Mirza Adeeb, PP, BA (Hon), (Urdu: مرزا ادیب—Mirzā Adīb; 4 April 1914 – 31 July 1999[1][2][3]), also known as Meerza Adeeb, (میرزا ادیب—Mīrzā Adīb),[3] was a Pakistani Urdu writer of dramas and short stories.[4] His plays and short stories won him six prizes and awards from the Pakistan Writers' Guild.[1]

Mirza Adeeb
A portrait of Mirza Adeeb
Native name	میرزا ادیب (Urdu)
Born	Mirza Dilawer (1914-04-04)4 April 1914 Lahore, Punjab, British India (now Pakistan)
Died	31 July 1999(1999-07-31) (aged 85) Lahore, Punjab, Pakistan
Pen name	Meerza Adeeb
Occupation	Dramatist or Playwright, Short story writer
Language	Punjabi, Urdu
Nationality	British Indian (1914–1947) Pakistani (1947–1999)
Citizenship	Pakistani
Education	B.A. (Hon.)
Alma mater	Islamia College, Railway Road, Lahore[1] Government Islamia High School, Bhati Gate, Lahore
Period	Modern Era (Post-World War II)
Genre	Drama, short story
Subject	Verisimilitude, Realism and Romanticism
Literary movement	Progressive Movement Romanticist Movement
Notable works	Pas-i Pardah (1967), Caccā Coṉc
Notable awards	Pride of Performance 1981[1] Adamjee Literary Award – Pakistan Writers' Guild[1] 31 January 1968 Pas-i Pardah – Drama United Book Prize – Pakistan Writers' Guild[1] 2 November 1976 Caccā Coṉc – Short story

This article contains Urdu text. Without proper rendering support, you may see unjoined letters running left to right or other symbols instead of Urdu script.

Name

Mirza Adeeb's birth name was Mirza Dilawer Ali,[5][6] but he came to be known in the literary world as Mirza Adeeb. (Mirza denotes the rank of a high nobleman or Prince,[Note 1] and Adeeb means 'Litterateur'.)

Early life

He was born in 1914, in Lahore, British India to Mirza Basheer Ali.[7][1] He attended Government Islamia High School, Bhati Gate, Lahore. He got his Bachelor of Arts degree from Islamia College, Lahore. He initially focused on poetry, then devoted himself to playwriting.[1][5]

Career

Plays

At first, being influenced from the Rūmānwī Tẹḥrīk, (رومانوی تحریک—Urdu for 'The Romanticist Movement'), he wrote romantic prose.[8]

Later, he switched to writing plays about everyday events and incidents taking place in the society; focusing more on social problems and quotidian issues. His later works were pragmatist and verisimilitudinous.[6] He used simple and everyday language in his plays, which enabled them to get a greater audience. Moreover, he had begun writing one-act dramas, which made them easier to broadcast over radio and television.[9] When he affiliated himself with Radio Pakistan, many of his plays were broadcast and they gained popularity among the masses.[10] He is listed as a prominent Urdu playwright of the Modern Era.[9]

Other works

His main works, other than dramas, include stories and biographies.[9] He also wrote critical essays and commentaries on books, besides writing columns in newspapers. He was also influenced by the Taraqqī-Pasasnd Tẹḥrīk (ترقّی-پسند تحریک—Urdu for 'Progressive Movement').[9] He was also the editor of magazines, of which the most notable is Adab-e Laṭīf, (ادبِ لطیف—Urdu for ''Humorous Literature''). He also translated some American stories to Urdu.[9]

Style

Following are the main features of Mirza Adeeb's style of writing:[9]

• Objectivity: His plays had a strong sense of objectivity in them.
• Riveting dialogues: The dialogues he chose were grounded, yet captivating. Each character spoke according to his/her social status and his dramas did not contain artificial, literary dialogues. His dialogues also contained witty repartees and striking replies.
• Versatility: His story lines include a variety of topics, taken from the prosaic lives on common people.
• Pragmatism: Rather than focusing on characterisation, as did many of his contemporaries, he focused more on events.
• Humanitarianism: His plays and stories have a humanitarian and philanthropic outlook.

Works

• His selective drama-collections are:
• Āⁿsū aur Sitārē (آنسو اور ستارے, Urdu for ''Tears and the Stars''),[5]
• Lahū aur Qālīn (لہو اور قالین, Urdu for ''the Blood and the Carpet''),[5]
• Šīšē kī Dīwār (شیشے کی دیوار, Urdu for ''the Wall of Glass''),[5][11]
• Sutūn' (ستون, Urdu for ''the Pillar''),[5][12]
• Faṣīl-e Šab' (فصیلِ شب, Urdu for ''Part of the Night''),[1]
• m'Pas-e Pardah (پسِ پرده, Urdu for ''Beneath the Veil'', 1967),[1][6]
• Xāk Našīn' (خاک نشین, Urdu for ''the Earth Dwellers'')[8] and
• Šīšah Mērē Saŋg (شیشہ میرے سنگ, Urdu for ''the Glass With Me'').[5]
• His selective short-story collections are:[9]
• Jaŋgal (جنگل, Urdu for ''the Jungle''),
• Dustak (دستک, Urdu for ''Knocking(on a door)''),
• Dīwārēⁿ (دیواریں, Urdu for ''the Walls''),
• Kambal (کمبل, Urdu for ''the Blanket''),
• Sharfoo Ki Kahani (شروف کی کہانی, Urdu for ''The Story of Nobel people''),
• Wo Larki Kon Thi (وہ لڑکی کون تھی, Urdu for ''Who was that girl'').
• His collection of personal biographies is 'Nāxun kā Qarź (ناخن کا قرض, Urdu for ''the Debt of the Fingernail'').[1]
• Miṫṫī kā Diyā (مٹّی کا دیا, Urdu for ''the Earthen Lamp'') is his autobiography.[1][6][13]

Awards

• Presidential Award for playwriting, 1969[10]
• Pride of Performance Award for literature in 1981[14][1]
• His play, Pas-e Pardah (1967), won him the Ādamjī Adabī Ēwārḋ (آدم جی ادبی ایوارڈ—Adamjee Literary Award)[9] in 1968[1]

See also

Notes

References