Hamza Shinwari

Hamza Shinwari حمزہ شينواری
Born	1907 Landi Kotal, Khyber Agency, British India (present day Pakistan)
Died	February, 1994
Resting place	Landi Kotal, Khyber Agency, Khyber Pakhtunkhwa, Pakistan
Known for	Pashto and Urdu poetry
Notable work	Ghazawanay, Baheer, Yoon, etc.
Parent	Bazmeer Khan

Ameer Hamza Shinwari (Pashto: امیرحمزه شينواری), commonly known as Hamza Baba (Pashto: حمزه بابا‎), was a prominent Pashto-language poet. He was born in Landi Kotal, in the Federally Administered Tribal Areas of Pakistan in 1907 and died in February 1994.

Early life

Shinwari was born in Khyber Agency, as the fifth son of Brameer Khan.

In 1915, he enrolled in a primary school. When the teacher asked him to write the Urdu alphabet (Alif, Be, Fei....) instead displayed his artistic abilities, and drew a human figure. Subsequently, the teacher beat him, making Shinwari dislike school.

He went to Islamia Collegiate School in the fifth grade and started writing poetry in Urdu. He wrote many tales (Afsana). He was chose to write poetry in Urdu initially and contributed to Urdu literature.

Once his Peer-O-Murshid (teacher) Khawaja Syed Abdul Sattar Shah advised him to write in his mother tongue Pashto. since he could not be very successful in Urdu. Following his teacher's instructions, he began to write in Pashto.

He wrote his first Pashto poem ghazal in 1933 : -

Za da yaar da makh pa shama zei da danesta swazama,
Shame tha bha ghura hase be aqala parwa na kawei.
Zaa saa dar hada mashahoor sharab nushein keiyam,
Zam che mekhanei tha istaqbal me mekhane kawei.

Career

When Shinwari began working in the railways, he had very little money. He had received a low-income certificate, leading him to quit. He then traveled to Mumbai to work in the film industry; however, he was failed to establish himself. Coming via Ajmer Sharif with his brother on Basant Maila. Wali Sb Nisar Ahmed, with his co-Qawal, was singing Aaj Khawaja Moheen Uddin k Ghar Aaj Easy Hai Basant, which inspired Hamza to start crying. It was his turning point to Sufiism. Hamza was inspired by Mirza Khan Ansari and Khushal Khan Khattak. In the early 1940s, his poetry was related to romanticism.

He wrote about different aspects of romance and placed Pukhtoon culture in Ghazals. Ameer Karor was the first poet of Pashto in the tenth century CE. Before Hamza, no-one concentrated on Pashto ghazals. He is called the father of Ghazal. Though Khushal Khan did poetry related to the war, Hamza touched the side of Pukhtoon culture of love. He linked tasawuf with Ghazal. He liked Khatir's poetry.

Hamza was also a critic and a playwright, producing 200 plays for Radio Pakistan, features, critical essays and research papers for different literary newspapers of Pakistan.

Influence

He belonged to the Shinwari tribe of the ethnic Pashtuns. His work is considered a fusion between classic and modern poetry. He wrote classical poetry, blended it with recent innovations, and introduced new ideas in Pashto Ghazals. He is also known as the father of Pashto Ghazals.

According to Rehman Saleem, I found his status a sweet river where some quenched their thirst; some watered their fields with his knowledge. In short, everyone benefits with his knowledge. Syed Tahir Bukhari was Jaana sheen and khalifa of Hamza in cheeshteya line. He got bhait on the hand of Hamza. He has the honour of translating his two books on tassauf Tajalleyat-e-Muhammadeya and Tazkera-e-Satareya from Pashto to Urdu in 1967.

Hamza's work on Pashto ghazals included This Type of phrases:

• sta pa annango ke da hamza da weeno sraa dhe
• Ta shwe da pukhto ghazaala zwan za dhe baba kram

Personal life

Hamza lived in Landi Kotal; His home was in Muhalla Sakhi Shah Mardan. He died in February 1994 and is buried in Khyber Agency.

External links

• Shinwari poem "ځم" at Chakdara.com