Munir Niazi (Punjabi, Urdu: منیر نیازی; 19 April 1923 – 26 December 2006), was a Pakistani poet. He mostly wrote in the Punjabi and Urdu languages and also wrote for newspapers, magazines and radio.[1] In 1960, he established a publication institute, Al-Misal. He was later associated with Pakistan Television, Lahore and lived in Lahore till his death.
Early life and career
Munir Niazi was born on 19 April 1923 in Hoshiarpur district, Punjab, British India to a Punjabi speaking family of NiaziPathans.[2] He was initially educated at Khanpur. After the partition of India in 1947, he migrated and settled in Sahiwal, where he passed his matriculation examination.[2][1] He earned an intermediate degree from Govt. Sadiq Egerton College, Bahawalpur and a B.A. degree from Dayal Singh College, Lahore.[3][1] Munir Niazi launched a weekly, Seven Colours, from Sahiwal in 1949. Some of his poetry was used in films and these film songs became popular super-hits among the Pakistani public which established him as one of the foremost movie songwriters of Pakistan in the 1960s. For example, the film song in film Shaheed (1962), Uss Bewafa Ka Shehar Hai Aur Hum Hain Dosto and many others.[4][5]
Effective imagery in his poetry conveys pictures in a few words.[citation needed] He had experimented with poetic forms and had tried to create a new style, rhythm and diction in Urdu poetry. Innocence, mythology, nostalgia, dreams, eroticism, and romance are some of his most common themes. Selected English translations of Munir Niazi's poetic works were edited by Suhail Safdar and published in 1996.[9]
On his 86th birth anniversary, a book titled 'Munir Niazi Ki Baatain, Yadain' was launched to honor him at the Punjab Institute of Language, Art and Culture (Pilac) at Lahore. This book has interviews of the late Munir Niazi and opinion columns about him.[3]
