Parveen Shakir

Parveen Shakir,  (November 24, 1952 - December 26, 1994) was a Pakistani Urdu  poetess, teacher and a civil servant of the Government of Pakistan.

Shakir started writing at an early age, initially under the pen name of Beena, and published her first volume of poetry, Khushbu [Fragrance], to great acclaim, in 1976.She subsequently published other volumes of poetry - all well-received - including Inkaar [Refusal], Sad-barg [Marsh Marigold], Khud Kalami [Conversing with the Self] and Kaf-e-Aa'ina [The Edge of the Mirror], besides a collection of her newspaper columns, titled Gosha-e-Chashm [The Sight Corner], and was awarded one of Pakistan's highest honours,the Pride of performance for her outstanding contribution to literature.                                                    Reference:  http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Parveen_Shakir

Shakir died in 1994, as a result of a car accident while on her way to work. On her death the following "Qit'aa-e-Taareekh" was composed:

Surkh phooloN se Dhaki turbat-e-Parveen hai aaj
Jis ke lahje se har ik samt hai phaili khushboo
Fikr-e-taareekh-e-ajal par yeh kahaa Javed nay
Phool ! kah do "hai yahi baagh-e-adab ki khushboo"

1994 A.D.(numerical value)
(From ''Dhuwan Dhuwan Chehray",page 183,by Tanwir Phool)
English translation:

The tomb of Parveen is covered with red roses today.Her voice was spreading fragrance everywhere.On thinking about the year of her death,the angel told the poet to say "she is the fragrance of garden of literature."

 

 

Parveen Shakir was quite accomplished in areas outside Urdu poetry, as well. She had a Masters degree in English literature from the University of Karachi. She spent the 1990-91 academic year as a Fulbright Consortium Scholar at St. Joseph’s College and Trinity College, Hartford, Connecticut. 

At the time of her death , she was pursuing a degree in Public Administration at Harvard University.   (Ref: http://www.chowk.com).

 

On 26th December, 1994, on her way to work, her car collided with a truck and the world of modern Urdu poetry lost one of its brightest stars.