pen name
A pen name or nom-de-plume is a pseudonym (or, in some cases, a variant form of a real name) adopted by an author and printed on the title page or by-line of their works in place of their real name.
A pen name may be used to make the author's na ...
Josh Malsiyani, was an Indian Urdu poet who much acclaimed during his time.
He was born in a poor family in the Aquilpur locality of Malsian, a small town near
Jalandhar
Jalandhar () is a city in the state of Punjab, India, Punjab in India. With a considerable population, it ranks as the List of cities in Punjab and Chandigarh by population, third most-populous city in the state and is the largest city in the ...
which town was the domain of Bedi family till Sir Kalim Singh Bedi’s migration to
Rawalpindi
Rawalpindi is the List of cities in Punjab, Pakistan by population, third-largest city in the Administrative units of Pakistan, Pakistani province of Punjab, Pakistan, Punjab. It is a commercial and industrial hub, being the list of cities in P ...
in the 19th century. Josh’s father, who mostly lived in
Peshawar
Peshawar is the capital and List of cities in Khyber Pakhtunkhwa by population, largest city of the Administrative units of Pakistan, Pakistani province of Khyber Pakhtunkhwa. It is the sixth most populous city of Pakistan, with a district p ...
, was an illiterate small-trader. After being trained as a teacher in
Lahore
Lahore ( ; ; ) is the capital and largest city of the Administrative units of Pakistan, Pakistani province of Punjab, Pakistan, Punjab. It is the List of cities in Pakistan by population, second-largest city in Pakistan, after Karachi, and ...
Josh started teaching Urdu and Persian in a school in Jalandhar but in 1913 settled permanently in
Nakodar
Nakodar is a town and a municipal council in Jalandhar district in the Indian state of Punjab (India), Punjab.
The city is almost 365 km from Delhi, 25 km from Jalandhar, 49 km from Ludhiana, and about 101 km from Amritsar. S ...
where he spent the rest of his life as a school-teacher and guiding budding
Urdu poets
The following is a List of Urdu-language poets.
13th century
15th century
16th century
17th century
18th century
* Mirza Muhammad Rafi, ''Sauda'' (1713–1780)
* Siraj Aurangabadi, ''Siraj'' (1715–1763)
* Mohammad Meer Soz Dehlvi ...
.
He had himself started writing Urdu poems when he was eight years old and later on became a disciple of Mirza Khan
Daagh Dehlvi
Nawab Mirza Khan (, 25 May 1831 – 17 March 1905), popularly known by his '' takhallus'' Dagh Dehlvi was an Indian poet known for his Urdu ''ghazals''. He belonged to the old Delhi school of Urdu poetry.Ratan Pandoravi,
Sahir Hoshiarpuri
Sahir Hoshiarpuri () (), born Ram Parkash Sharma () () was an Urdu poet from India. He wrote several poetry books; his main form was ghazal. Moreover, his several ghazals have been sung by leading singers including Jagjit Singh.
Biography
Ea ...
and Naresh Kumar Shad were his pupils. He is known for his book - ''Sharh- e – Diwaan – Ghalib'', which is a scholarly commentary on
Ghalib
Mirza Asadullah Beg Khan (27 December 179715 February 1869), commonly known as Mirza Ghalib, was an Indian poet. Widely regarded as one of the greatest poets in the Urdu language, he also produced a significant body of work in Persian. Ghali ...
’s Urdu poetry.
Malik Ram’s assessment of Josh Malsiyani’s poetry and contribution finds place amongst fifty-two poets whose lives and works have been discussed in his monumental work - ''Tazkirah e muasireen'', Vol.4. Josh Malsiyani was a recipient of
Padma Shri
The Padma Shri (IAST: ''padma śrī'', lit. 'Lotus Honour'), also spelled Padma Shree, is the fourth-highest Indian honours system, civilian award of the Republic of India, after the Bharat Ratna, the Padma Vibhushan and the Padma Bhushan. In ...
Award. His son
Arsh Malsiani
Bal Labhu Ram Mukand (1908–1979), better known by his penname Arsh Malsiani, was an Indian Urdu poet and writer. He was the son of Josh Malsiyani, an Urdu and Persian scholar and poet. From 1948 up to his retirement in 1968, Malsiani worked i ...