A man of letters

Better known for his nom de plume, Mirza Adeeb was born as Mirza Dilawer on April 4, 1914 in Lahore. A writer who rose to fame for his short stories and dramas in Urdu language, he won six prizes and awards from Pakistan Writers’ Guild. In the start of his career he wrote romantic prose loved by people of his time but later shifted his focus on writing plays about the daily chores of life and general incidents taking place in society. His drama’s plots were pragmatic and he was a versatile writer with a focus on objectivity and humanitarianism. Like A Hameed and Sufi Ghulam Mustafa Tabussam, he penned numerous short stories for children. His fluent and lucid style was liked by all. An honest and dedicated worker, he spent his life according to his principles.'The Earthen Lamp' (Mitti Ka Diya) is his autobiography wherein he has shown all the colours of his city beautifully. His life story is a role model for new writers and gives a lesson of resilience, tolerance and perseverence. He breathed his last on July 31, 1999.

Iftikhar Mirza

Islamabad