Hasan Abidi   was a noted Pakistani journalist, writer and a senior Urdu language poet.

 He was born on July 7, 1929 in Jaunpur, UP, and educated in Azamgarh and Allahabad and after the partition of India in 1947, he moved to Pakistan and settled in Karachi and associated with journalism and writing. He became president of the Karachi Press Club and held office in both the Karachi Union of Journalist and the Pakistan Federal Union of Journalists. He was also an active member of the Irtiqa forum. He died on September 6, 2005 in Karachi.

 According to Yasmin Hameed his collections of poetry are Navisht-i-Nai (1995), Jareeda (1998) and Farar Hona Huroof ka (2004). He has also translated Eqbal Ahmed's essays into Urdu and written stories and poems for children. Hasan Abidi writes both ghazals and nazms. He is more in control of his craft in the traditional confines of the ghazal but chooses another style and content for his nazms. Most of his nazms are a narrative of the socio-political aspects of the society. He persistently elegizes the changing value system that he finds alien and disconcerting. His collection of poems, Farar Hona Huroof ka, was published in 2004, by Scheherzade, Karachi.

 Senior journalist and poet Hasan Abidi dies

KARACHI: Senior journalist, poet and writer Hasan Abidi died of a heart attack on Tuesday morning. He was 75.

He leaves behind his wife, Tahira, who is the sister of literary figures Aisha Jamal, Hajra Masroor and Khadija Mastoor, two daughters and a son.

He suffered an angina pain early in the morning and was taken to the National Institute of Cardio-Vascular Diseases where he died. He was buried at Wadi-e-Hussain graveyard. His soyem will be held today at 3:00pm at his residence 16/B, Block IV-A, Journalists Colony, Gulshan-e-Iqbal.

Hasan Abidi was born in Jaunpur, UP, India, in 1929. He began his journalistic career in Lahore from daily Afaq. In Lahore he also worked for weekly Lail-o-Nihar and daily Mashriq. He rejoined the weekly when it appeared under the late Sibte Hassan from Karachi in 1970-71. He went back to Mashriq’s Akhbar-e-Khwateen after the closure of Lail-o-Nihar. Following the closure of Mashriq and its various publications in the 90s, Mr Abidi joined Dawn where he worked till his death.

He had to his credit poetry collections Nawisht-e-Nay, Jareeda, and Farar Hona Huroof Ka. He also wrote verses for children in his book kaghaz ki kashti. He also translated several English books and articles into Urdu.

A former president of the Karachi Press Club and chairman of its literary committee, Hasan Abidi remained enthusiastically committed to his literary and professional pursuits till his death. His last major appearance was at a function at the Arts Council organised for short story writer Khadija Mastoor a few days before his death.

Hasan Abidi could arguably be described as a literary face of Karachi as the late journalist-poet contributed a lot to the city. Karachi’s literary scene therefore owes a lot to him. Journalists, poets and writers are witness to the life-long contributions this feeble-looking man, who never looked tired, has made. He would be attending and reporting literary functions and sittings taking place anywhere in the city with enthusiasm despite his old age.

Daily Times Pakistan

Wednesday, September 07, 2005