Majeed Amjad
Encyclopedia
Majeed Amjad (Urdu: مجید امجد ) was one of the greatest of modern Urdu
poets
of the Indian subcontinent
. In the popular culture he is not as well known or widely read as Faiz Ahmed Faiz
, Noon Meem Rashid
, Nasir Kazmi
or Meeraji but amongst the cognoscenti and many critics he is widely regarded as a philosophical poet of great depth and sensitivity. His refined poetic mind was not widely recognized in his lifetime as he lived a life of bureaucratic obscurity in a small West Punjabi town. Also, he was not in the forefront of any political literary movements (such as the leftist "Progressive Writers Movement") that actively promoted even mediocre poets from within their own ranks.
Majeed Amjad was born on June 29, 1914 in Jhang
, a small town in the Pakistani province of Punjab
. He was born into a fairly poor but respectable family. However, he was only two years old when his parents separated and his mother moved back into her parents' house with the young boy. Early on, Majeed Amjad was taught by his maternal grandfather. Then for a few years he studied Arabic and Persian at a local mosque before enrolling in first grade in a government school. He passed his Matriculation exam in first division from Islamia High School, Jhang. Two years later he completed his Intermediate exam, also in first division from Government College, Jhang. Since at the time there were no educational institutions of higher learning in Jhang he moved to Lahore
and eventually received his Bachelor's degree in 1934 from Islamia College Railway Road in Lahore.
These were the days of the Great Depression and economic opportunities were limited even for highly educated people. Majeed Amjad returned to Jhang and joined a weekly newspaper named "Arooj". He remained an editor of the newspaper until 1939. Both his prose and poetry were regularly published in the weekly. At the advent of the Second World War, a poem of his against the British Empire was printed on the front page of Arooj and he was forced to leave the newspaper. After that he found a job as a clerk in the Jhang District Board. In 1944, the government set up a civil supplies department to ration food and clothing. He passed an entrance exam and joined this department and stayed on with the Food Department until his retirement in 1972 at the age of 58, when he was residing in Montgomery (now Sahiwal
). He lived in many small and large towns all over Punjab during his employment with the Food Department including Lyallpur
(now Faisalabad
), Gojra
, Muzaffargarh
, Rawalpindi
, Lahore and Montgomery. He was married to one of his cousins in 1939. His wife was an elementary school teacher but their personalities were not compatible. His marriage was a total disaster. He passed the last twenty eight years in Sahiwal while his wife stayed in Jhang. Majeed Amjad breathed his last on May 11, 1974. They had no children.
The first collection of his poetry, "Shab-e-Rafta", was published in 1958 for which he wrote a beautiful preface in verse. This was published by "Naya Idara" in Lahore. This was the only collection published in his lifetime even though Majeed Amjad had written fairly extensively all his life. After his death, the manuscripts of his unpublished poetry were preserved by Mr. Javaid Qureshi who was then the Deputy Commissioner of Sahiwal. In 1976, Mr. Qureshi with the help of some other people, published a second collection of his poetry titled "Shab-e-Rafta Ke Baad". It was not until 1989 that the Urdu critic Dr. Khawaja Muhammad Zakariya edited and published a complete collection of his works called "Kuliyat-e-Majeed Amjad".
Majeed Amjad was fluent in English
and Persian
and had deep familiarity with Arabic and Hindi. He had read widely and was well exposed to western literature as well as learning in the sciences (particularly astronomy) and social sciences. These catholic tastes were evident in his poetry. He translated several modern American poets that he had read in an American poetry anthology.
Majeed Amjad had an incredibly original and distinctive poetic voice. The variety of themes and innovative forms in his poetry are startling and one is hard pressed to find other modern Urdu poets with such a range and depth.
Urdu
Urdu is a register of the Hindustani language that is identified with Muslims in South Asia. It belongs to the Indo-European family. Urdu is the national language and lingua franca of Pakistan. It is also widely spoken in some regions of India, where it is one of the 22 scheduled languages and an...
poets
Urdu poetry
Urdu poetry is a rich tradition of poetry and has many different types and forms. Borrowing much from the Persian language, it is today an important part of Pakistani and North Indian culture....
of the Indian subcontinent
Indian subcontinent
The Indian subcontinent, also Indian Subcontinent, Indo-Pak Subcontinent or South Asian Subcontinent is a region of the Asian continent on the Indian tectonic plate from the Hindu Kush or Hindu Koh, Himalayas and including the Kuen Lun and Karakoram ranges, forming a land mass which extends...
. In the popular culture he is not as well known or widely read as Faiz Ahmed Faiz
Faiz Ahmed Faiz
Faiz Ahmad Faiz was a Pakistani intellectual, poet, and one of the most famous poets of the Urdu language. He was a member of the Anjuman Tarraqi Pasand Mussanafin-e-Hind and an avowed Marxist. In 1962, he was awarded the Lenin Peace Prize by the Soviet Union...
, Noon Meem Rashid
Noon Meem Rashid
Nazar Mohammed Rashed commonly known as Noon Meem Rashed or N.M. Rashed, was born as Raja Nazar Muhmmad Janjua...
, Nasir Kazmi
Nasir Kazmi
Syed Nasir Raza Kazmi, was a renowned Urdu poet of Pakistan. He was one of the greatest poets of this era, especially in the use of "ista'aaray" and "chhotee beher". Kazmi was born on December 8, 1925 at Ambala in British India.-Education and Career:Kazmi was educated at Ambala, Simla and Lahore...
or Meeraji but amongst the cognoscenti and many critics he is widely regarded as a philosophical poet of great depth and sensitivity. His refined poetic mind was not widely recognized in his lifetime as he lived a life of bureaucratic obscurity in a small West Punjabi town. Also, he was not in the forefront of any political literary movements (such as the leftist "Progressive Writers Movement") that actively promoted even mediocre poets from within their own ranks.
Majeed Amjad was born on June 29, 1914 in Jhang
Jhang
- Demographics :According to 1981 census of Pakistan population of Jhang was 1,970,944 with the 434,495 housing units in Jhang. In 1998 census, population of Jhang was 2,834,545, whose annually growth rate was 2.16%. Male population was 1,474,099 and female population was 1,360,446...
, a small town in the Pakistani province of Punjab
Punjab (Pakistan)
Punjab is the most populous province of Pakistan, with approximately 45% of the country's total population. Forming most of the Punjab region, the province is bordered by Kashmir to the north-east, the Indian states of Punjab and Rajasthan to the east, the Pakistani province of Sindh to the...
. He was born into a fairly poor but respectable family. However, he was only two years old when his parents separated and his mother moved back into her parents' house with the young boy. Early on, Majeed Amjad was taught by his maternal grandfather. Then for a few years he studied Arabic and Persian at a local mosque before enrolling in first grade in a government school. He passed his Matriculation exam in first division from Islamia High School, Jhang. Two years later he completed his Intermediate exam, also in first division from Government College, Jhang. Since at the time there were no educational institutions of higher learning in Jhang he moved to Lahore
Lahore
Lahore is the capital of the Pakistani province of Punjab and the second largest city in the country. With a rich and fabulous history dating back to over a thousand years ago, Lahore is no doubt Pakistan's cultural capital. One of the most densely populated cities in the world, Lahore remains a...
and eventually received his Bachelor's degree in 1934 from Islamia College Railway Road in Lahore.
These were the days of the Great Depression and economic opportunities were limited even for highly educated people. Majeed Amjad returned to Jhang and joined a weekly newspaper named "Arooj". He remained an editor of the newspaper until 1939. Both his prose and poetry were regularly published in the weekly. At the advent of the Second World War, a poem of his against the British Empire was printed on the front page of Arooj and he was forced to leave the newspaper. After that he found a job as a clerk in the Jhang District Board. In 1944, the government set up a civil supplies department to ration food and clothing. He passed an entrance exam and joined this department and stayed on with the Food Department until his retirement in 1972 at the age of 58, when he was residing in Montgomery (now Sahiwal
Sahiwal
Sahiwal is a city in Punjab, Pakistan. It is the administrative centre of Sahiwal District and Sahiwal Division. Sahiwal is approximately 180 km from the major city Lahore and is the city between Lahore and Multan...
). He lived in many small and large towns all over Punjab during his employment with the Food Department including Lyallpur
Faisalabad
Faisalabad , formerly known as Lyallpur, is the third largest metropolis in Pakistan, the second largest in the province of Punjab after Lahore, and a major industrial center in the heart of Pakistan. Before the foundation of the city in 1880, the area was very thinly populated. The population has...
(now Faisalabad
Faisalabad
Faisalabad , formerly known as Lyallpur, is the third largest metropolis in Pakistan, the second largest in the province of Punjab after Lahore, and a major industrial center in the heart of Pakistan. Before the foundation of the city in 1880, the area was very thinly populated. The population has...
), Gojra
Gojra
Gojra , the capital of Gojra Tehsil, is a city of Toba Tek Singh District in the Punjab province of Pakistan, it is located at 31°9'N 72°41'E and is located 30 miles from Faisalabad, 125 km from Burewala, 157 km from Vehari and north of Toba Tek Singh...
, Muzaffargarh
Muzaffargarh
Muzaffargarh is a city in southwestern Punjab, Pakistan, located on the bank of the Chenab River. The Town of Muzaffargarh was founded in 1794 by the Governor of Mulran Nawab Muzaffar Khan.The Meaning of Muzaffargarh is "Fort of Muzaffar" because the old town lies inside the walls of a fort built...
, Rawalpindi
Rawalpindi
Rawalpindi , locally known as Pindi, is a city in the Pothohar region of Pakistan near Pakistan's capital city of Islamabad, in the province of Punjab. Rawalpindi is the fourth largest city in Pakistan after Karachi, Lahore and Faisalabad...
, Lahore and Montgomery. He was married to one of his cousins in 1939. His wife was an elementary school teacher but their personalities were not compatible. His marriage was a total disaster. He passed the last twenty eight years in Sahiwal while his wife stayed in Jhang. Majeed Amjad breathed his last on May 11, 1974. They had no children.
The first collection of his poetry, "Shab-e-Rafta", was published in 1958 for which he wrote a beautiful preface in verse. This was published by "Naya Idara" in Lahore. This was the only collection published in his lifetime even though Majeed Amjad had written fairly extensively all his life. After his death, the manuscripts of his unpublished poetry were preserved by Mr. Javaid Qureshi who was then the Deputy Commissioner of Sahiwal. In 1976, Mr. Qureshi with the help of some other people, published a second collection of his poetry titled "Shab-e-Rafta Ke Baad". It was not until 1989 that the Urdu critic Dr. Khawaja Muhammad Zakariya edited and published a complete collection of his works called "Kuliyat-e-Majeed Amjad".
Majeed Amjad was fluent in English
English language
English is a West Germanic language that arose in the Anglo-Saxon kingdoms of England and spread into what was to become south-east Scotland under the influence of the Anglian medieval kingdom of Northumbria...
and Persian
Persian language
Persian is an Iranian language within the Indo-Iranian branch of the Indo-European languages. It is primarily spoken in Iran, Afghanistan, Tajikistan and countries which historically came under Persian influence...
and had deep familiarity with Arabic and Hindi. He had read widely and was well exposed to western literature as well as learning in the sciences (particularly astronomy) and social sciences. These catholic tastes were evident in his poetry. He translated several modern American poets that he had read in an American poetry anthology.
Majeed Amjad had an incredibly original and distinctive poetic voice. The variety of themes and innovative forms in his poetry are startling and one is hard pressed to find other modern Urdu poets with such a range and depth.