Renowned poet, biographer and scholar Jaun Elia’s birth anniversary was celebrated on Friday.  Jaun was born in Amroha, Uttar Pradesh, on December 14, 1931. He migrated to Pakistan in 1957 and settled in Karachi. He wrote his first Urdu couplet when he was 8. His first collection of poetry, Shayad, was published at the age of 60. His second poetic collection, Ya’ani, was published in 2003.  His collections, Gumaan in 2004, Lekin in 2006 and Goya in 2008, were published by his companion Khalid Ansari after Jaunn’s death in 2002. He was the youngest of his siblings. His father Allama Shafiq Hasan Elia was deeply involved in art and literature and also an astrologer and a poet. His prose and translations of major Ismaili philosophical works can be found at Ismaili Tariqah Board libraries in Karachi. He was fluent in Arabic, English, Persian, Sanskrit and Hebrew. For his literary services, he got the Presidential Pride of Performance Award. He died on November 8, 2002, after a protracted illness. –Staff Reporter