Islamabad- Death anniversaries of renowned poets Parveen Shakir and Munir Niazi are being observed today.
Born in Karachi on 24th November 1952, Parveen Shakir was an Urdu poet, teacher and a civil servant of the Government of Pakistan.
She started writing at an early age and published her first volume of poetry, Khushbu, to great acclaim, in 1976.
She subsequently published other volumes of poetry- Sad-barg in 1980, Khud Kalami and Inkar in 1990, Kaf e Aaina besides a collection of her newspaper columns, titled Gosha-e-Chashm.
She was awarded one of the country's highest honours, the Pride of Performance, for her outstanding contribution to literature. Her poetry books are collected in the volume Mah-e-Tamam.
Parveen Shakir died in 1994 in a car accident while on her way to work in Islamabad.
Munir Niazi wrote poetry in Urdu as well as Punjabi. Taiz Hawa Aur Tanha Phool, Jungle mein Dhanak, Dushmanoon Kay Darmiyan Sham and Mah-e-Munir are some of his Urdu publications. In Punjabi, he published Safar di Raat, Char Chup Cheezan and Rasta Dasan Walay Tarey.
He experimented with poetic forms and tried to create a new style, rhythm and diction in Urdu poetry. Innocence, mythology, nostalgia, dreams, eroticism, and romance are some of his most favorite themes.
He wrote numerous songs for films and made his name as the foremost songwriter of Pakistan. He also wrote for newspapers, magazines and Radio. Munir Niazi died of respiratory disease this day in 2006 in Lahore.