Death anniversary of Qateel Shifai observed

ISLAMABAD: The 15th death anniversary of renowned Urdu poet and lyricist Qateel Shifai was observed on Monday.

His real name was Muhammad Aurangzeb but adopted Qateel Shifai as his pen name.

Qateel Shifai was born in Haripur in 1919 and passed away on July 11 2001. Besides Ghazals and Geets Qateel Shifai had also written a large number of songs for Pakistani films.

The heart touching and evergreen tunes were composed on his poetic verses and the legendary singers of that era sung those in their melodious voices.

Many of his poem collections were published amongst them was ‘Mutriba’ which was given highest literature award in Pakistan.

Over 20 collections of verse and over 2 500 songs for Pakistani and Indian films were published.

His poetry has been translated into numerous languages including Hindi Gujarati English Russian and Chinese.

Qateel Shifai received the Pride of Performance Award in 1994 for his contribution to literature Adamjee Award, Naqoosh Award and Abasin Arts Council Award.

Literary figures across the country paid tribute to the remarkable literary services of renowned Urdu poet Qateel Shifai onhis death anniversary today.

Talking to APP renowned literary figure and Chairman Pakistan Academy of Letters (PAL) Dr. Qasim Bughio said Qateel Shifai was one of those great poets of 20th century who had gained international recognition.

He produced unmatchable work including ghazals and poems and gave life to the film industry through disseminating the message of love and deep philosophy of life he said.

He said that Qateel’s name would be remembered in the literary history of Indo-Pak.

Renowned literary critic Professor Fateh Malik termed Qateel Shifai a blessed lyricist who took genre of lyrics and songs to new heights.