Muhammad Mansha Yaad (؛ ) was a writer and playwright from

Punjab Punjab (; ; also romanised as Panjāb or Panj-Āb) is a geopolitical, cultural, and historical region in South Asia. It is located in the northwestern part of the Indian subcontinent, comprising areas of modern-day eastern Pakistan and no ...

, Pakistan. He received the

Pride of Performance The Pride of Performance (), officially known as the Presidential Pride of Performance, is an award bestowed by the Pakistan, Islamic Republic of Pakistan to recognize people with "notable achievements in the field of art, science, literature, sp ...

award in 2005 from the Government of Pakistan.Muhammad Mansha Yaad's Pride of Performance Award announcement on 14 August 2004, to be actually received on 23 March 2005
Dawn (newspaper), Published 14 August 2004, Retrieved 31 July 2017 He has won many other awards from organizations in various countries which are also listed in this article. His first short story appeared in 1955 and his first collection of stories was published in 1975. He contributed Urdu and Punjabi stories to many literary magazines. He has published ten collections of short stories, including one in Punjabi, along with a novel in Punjabi, ''Tanwan Tanwan Tara'', and many television series and plays.
Published 30 September 2010, Retrieved 29 July 2017

Personal life and education

Muhammad Mansha Yaad was born on 5 September 1937 in Thattha Nishtran, a village about 18 kilometer from Farooqabad. He studied in village ''Gajyana Nau'' up to 5th grade and completed his matriculation examination from

Hafizabad Hafizabad ( Punjabi / ; ; ) is a city and capital of Hafizabad District located in Punjab, Pakistan. Hafizabad is an old settlement. In 327 BC, during Alexander's invasion of Punjab, the territory of the Sandal Bar was reported to be a well popu ...

and earned a diploma in engineering from Rasul College in 1955. He passed examinations of Fazil-e-Urdu in 1964, gained a Bachelor of Arts degree in 1965, Masters in Urdu in 1967 and Master in Punjabi in 1972 from University of the Punjab.Story writer Mansha Yaad dies at 74, Dawn (newspaper)
Published 15 October 2011, Retrieved 29 July 2017 He was married in Lahore to his cousin ''Farhat Nasim Akhtar'' in 1960. He had one daughter and three sons.Obituary: Great storyteller Mansha Yaad passes away
The Express Tribune (newspaper), Published 16 October 2011, Retrieved 29 July 2017 Yaad joined the ''Pakistan Government Service'' in 1958 in ''PWD Rehabilitation'' in

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 ...

and

Murree Murree () is a mountain resort city in the northernmost region of the Punjab, Pakistan, Punjab province of Pakistan. Lying in the Galyat region of the Pir Panjal Range under the western Himalayas, it forms the outskirts of the Islamabad–Rawal ...

for about two years (1958–1960) as a Sub-Engineer, and in 1960, he joined Federal Capital Commission which was later converted into Capital Development Authority (CDA),

Islamabad Islamabad (; , ; ) is the capital city of Pakistan. It is the country's tenth-most populous city with a population of over 1.1 million and is federally administered by the Pakistani government as part of the Islamabad Capital Territory. Bu ...

, as Sub-Engineer and then served as an Assistant Engineer, Executive Engineer, Public Relations Officer & Chief Complaints Officer over time and retired as Deputy Director in 1997.

Death and legacy

Mansha Yaad's mother used to tell young Mansha Punjabi folk songs, tales and popular stories. Dawn (newspaper) in its article on Mansha Yaad remarked, "Such upbringing turned an engineer into a short story writer who emerged as a good quality writer in the subcontinent." After his retirement, he lived in

at his residence known as Afsana Manzil ( or "Fiction Destination") and devoted his time to literature and literary events. He died of a heart attack on 15 October 2011 in Islamabad.

Pen name

As a youngster he had a keen interest in poetry and, after considering several pen names, chose "Yaad". His work responsibilities allowed him little time to stay involved in writing and he slowly drifted him apart from poetry. Yet he kept the pen name hoping eventually to return to poetry. As he says: "Didn’t know when smoke may start rising from the poem kiln again".

Works

Short stories

"Band Muthi Main Jugnoo" () ("Glow-worms in a closed-Fist"), "Maas aur Mitti" () "Khala Andar Khala" () ("Void within Void"). "Waqt Samunder" "Wagda Panni (Punjabi Shah Mukhi & Gur Mukhi)" "Darakhat Aadmi" "Door Ki Awaaz" "Tamaasha" "Kwawab Saraay" "Ik Kankar Thairey Paani Mein"

Novels

''Raahain'' (Urdu Novel) ''Taanwan Taanwa Taara'' (Noval Punjabi Shah Mukhi & Gur Mukhi )

Writing for television

''Raahain'' was a serial drama by PTV

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 ...

centre in 1999. It was based on the Punjabi novel "Tanwa Tanwa Tara" by Yaad. The drama focuses on different societal issue of people both living in urban and rural areas such as the value of education, culture and justice.

Literary activities

In 1972, Yaad founded ''Halqa Arbab e Zauq'', Islamabad, the first prominent literary organization in the capital city. In Islamabad, he also founded some other literary organizations such as Likhnay Walon Ki Anjuman, Rabta, Bazame Kitab and Fiction Forum, which enriched the newly built city literarily and culturally.

Translations

Children and Gunpowder

Awards and recognition

* Baba Farid Adabi Award for ''Best Novel Writer'' (2006) * ''Life Time Achievement Award'' at 12th International Punjabi Conference (2005) *

Award for Novel and Short Story writing, by the

Pakistan Government The Government of Pakistan () (abbreviated as GoP), constitutionally known as the Federal Government, commonly known as the Centre, is the national authority of the Islamic Republic of Pakistan, a federal republic located in South Asia, cons ...

(2005) * ''Life Time Achievement Award'' by Writers Forum,

(2004) * Punjabi Adabi Culture Sangat Award (2004) * Awarded by ''Punjabi Likhari Forum'', United Kingdom for his Literary Work (2004) * ''Exceptional Performance Award'' by Sadai Adab International (DFW Metroplex UK 2004)

References

External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Yaad, Mansha 1937 births 2011 deaths People from Sheikhupura District Punjabi-language writers Pakistani television writers Pakistani novelists Pakistani dramatists and playwrights Urdu-language novelists Pakistani male short story writers Urdu-language short story writers Pakistani storytellers Recipients of the Pride of Performance 20th-century Pakistani novelists 20th-century Pakistani short story writers 20th-century Pakistani male writers Pakistani male television writers