writer,
playwright, broadcaster, intellectual and spiritualist from Pakistan. His prime qualities of heart and hand earned
appreciations across the borders. He was regarded by many as the best Urdu Afsana (short-story) writer after Saadat
Hasan Manto, Ismat Chughtai and Krishan Chander following the publication of his famous short-story "Gaddarya" - The
Shepherd in 1955.
Life and career
Ahmed was born on 22 August 1925 in Garhmukteshwar village, Ghaziabad, British India. He obtained his early
education in his native district. Shortly before independence in 1947, he migrated to Pakistan and made the Punjab
metropolis, Lahore as his abode. He completed his Masters in Urdu literature from Government College Lahore. Bano
Qudsia, his wife and companion in Urdu literary circles who is also one of the best novelists of Urdu, was his classmate
at Government College.
After Partition, when Ashfaq Ahmed arrived at the Walton refugee camp with millions of other migrants, he used to
make announcements on a megaphone around the clock. Later, he got a job in Radio Azad Kashmir, which was
established on a truck that used to drive around in various parts of Kashmir. He then got lectureship at Dayal Singh
College, Lahore for two years. Whereafter, he went to Rome to join Radio Rome as an Urdu newscaster. He also used
to teach Urdu at Rome university. During his stay in Europe, he got diplomas in the Italian and French languages from
the University of Rome and University of Grenoble, France. He also got special training diploma in radio broadcasting
from New York University.
He started writing stories in his childhood, which were published in Phool [Flower] magazine. After returning to Pakistan
from Europe, he took out his own monthly literary magazine, Dastaango [Story Teller], and joined Radio Pakistan as a
script writer. He was made editor of the popular Urdu weekly, Lail-o-Nahar [Day and Night], in place of famous poet
Sufi Ghulam Mustafa Tabassum by the Government of Pakistan.
In 1962, Ashfaq Ahmed started his popular radio program, Talqeen Shah [The Preacher] which made him immensely
popular among the people in towns and villages. It was a weekly feature that ran for three decades, the longest weekly
radio show in the subcontinent. He was appointed director of the Markazi Urdu Board in 1966, which was later renamed
as Urdu Science Board, a post he held for 29 years. He remained with the board until 1979. He also served as adviser in
the Education Ministry during Zia-ul-Haq's regime. In the 60s, he produced a feature film, Dhoop aur Saie [Shadows
and Sunshine], which was not very successful at the box office.
Style
Ashfaq Ahmed's subtle sense of humour is reflected in his long-running radio programs and characters like "Talqeen
Shah", while several TV drama series based on his memorable plays of three decades ago are still enjoyed by the
audience. Their appeal lies in the universal truths of life portrayed in human hopes, emotions, aspirations and
relationships that touch the soul of people of all age groups. His popular TV plays include Aik Muhabbat Sau Afsanay
[Bunch of Love Stories], Uchhay Burj Lahore Dey [Barbicans of Lahore], Tota Kahani [Story of the Parrot] , Lekin [But],
Hairat Kadah [Incredibility] and Mun Chalay Ka Sauda [Bargain of the Stubborn]. All through his life, Ashfaq Ahmad
endeavored to reform the society through his writings. He had authored over twenty five books including a travelogue,
Safar dar Safar [Long Way Journey], with an atypical style. In fact, he gave a new mold to diction and locale situations,
many of his fans would fondly remember. He used Punjabi literary words very well in Urdu and introduced a new kind
of prose, which was unique to him. For his excellent literary work, he was awarded President's Pride of Performance
and Sitara-i-Imtiaz for meritorious services in the field of literature and broadcasting.
Besides his personality as a great author of impressive and laudable books, Ashfaq Ahmed, in his later period of life,
was greatly inclined towards sufism, which was visibly reflected in most of his works. His close association with Qudrat
Ullah Shahab and Mumtaz Mufti was also attributed for this tendency. Of-late, he used to appear in a get together with
his fans in television's program 'Baittakh' [The Guest Room] and 'Zaviya' [The Dimension] wherein he gave swift but
satisfying responses to each and every query, placed before him, explicitly by the youth of each gender, in a mystic
style.
Death
Ashfaq Ahmed died on 7 September 2004 at the age of 79, of pancreatic cancer.

Works

* Aik hi boli -

* Arz-e-musannif -
* Aur Dramey -
* Band Gali -
* Baba Sahiba -
- | * Dhandoraa - Talqeen Shah
- | * Gadaria - Ujlay Phool
* Gulldan -
* Hairat Kaadah -
* Hasart-e-Tameer -
* Jung Ba Jung -
* Khail Tamasha -
- | * Khatiya Watiyaa - Poetry
* Man Chaley Ka Soda -
* Mehmaansaraey -
* Nangey Paoon -
* Safar Dar Safar -
* Safar e Maina -
* Shahla Kot -
* Shehre Aarzoo -
- | * Shora Shori - Talqeen Shah
* Subhaey Ifsaney -
* Talism Hosh Afza -
* Tota Kahani -
* Uchay Buraj Lahore Dey -
* Waday e Jang -
* Zaviya -
* Zaviya - 2 -
* Zaviya - 3 -
* Zaviya - 4 -
* Zaviya - 5 -
* Zaviya - 6 -
* Aik Mohabbat 100 Dramey* Aik Muhabbat So Afsaney -

)- Academy of Letters on his life and works in 1998 (ISBN-969-472-112-1.

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