Obaidullah Aleem
Obaidullah Aleem (Urdu: عبیدالله علیم, June 12, 1959 – May 18, 1998) was a modern poet of Urdu language. He is ranked among the best Ghazal writers of modern times. He was an Ahmadi Muslim, and would recite his poetry in front of the 4th Khalifa (may God rest his soul) of the community.
He was born in 1959 in Bhopal, India. His father lived in Sialkot and was from the Butt family. And he has got a brother : his name is Basharat Ahmed Butt. He received an MA in Urdu from the University of Karachi and began working as a radio and television producer until 1967. His first marriage was to Nigar Yasmin in 1970 and in late 1990s he married to Tehseen Fatima. In 1974, his first book of poetry Chand Chehra Sitara Ankhhen was published. He was the chairman of the Pakistan Television Corporation until he was forced to resign in 1978 following an edict against him. His book of poetry received the highest award in literature in Pakistan, the Adamji Prize. He wrote an article 'Khurshid missal shakhs' in memory of Khalifatul Masih III in 1982. His second collection of poetry Viran saray ka diya was published in 1986. He first came to England in 1982, then in 1991, 1993, 1994, 1996 and in 1997. In March of this year 1998 he suffered a severe heart attack in Punjab and was treated in Fazl-e-Omar Hospital for a few days. He returned to his residence at Nazimabad no 4, in Karachi, in comparatively good health but died from heart failure, following a second heart attack.
Bibliography
- Chand chehra sitara ankhhen, (1974).
- Viran saray ka diya, (1986).
- Yei Zindagi Hey Hamari, (Selected Poems).
- Men Khhuli Huwi Ik Sachai, (Collected Prose).
- Chiragh Jaltey Hen: The Unpublished Poetry of Obaidullah Aleem, (Facsimile edition edited by Rehan Qayoom, 2014).
External links
- Obaidullah Aleem - Aleem's Ghazals (in videos) sung by famous singers
- Obaidullah Aleem - Aleem's Ghazals in Aleem's own videos & his own voice
- Obaidullah Aleem - Thoughts of a Poet
- Urdu Poet Obaidullah Aleem and his ghazal