Sher Muhammad Khan ( ur, ), (

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

, ), better known by his pen name Ibn-e-Insha, ( ur, ), (

, ) (15 June 1927 – 11 January 1978)Profile of ''Ibn-e-Insha'' on allpoetry.com website
Retrieved 14 June 2019 was a Pakistani

Urdu poet Urdu poetry ( ur, ) is a tradition of poetry and has many different forms. Today, it is an important part of the cultures of South Asia. According to Naseer Turabi there are five major poets of Urdu which are Mir Taqi Mir (d.1810), Mirza Ghal ...

, humorist,

travelogue Travelogue may refer to: Genres * Travel literature, a record of the experiences of an author travelling * Travel documentary A travel documentary is a documentary film, television program, or online series that describes travel in general or t ...

writer and

newspaper columnist A columnist is a person who writes for publication in a series, creating an article that usually offers commentary and opinions. Columns appear in newspapers, magazines and other publications, including blogs. They take the form of a short essay ...

. Along with his poetry, he was regarded as one of the best humorists of

Urdu Urdu (;"Urdu"
''

. His poetry has a distinctive diction laced with language reminiscent of

Amir Khusro Abu'l Hasan Yamīn ud-Dīn Khusrau (1253–1325 AD), better known as Amīr Khusrau was an Indo-Persian Sufi singer, musician, poet and scholar who lived under the Delhi Sultanate. He is an iconic figure in the cultural history of the Indian s ...

in its use of words and construction that is usually heard in the more earthy dialects of the

Hindi-Urdu Hindustani (; Devanagari: , * * * * ; Perso-Arabic: , , ) is the '' lingua franca'' of Northern and Central India and Pakistan. Hindustani is a pluricentric language with two standard registers, known as Hindi and Urdu. Thus, the la ...

complex of languages, and his forms and poetic style is an influence on generations of young poets.Biography of Ibn-e-Insha on poemhunter.com website
Retrieved 14 June 2019

Biography

Insha was born in

Phillaur Phillaur is a city and a municipal council as well as a tehsil in Jalandhar district in the Indian state of Punjab. Overview Phillaur is the railway junction on the border line of Ludhiana Main and Ludhiana Cantonment (older spelling: Ludhia ...

tehsil of

Jalandhar District Jalandhar district is a district in Doaba region of the state of Punjab, India. District headquarters is Jalandhar city. Before the Partition of India, Jalandhar was also the headquarters of the Jalandhar Division, with constituent districts ...

Punjab Punjab (; Punjabi: پنجاب ; ਪੰਜਾਬ ; ; also romanised as ''Panjāb'' or ''Panj-Āb'') is a geopolitical, cultural, and historical region in South Asia, specifically in the northern part of the Indian subcontinent, comprising ...

, India. His father hailed from

Rajasthan Rajasthan (; lit. 'Land of Kings') is a state in northern India. It covers or 10.4 per cent of India's total geographical area. It is the largest Indian state by area and the seventh largest by population. It is on India's northwestern s ...

. In 1946, he received his B.A. degree from

Punjab University Punjab University may refer to: India * Punjab Agricultural University, a state agricultural university in Ludhiana, Punjab * I. K. Gujral Punjab Technical University, a State university in Jalandhar, Punjab * Panjab University, a public collegia ...

and subsequently, his M.A. from

University of Karachi The University of Karachi ( sd, ; informally Karachi University, KU, or UoK) is a public research university located in Karachi, Sindh, Pakistan. Established in June 1951 by an act of Parliament and as a successor to the University of Sindh (whic ...

in 1953. He was associated with various governmental services including

Radio Pakistan Radio Pakistan serves as the national public broadcaster for radio in Pakistan. Although some local stations predate Radio Pakistan's founding, it is the oldest existing broadcasting network in Pakistan. The network was established on 14 August ...

, the Ministry of Culture and the National Book Centre of Pakistan. He also served the UN for some time and this enabled him to visit many places, all of which served to inspire the travelogues he would then pen. Some of the places he visited include Japan,

Philippines The Philippines (; fil, Pilipinas, links=no), officially the Republic of the Philippines ( fil, Republika ng Pilipinas, links=no), * bik, Republika kan Filipinas * ceb, Republika sa Pilipinas * cbk, República de Filipinas * hil, Republ ...

, China, Hong Kong,

Thailand Thailand ( ), historically known as Siam () and officially the Kingdom of Thailand, is a country in Southeast Asia, located at the centre of the Indochinese Peninsula, spanning , with a population of almost 70 million. The country is b ...

Indonesia Indonesia, officially the Republic of Indonesia, is a country in Southeast Asia and Oceania between the Indian and Pacific oceans. It consists of over 17,000 islands, including Sumatra, Java, Sulawesi, and parts of Borneo and New Guine ...

Malaysia Malaysia ( ; ) is a country in Southeast Asia. The federation, federal constitutional monarchy consists of States and federal territories of Malaysia, thirteen states and three federal territories, separated by the South China Sea into two r ...

India India, officially the Republic of India ( Hindi: ), is a country in South Asia. It is the seventh-largest country by area, the second-most populous country, and the most populous democracy in the world. Bounded by the Indian Ocean on the ...

Afghanistan Afghanistan, officially the Islamic Emirate of Afghanistan,; prs, امارت اسلامی افغانستان is a landlocked country located at the crossroads of Central Asia and South Asia. Referred to as the Heart of Asia, it is bord ...

Iran Iran, officially the Islamic Republic of Iran, and also called Persia, is a country located in Western Asia. It is bordered by Iraq and Turkey to the west, by Azerbaijan and Armenia to the northwest, by the Caspian Sea and Turkm ...

Turkey Turkey ( tr, Türkiye ), officially the Republic of Türkiye ( tr, Türkiye Cumhuriyeti, links=no ), is a list of transcontinental countries, transcontinental country located mainly on the Anatolia, Anatolian Peninsula in Western Asia, with ...

, France, UK and the United States. His teachers included Habibullah Ghazenfar Amrohvi, Dr.

Ghulam Mustafa Khan Ghulam Mustafa Khan, SI ( ur, ڈاکٹر غلام مصطفیٰ خان) (23 September 1912 – 25 September 2005) was a researcher, literary critic, linguist, author, scholar of Urdu literature and linguistics, educationist and religious and ...

and Dr.

Abdul Qayyum ʻAbd al-Qayyūm (ALA-LC romanization of ar, عبد القيوم) is a male Muslim given name. It is built from the Arabic words '' ʻabd'' and ''al-Qayyūm'', one of the names of God in the Qur'an, which give rise to the Muslim theophoric names. ...

. In the late 1940s, in his youth years, Ibn-e-Insha had also lived together with the renowned film poet

Sahir Ludhianvi Abdul Hayee (8 March 1921 – 25 October 1980), popularly known by his pen name ( takhallus) Sahir Ludhianvi, was an Indian poet and film song lyricist who wrote primarily in Urdu in addition to Hindi. His work influenced Indian cinema, i ...

Lahore Lahore ( ; pnb, ; ur, ) is the second most populous city in Pakistan after Karachi and 26th most populous city in the world, with a population of over 13 million. It is the capital of the province of Punjab where it is the largest ...

for a short period. He was also active in the

Progressive Writers Movement The Progressive Writers' Association or the Progressive Writers' Movement of India or ''Anjuman Tarraqi Pasand Mussanafin-e-Hind'' (( ur, ) or ''Akhil Bhartiya Pragatishil Lekhak Sangh'' (Hindi: अखिल भारतीय प्रगति� ...

. Ibn-e-Insha spent the remainder of his life in

Karachi Karachi (; ur, ; ; ) is the most populous city in Pakistan and 12th most populous city in the world, with a population of over 20 million. It is situated at the southern tip of the country along the Arabian Sea coast. It is the former ...

before he died of

Hodgkin's Lymphoma Hodgkin lymphoma (HL) is a type of lymphoma, in which cancer originates from a specific type of white blood cell called lymphocytes, where multinucleated Reed–Sternberg cells (RS cells) are present in the patient's lymph nodes. The condition w ...

on 11 January 1978, while he was in London. He was later buried in

, Pakistan. His son, Roomi Insha was a Pakistani director until his death on 16 October 2017.

Literary career

Insha is considered to be one of the best poets and writers of his generation. His most famous

ghazal The ''ghazal'' ( ar, غَزَل, bn, গজল, Hindi-Urdu: /, fa, غزل, az, qəzəl, tr, gazel, tm, gazal, uz, gʻazal, gu, ગઝલ) is a form of amatory poem or ode, originating in Arabic poetry. A ghazal may be understood as a ...

''Insha Ji Utthoo Ab Kooch Karo'' (Rise oh Insha Ji, and let us set off ) is an influential classic ghazal. Ibn-e-Insha had written several travelogues, showcasing his sense of humor and his work has been appreciated by both Urdu writers and critics. He also translated a collection of Chinese poems into Urdu in 1960.

Bibliography

Poetry * ''Chand Nagar'' چاند نگر * ''Is Basti Key Ik Koochey Main''اِس بستی کے اِک کوچے میں * ''Dil-e-Wehshi'' دلِ وحشی * ''Billo Ka Basta'' بِلو کا بستہ ''(Rhymes for Children)'' * ''Qissa Aik Kunvaaray ka'' (A translation of a lengthy humorous poem by a German poet Wilhelm Bosch) Travelogue * ''Awara Gard Ki Diary'' آوارہ گرد کی ڈائری * ''Dunya Gol Hey'' دنیا گول ہے * ''

Ibn Battuta Abu Abdullah Muhammad ibn Battutah (, ; 24 February 13041368/1369),; fully: ; Arabic: commonly known as Ibn Battuta, was a Berber Maghrebi scholar and explorer who travelled extensively in the lands of Afro-Eurasia, largely in the Muslim ...

Kay Taqub mein' (1974)Ibne Insha – the wanderer of Chand Nagar
The Express Tribune (newspaper), Published 10 January 2016, Retrieved 14 June 2019 * ''Chaltay Ho To Cheen Ko Chaliye'' چلتے ھو تو چِین کو چلیے * ''Nagri Nagri Phira Musafar'' نگری نگری پِھرا مسافر Humor * ''Urdu Ki Aakhri Kitaab'' (1971) اردو کی آخری کتاب * ''Khat Insha Jee Kay'' خط انشّا جی کے Collection of letters * ''Khumar e Gandum'' خمارِگندم * ''Aap se kya Parda'' آپ سے کیا پردہ (published in June 2004) * ''Batain Insha ji ki'' (published in June 2005) * ''Dakhl Dar Ma'qulaat'' (published in June 2019) Translations * ''Seher Honay Tak'' (translation of Cherkhov work) * ''Karnamay Nawab Tees Maar Khan Kay'' (translation of German Short stories), published in June 1971 * ''Lakhon Ka Shaher'' (translation of some short stories of O. Henry) * ''Andha Kunvaan'' (translation of some short stories of Edgar Allan Poe)

Awards and recognition

* Ibn-e-Insha was awarded the

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

Award by the

President of Pakistan The president of Pakistan ( ur, , translit=s̤adr-i Pākiṣṭān), officially the President of the Islamic Republic of Pakistan, is the ceremonial head of state of Pakistan and the commander-in-chief of the Pakistan Armed Forces.Pride of Performance Award info for Ibn-e-Insha on YouTube
Retrieved 14 June 2019

References

External links

* * http://www.studybee.net/ibn-e-insha-poetry/ Poetry of Ibn-e-Insha {{DEFAULTSORT:Insha, Ibn-e- University of the Punjab alumni 1927 births 1978 deaths People of British India People from Jalandhar Muhajir people Urdu-language poets from Pakistan Pakistani humorists University of Karachi alumni Urdu-language humorists Pakistani Muslims Pakistani Sunni Muslims Pakistani travel writers Writers from Karachi Urdu-language children's writers 20th-century Urdu-language writers Urdu-language travel writers Urdu-language columnists 20th-century poets Recipients of the Pride of Performance Poets from Karachi