Ibn-e-Insha Biography

Ibn-e-Insha (Punjabi, Urdu: ابن انشاء born Sher Muhammad Khan شیر محمد خان) was a Pakistani Leftist Urdu poet, humorist, travelogue writer and columnist. Along with his poetry, he was regarded one of the best humorists of Urdu. His poetry has a distinctive diction laced with language reminiscent of Amir Khusro in its use of words and construction that is usually heard in the more earthy dialects of the Hindi-Urdu complex of languages, and his forms and poetic style is an influence on generations of young poets.

Biography

Insha was born in Phillaur tehsil of Jalandhar District, Punjab, India. His father hailed from Rajasthan. He received his B.A. degree from Punjab University in 1946 and M.A. from University of Karachi in 1953. He was associated with various governmental services including Radio Pakistan, Ministry of Culture and National Book Centre of Pakistan. He also served UN for some time and this enabled him to visit a lot of places and was the reason of his subsequent travelogues. Some of the places that he visited includes Japan, Philippines, China, Hong Kong, Thailand, Indonesia, Malaysia, India, Afghanistan, Iran, Turkey, France, UK and United States. Insha got the teachers like, Habibullah Ghazenfar Amrohvi, Dr. Ghulam Mustafa Khan and Dr. Abdul Qayyum. Insha spent much of his time in Karachi. He died of Hodgkin's Lymphoma on January 11, 1978 in London and was buried in Karachi.

Literary Career

Insha is considered as one of the best poets and writers of his generation. His most famous ghazal Insha Ji Utthoo (انشاء جی اٹھو) (Get up Insha Ji, Let's leave from here) is an influential classic ghazal. He has written several books of travelogues with a touch of humour. His work has been appreciated by Urdu writers and critics. He also translated a collection of Chinese poems in Urdu in 1960.