Sara Shagufta (31 October 1954 – 4 June 1984) was a

Pakistani Pakistanis (, ) are the citizens and nationals of the Islamic Republic of Pakistan. Pakistan is the fifth-most populous country, with a population of over 241.5 million, having the second-largest Muslim population as of 2023. As much as ...

poet who wrote poetry in

Urdu Urdu (; , , ) is an Indo-Aryan languages, Indo-Aryan language spoken chiefly in South Asia. It is the Languages of Pakistan, national language and ''lingua franca'' of Pakistan. In India, it is an Eighth Schedule to the Constitution of Indi ...

and

Punjabi Punjabi, or Panjabi, most often refers to: * Something of, from, or related to Punjab, a region in India and Pakistan * Punjabi language * Punjabis, Punjabi people * Punjabi dialects and languages Punjabi may also refer to: * Punjabi (horse), a ...

language.

Life

Sara was born on 31 October, 1954 in

Gujranwala Gujranwala is the List of cities in Punjab, Pakistan by population, fourth most-populous city in the Pakistani province of Punjab. Located in northern-central Punjab's Rachna Doab, it serves as the headquarters of its Gujranwala District, epony ...

Pakistan Pakistan, officially the Islamic Republic of Pakistan, is a country in South Asia. It is the List of countries and dependencies by population, fifth-most populous country, with a population of over 241.5 million, having the Islam by country# ...

in a lower-class family. Her family had migrated to

Karachi Karachi is the capital city of the Administrative units of Pakistan, province of Sindh, Pakistan. It is the List of cities in Pakistan by population, largest city in Pakistan and 12th List of largest cities, largest in the world, with a popul ...

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 ...

during the

partition of India The partition of India in 1947 was the division of British India into two independent dominion states, the Dominion of India, Union of India and Dominion of Pakistan. The Union of India is today the Republic of India, and the Dominion of Paki ...

in 1960s. Her father had remarried, so her mother was responsible for her and her siblings’ upbringing. Her mother supported the family through home-based work such as making flower garlands. Sara’s letters give an insight on the difficulties she and her family faced growing up in a household with an absent father. They faced economic hardship, which escalated as far as the family going hungry. Belonging to a poor and uneducated family, she wanted to rise socially but could not pass her

matriculation Matriculation is the formal process of entering a university, or of becoming eligible to enter by fulfilling certain academic requirements such as a matriculation examination. Australia In Australia, the term ''matriculation'' is seldom used no ...

. She was forcibly married at the age of 17 and had a child with her husband, that died as a newborn. The blame for the baby's death was directed towards Sara, which led to her divorce from her husband. This was followed by three other unsuccessful marriages. An abusive relationship with her father, emotionally and sexually abused in her childhood, divorced by four men, shunned by her children and outcast by society, Sara Shagufta led a life littered with suffering. She developed mental illnesses as a result of the challenges she faced. She was admitted to a mental hospital due to her illness. After a non-fatal suicide attempt, she died by suicide at an early age of 29 on 4 June 1984, around 11 PM.

Works

Her collections of poetry was published posthumously as ''Aankhein'' and ''Neend Ka Rang'' by Saeed Ahmed, a person she was in love with. Asad Alvi translated her poetry into English and published as ''The Colour of Sleep and Other Poems'' (2016). English translations of her poems 'Woman and Salt', 'To Daughter, Sheely' and 'The Moon is Quite Alone' appear in ''We Sinful Women'' by Rukhsana Ahmad.Ahmad, R. (1991). We sinful women: Contemporary Urdu feminist poetry. London: The Women's Press.

Legacy

Indian author

Amrita Pritam Amrita Pritam (; 31 August 1919 – 31 October 2005) was an Indian novelist, essayist and poet, who wrote in Punjabi and Hindi. A prominent figure in Punjabi literature, she is the recipient of the 1956 Sahitya Akademi Award. Her body o ...

, also a close friend of Sara, wrote two books based on the life and works of Sara; ''Ek Thi Sara'' (There was a Sara) (1990) and ''Life and Poetry of Sara Shagufta'' (1994). ''Main Sara'' (Me, Sara), a play written by Shahid Anwar, is based on the life of Sara. ''Sara Ka Sara Aasman'', another play written by Danish Iqbal and directed by Tarique Hameed, is also based on the life of Sara. Based on Amrita Pritam's books on Sara, the play was presented by Wings Cultural Society at

All India Radio All India Radio (AIR), also known as Akashvani (), is India's state-owned public broadcasting, public radio broadcaster. Founded in 1936, it operates under the Ministry of Information and Broadcasting (India), Ministry of Information and Broa ...

's Urdu Theatre Festival in 2015.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Shagufta, Sara 1954 births 1984 deaths People from Gujranwala Urdu-language poets from Pakistan Pakistani women writers Suicides in Pakistan Suicides by train 1984 suicides

Life

Works

Legacy

Further reading

See also

References