ISLAMABAD:Famous Urdu writer, poet, critic Dr. Wazir Agha was remembered on the occasion of his birth anniversary on Wednesday.
Wazir Agha was born on May 18, 1922 in the village Wazir Kot in the Sargodha district. His father was a businessman who dealt in horses from the Persian-speaking Qizilbash family. He has written many poetry and prose books.
He was also an editor and publisher of the literary magazine “Auraq” for many decades. He is credited to introduced many theories in Urdu literature. His most famous work was on Urdu humour.
Agha has received Sitara-e-Imtiaz for his best contributions to Urdu literature. He was also nominated for the Nobel Prize.
Agha learned Persian from his father, Punjabi from his mother. He graduated from Government College, Jhang and later received his master’s degree in economics from Government College, Lahore.
He gained his PhD from the University of Punjab in 1956 for his research on humor and satire in Urdu Literature.
He remained editor of the college magazine “Chanab” in Government College, Jhang.
The Pakistan Academy of Letters (PAL) has published a book on Agha’s life and work as part of its publishing project, “Makers of Pakistani Literature”. He was also the ‘Life Fellow’ of PAL since 1995.
He also wrote an autobiography “Shaam Ki Mundair Sey.”
Wazir Agha’s books included “Adab Mein Tanz-o-Mazah” (1958), “Takhleequi Amal” (1970), “Urdu Shairi Ka Mizaaj” (1965), “Tasawuraat-e- Ishq-o- Khird – Iqbal Ki Nazar Mein” (1977), “Majeed Amjad Ki Dastaan-e-Muhabbat” (1991) and “Ghalib Ka Zauq-e-Tamasha” (1997).
“Ghaas Mein Titlian” and “Aadhi Sadi ke Baad” were the poetry books to his credit.
Wazir Agha died on September 8, 2010 in Lahore. He was buried in his native village, Wazirkot, near Sargodha, Punjab, Pakistan.