PAL chairman condoles demise of eminent writer
July 8, 2021
Islamabad: Pakistan Academy of Letters (PAL) Chairman Dr. Yousuf Khushk, while expressing deep sorrow and grief over the demise of Masood Ashar, a well-known writer and intellectual of the country, said that Masood Ashar was a renowned novelist and columnist. His real identity is as a novelist.
His major collections of fiction include ‘Aankhon Per Done Hath’, ‘Saaray Fsaanay’ and ‘Apna Ghar’ has received acclaim from literary circles.
Masood Asher also served as editor of the some newspapers. He was also the translator of several books.
He was also associated with a publishing house under which he translated several literary books into Urdu. He was awarded the Pride of Performance Award for Excellence in 2009 and in 2015, Sitara Imtiaz by the Government of Pakistan.
It is hard to analyse or theorise anything about Zahid Dar, his persona or his work. Things too intimate can only be told as anecdotes. I met him only a few times for I spent most of my early years in Karachi and then later lived in Islamabad but his name would appear in every other literary conversation one would have, from London to Lahore.
He was like the city he had made his home affectionate and elusive at the same time. Perhaps that’s what erudition brings you. Like a higher form of spiritual experience, you become detached from the mundane but, at the same time, you revel in detail. The contradictions are palpable. That was Zahid Dar a voracious reader and avant-garde poet, who passed away two weeks ago at the age of 84.