Jaun Elia

Elia was the younger brother of poet Rais Amrohvi.

• Honorific Suffix — PP • Name — Jaun Elia • Pen Name — Jaun Elia • Occupation — Poet • Genre — Ghazal • Movement — Progressive Writers Movement • Notable Works — Shayad, Yani, Lekin, Gumman, Goya, Farnood • Relatives — Kamal Amrohi (cousin) Rais Amrohvi (older brother) • Awards — Pride of Performance award by the President of Pakistan in 2000 • Born — 14 December 1931 • Birthplace — Amroha, United Provinces, British India • Died — 8 November 2002 • Place of death — Karachi, Sindh, Pakistan • Birth Name — Syed Hussain Sibt-e-Asghar Naqvi

Jaun Elia was born Syed Hussain Sibt-e-Asghar Naqvi on 14 December 1931 in Amroha, UP, British India into an educated Shia family. He was the youngest child of Allama Shafiq Hassan Elia. His father was a scholar of literature and astronomy well-versed in the Arabic, English and Persian languages, who corresponded with leading intellectuals like Bertrand Russell. Jaun Elia was the youngest among his siblings; his brother Rais Amrohvi was a poet and psychoanalyst while another brother, Syed Mohammed Taqi, was a philosopher and a translator who had translated Karl Marx's Das Kapital. Indian film director Kamal Amrohi was his first cousin. Another relative in Pakistan is the actor Munawar Saeed, famous for his roles as a villain. Described as a child prodigy, Jaun was initially educated at the Syed-ul-Madaris in Amroha, a madrasa affiliated with the Darul Uloom Deoband.

He married writer Zahida Hina in the year 1970. He met her during the publication of the Urdu language magazine Insha and ended up falling in love with her. They got separated in 1984 and later divorced due to differences in their temperaments. They have three children, Zeryoun Elia, Fainnana and Sohaina Elia.

He began writing poetry when he was 8 but published his first collection, Shayad, when he was 60.

Being a communist, Elia opposed the partition of India. However, he eventually migrated to Pakistan in 1956, and decided to live in Karachi.

In his poems, he supported communism in Pakistan. References to class consciousness are also noticeable in his poems. He has also been described as "An anarchist, a nihilist, and a poet".

On his death anniversary on 8 November 2013, Pakistan Post Office issued a commemorative postage stamp in its 'Men of Letters' series to honor Elia for his literary services.

Elia was not just a poet but was also an editor and a translator, especially of old Sufi, Mutazili and Ismaili treatises. • Masih-i-Baghdad Hallaj, • Jometria, • Tawasin, usman • Isaghoji, • Rahaish-o-Kushaish, • Hasan bin Sabah • Farnod, Tajrid, • Masail-i-Tajrid, • Rasail Ikhwan al Safa Above are some of his translations from Arabic and Persian. Not only did he translate these books but also introduced several new words in the Urdu language.