Literary luminary, educationist Jamiluddin Aali passes away

KARACHI: Renowned Urdu poet, educationist and literary luminary Jamiluddin Aali passed away in Karachi on Monday, Dawn reported.
Aali, 90, died of heart failure at a hospital in Karachi where he was under treatment for sometime for diabetes and respiratory illness.
The prominent poet, critic and retired banker was known to younger generation for his immortal patriotic songs as “jeevay jeevay Pakistan,” “aye watan kay sajeelay jawano,” “mera pegham Pakistan,” “hum ta ba abad saee-o-taghayyur kay wali hein” and “itnay baray jeevan sagar main.”
Born on Jan. 20, 1925, to Nawab Sir Amiruddin Ahmed Khan of Loharu, Aali migrated to Karachi on Aug. 13, 1947, with his wife Tayyaba and six-month-old daughter Humaira, through the last train from Delhi.
He was an assistant at the ministry of commerce at Delhi in British India. He later passed CSS exam and got posted as an income tax officer in Karachi in 1952.
In poetry, he had revived the classical form of doha and adapted it to Urdu, imparting a distinct South Asian Muslim cultural flavour to it while retaining its beauty. He has also written ghazals, poems, lyrical ballads or geets. His long poems reflect a unique discourse on great scientific and philosophical themes, blended with aesthetics.
In prose, Aali is known for his incisive and picturesque travelogues.