Remembering Jaun Elia

Famous among Urdu literary circles today, it was only after his death that Pakistani communist poet Jaun Elia (1931- 2002) gained popularity and took the cyberspace by storm.

SBS Urdu Producer Ayesha Hasan (L) with Saadia Ahmed (R). Source: SBS Urdu

What made him immensely popular was his distinct style of reciting poems at mushairas (poetry symposia) that, those who attended say, were full of pain, suffering and disarray.

سارے رشتے تباہ کر آیا 

دل برباد اپنے گھر آیا 

آخرش خون تھوکنے سے میاں 

بات میں تیری کیا اثر آیا 

Saquib Salim, a writer and a researcher of modern history at JNU in New Delhi, writes that Elia was a communist poet who found religion and Marxism compatible. Quoting Elia, Salim writes, “The existence of an imperialist and capitalist US and west Europe is a disgrace to the 21st century modern society.”

To mark Elia’s 16th death anniversary, his political and philosophical wisdom, SBS Urdu talked to Pakistani-Australian writer Saadia Ahmed about Elia – the charismatic person that he was and the name that continues to rule millions of hearts in the Indo-Pak sub-continent.   

This podcast includes an introduction to the segment by SBS Urdu's Executive Producer Rehan Alavi.

Old friends: Jaun Elia (L) and Obaidullah Aleem Source: Dawn/The Vintage Pakistan

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