Mirza Adeeb

Mirza Adeeb,  (4 April 1914 — 31 July 1999) was a Pakistani Urdu writer of drama and short story. His plays and short stories won him six prizes and awards from the Pakistan Writers’ Guild.

Mirza Adeeb’s birth name was Syed Dilawer Hussain Ali, but he came to be known in the literary world as Mirza Adeeb.

He was born in 1914, in Lahore, British India to Mirza Basheer Ali.He attended Government Islamia High School, Bhati Gate, Lahore. He got his Bachelor of Arts degree from Islamia College, Lahore. In the beginning, he made poetry his device, but later pursued his interest in playwriting as his metier.

At first, being influenced from the Rumanwi Tehrik,Urdu for The Romanticist Movement, he wrote romantic prose.

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. 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. When he affiliated himself with Radio Pakistan, many of his plays were broadcast and they gained popularity in the masses. He is listed as a prominent Urdu playwright of the Modern Era.

His main works, other than dramas, include stories and biographies.He also wrote critical essays and commentaries on books, besides writing columns in newspapers. He was also influenced by the Taraqqi-Pasasnd Tẹḥrik Urdu for Progressive Movement). Besides, he also discharged his duties as the editor of many magazines, of which the most notable is ‘Adab-e Laṭīf’, Urdu for ‘Humorous Literature’. He also translated some American stories to Urdu. Furthe rmore, he wrote numerous stories for children.

Following are the main features of Mirza Adeeb's style of writing

Objectivity: His plays had a strong sense of objectivity in them.

Riveting dialogues: The dialogues he chose were simple, yet interesting. 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.

Unnaturalness: At few places, the plot does not seem to be moving on smoothly by itself.

Dullness: His dramas did not have the liveliness and vitality found in plays. One of his plays was televised, but it could not gain popularity. For the same reason, on-stage presentation of his plays was unpopular.

His selective drama-collections are:

    ‘Āⁿsū aur Sitārē’  Urdu for ‘Tears and the Stars’,    ‘Lahū aur Qālīn’  Urdu for ‘the Blood and the Carpet’,    ‘Šīšē kī Dīwār’ Urdu for ‘the Wall of Glass’,    ‘Sutūn’  Urdu for ‘the Pillar’,    ‘Faṣīl-e Šab’ Urdu for ‘Part of the Night’,    ‘Pas-e Pardah’  Urdu for ‘Beneath the Veil’, 1967,

    ‘Xāk Našīn’ Urdu for ‘the Earth Dwellers’ and
    ‘Šīšah Mērē Saŋg’  Urdu for ‘the Glass With Me’).
    His selective short-story collections are:

    ‘Jaŋgal’  Urdu for ‘the Jungle’,
    ‘Dīwārēⁿ’  Urdu for ‘the Walls’,
    ‘Kambal’  Urdu for ‘the Blanket’.
    His collection of personal biographies is ‘Nāxun kā Qarź  Urdu for ‘the Debt of the Fingernail’

    ‘Miṫṫī kā Diyā’ Urdu for ‘the Earthen Lamp’ is his autobiography.

Awards

    Presidential Award for playwriting, 1969
    Pride of Performance Award for literature in 1981    His famous play, Pas-e Pardah (1967), won him the Ādamjī Adabī Ēwārḋ Urdu for Adamjee Literary Award) in 1968

*************************