Mushtaq Ahmad Yusufi
Encyclopedia
Mushtaq Ahmad Yusufi or Mushtaq Ahmed Yousufi D.Litt (HC), SI
, HI
(Urdu
: مشتاق احمد يوسفی) is an Urdu
satirical and humor writer
from Pakistan
. Yousufi has also served as the head of several national and international governmental and financial institutions. He received Sitara-e-Imtiaz and Hilal-i-Imtiaz, the highest literary honors by the Government of Pakistan
in 1999.
, Rajasthan
on August 4, 1923. His father Abdul Karim Khan Yousufi was chairman of the Jaipur
Municipality, and later Speaker of the Jaipur Legislative Assembly. Yousufi completed his early education in Rajputana and earned B.A.
from Agra
University while M.A.
Philosophy
and LL.B from Aligarh University. After partition of India
his family migrated to Karachi
, Pakistan.
in 1950, became Deputy General Manager
. Joined Allied Bank
Ltd in 1965 as Managing Director. In 1974 he became President
of United Bank
Ltd. In 1977 became Chairman of the Pakistan Banking Council. Awarded Quaid-i-Azam Memorial Medal for distinguished services in banking.
Yousufi's second book was Khakam ba dahan (Dust in my mouth) which was published in 1969 and dedicated to his wife, Idrees Fatema. So far 14 editions of this book have been printed. It has eight articles, in addition to a foreword written by the author.
Yousufi's third book was Zarguzasht which was published in 1976. It has 11 articles in addition to the foreword, 'Tuzk-i-Yousufi'.
His fourth book, Aab-i-gum, was published in 1990. Dedicated to his children, Arshad, Sarosh, Rukhsana and Seema, it runs into 404 pages and has five articles, in addition to the foreword.
One of his major work was' rashtriya joota"
First two won Adamjee Prize, while last one got the Hijra Award as well as Pakistan Academy of Letters
Award for best book, 1990. Awarded Sitara-i-Imtiaz
and Hilal-i-Imtiaz
.
"...No sooner had I received the salary, I bought grocery and other items for the household so that the dog I had brought home could guard these items. For us parents I pointed out the advantage of having a dog by submitting that after all it was an Englishman's dog... even an illiterate person in our country gives an English name to his dog and always calls him or reprimands him in English, therefore, it was obvious that because of this dog our children would learn English!"
"...it's better to write one's own foreword (meaning foreword on one's own book) for then, others are saved from telling lies... there is another advantage: the foreword writer picks up the pen after reading the book!"
Penning his own sketchy sketch Yousufi informs us about his date of birth: "I have reached the stage in life when in case someone wants to know my date of birth, I confuse him by providing him my telephone number!"
About his likes and dislikes: "I like Ghalib, Hawkes Bay and okra (bhindi). I like the smell of newly printed currency notes. For a pet I like dogs. The first dog I had was for security. It was stolen! Now I have a dog for a different reason. That is, man is dog's best friend! Muslims have a logic behind their dislike for dogs... they do not like animals which they cannot eat!... I love music, therefore, I don't listen to the radio... I don't like emotional men and unemotional women..."
"Okay, if you insist, let me tell you that I was born on August 4, 1923 and it was a premature birth! My ancestors were Yusufzai Pathans settled in Jaipur. When my father visited Peshawar and introduced himself as a Pathan Yusufzai, everyone laughed. He returned to Jaipur and stopped calling himself a Yusufzai or a Pathan. However, he gave the family a new name - Yousufi!"
, himself an Urdu satirist and humourist, wrote about Yousufi Sahib: "...if ever we could give a name to the literary humour of our time, then the only name that comes to mind is that of Yousufi!"
Another scholar, Dr Zaheer Fatehpuri, wrote, "We are living in the 'Yousufi era' of Urdu literary humour..." The Yousufi era started from 1961 when Yousufi Sahib's first book Chiragh talay was published. So far 11 editions of this book have appeared. It has a foreword titled 'Pahla pathhar' written by the author himself plus 12 satirical and humorous articles. In 2008, he is living in Karachi and often appeared in TV programs as well as seminars.
Sitara-i-Imtiaz
The Sitara-i-Imtiaz , is the third highest honour and civilian award in the State of Pakistan. It recognizes the individuals who made an "especially meritorious contribution to the security or national interests of Pakistan, world peace, cultural or other significant public endeavors"...
, HI
Hilal-i-Imtiaz
The Hilal-i-Imtiaz, English: Crescent of Excellence, Urdu: هلال ا متيا ز , is the second highest civilian award and honor given to both civilians and military officers of the State of Pakistan|Pakistan armed forces by the Government of Pakistan...
(Urdu
Urdu
Urdu is a register of the Hindustani language that is identified with Muslims in South Asia. It belongs to the Indo-European family. Urdu is the national language and lingua franca of Pakistan. It is also widely spoken in some regions of India, where it is one of the 22 scheduled languages and an...
: مشتاق احمد يوسفی) is an Urdu
Urdu
Urdu is a register of the Hindustani language that is identified with Muslims in South Asia. It belongs to the Indo-European family. Urdu is the national language and lingua franca of Pakistan. It is also widely spoken in some regions of India, where it is one of the 22 scheduled languages and an...
satirical and humor writer
Writer
A writer is a person who produces literature, such as novels, short stories, plays, screenplays, poetry, or other literary art. Skilled writers are able to use language to portray ideas and images....
from Pakistan
Pakistan
Pakistan , officially the Islamic Republic of Pakistan is a sovereign state in South Asia. It has a coastline along the Arabian Sea and the Gulf of Oman in the south and is bordered by Afghanistan and Iran in the west, India in the east and China in the far northeast. In the north, Tajikistan...
. Yousufi has also served as the head of several national and international governmental and financial institutions. He received Sitara-e-Imtiaz and Hilal-i-Imtiaz, the highest literary honors by the Government of Pakistan
Government of Pakistan
The Government of Pakistan is a federal parliamentary system, with an indirectly-elected President as the Head of State and Commander in Chief of the Pakistani Armed Forces, and an indirectly-elected Prime Minister as the Head of Government. The President’s appointment and term are...
in 1999.
Early life and education
Yousufi was born in a learned family of TonkTonk (princely state)
Tonk was a Princely State of India which by treaty in 1817 accepted British suzerainty. Following the Partition of India in 1947, Tonk acceded to the newly independent Union of India. It was located in the region that is now the Tonk district.-History:...
, Rajasthan
Rajasthan
Rājasthān the land of Rajasthanis, , is the largest state of the Republic of India by area. It is located in the northwest of India. It encompasses most of the area of the large, inhospitable Great Indian Desert , which has an edge paralleling the Sutlej-Indus river valley along its border with...
on August 4, 1923. His father Abdul Karim Khan Yousufi was chairman of the Jaipur
Jaipur
Jaipur , also popularly known as the Pink City, is the capital and largest city of the Indian state of Rajasthan. Founded on 18 November 1727 by Maharaja Sawai Jai Singh II, the ruler of Amber, the city today has a population of more than 3.1 million....
Municipality, and later Speaker of the Jaipur Legislative Assembly. Yousufi completed his early education in Rajputana and earned B.A.
Bachelor of Arts
A Bachelor of Arts , from the Latin artium baccalaureus, is a bachelor's degree awarded for an undergraduate course or program in either the liberal arts, the sciences, or both...
from Agra
Agra
Agra a.k.a. Akbarabad is a city on the banks of the river Yamuna in the northern state of Uttar Pradesh, India, west of state capital, Lucknow and south from national capital New Delhi. With a population of 1,686,976 , it is one of the most populous cities in Uttar Pradesh and the 19th most...
University while M.A.
Master's degree
A master's is an academic degree granted to individuals who have undergone study demonstrating a mastery or high-order overview of a specific field of study or area of professional practice...
Philosophy
Philosophy
Philosophy is the study of general and fundamental problems, such as those connected with existence, knowledge, values, reason, mind, and language. Philosophy is distinguished from other ways of addressing such problems by its critical, generally systematic approach and its reliance on rational...
and LL.B from Aligarh University. After partition of India
Partition of India
The Partition of India was the partition of British India on the basis of religious demographics that led to the creation of the sovereign states of the Dominion of Pakistan and the Union of India on 14 and 15...
his family migrated to Karachi
Karachi
Karachi is the largest city, main seaport and the main financial centre of Pakistan, as well as the capital of the province of Sindh. The city has an estimated population of 13 to 15 million, while the total metropolitan area has a population of over 18 million...
, Pakistan.
Family
Married Idrees Fatima - an Urdu teacher and daughter of Manzoor Ahmed Khan, former District and Session Judge of India. Has two sons and two daughters; Arshad, Sarosh, Rukhsana and Seema.Career
Joined Muslim Commercial BankMuslim Commercial Bank
MCB Bank Limited was incorporated by the Adamjee Group on July 9, 1947, under the Indian Companies Act, VII of 1913 as a limited company. The bank was established with a view to provide banking facilities to the business community of the South Asia. The bank was nationalized in 1974 during the...
in 1950, became Deputy General Manager
General manager
General manager is a descriptive term for certain executives in a business operation. It is also a formal title held by some business executives, most commonly in the hospitality industry.-Generic usage:...
. Joined Allied Bank
Allied Bank
Allied Bank, formally known as Allied Banking Corporation, is one of the largest banks in the Philippines, ranking tenth in terms of assets...
Ltd in 1965 as Managing Director. In 1974 he became President
President
A president is a leader of an organization, company, trade union, university, or country.Etymologically, a president is one who presides, who sits in leadership...
of United Bank
United Bank
United Bank Limited is one of the largest commercial banks in Pakistan having more than 1,100 online branches inside the country. Its 15 branches outside the country are in the United States of America, Qatar, UAE, Bahrain, and Republic of Yemen. It also has representative offices in Tehran,...
Ltd. In 1977 became Chairman of the Pakistan Banking Council. Awarded Quaid-i-Azam Memorial Medal for distinguished services in banking.
Literary work
- Chiragh talay (1961)
- Khakam-ba-dahan (1969)
Yousufi's second book was Khakam ba dahan (Dust in my mouth) which was published in 1969 and dedicated to his wife, Idrees Fatema. So far 14 editions of this book have been printed. It has eight articles, in addition to a foreword written by the author.
- Zarguzasht (1976)
Yousufi's third book was Zarguzasht which was published in 1976. It has 11 articles in addition to the foreword, 'Tuzk-i-Yousufi'.
- Aab-i-gum (1990)
His fourth book, Aab-i-gum, was published in 1990. Dedicated to his children, Arshad, Sarosh, Rukhsana and Seema, it runs into 404 pages and has five articles, in addition to the foreword.
One of his major work was' rashtriya joota"
First two won Adamjee Prize, while last one got the Hijra Award as well as Pakistan Academy of Letters
Pakistan Academy of Letters
The Pakistan Academy of Letters is a learned society of literary, Arts, and humanities. It is the largest learned society of it own kind, and promotes literacy and literature based conferences throughout the country...
Award for best book, 1990. Awarded Sitara-i-Imtiaz
Sitara-i-Imtiaz
The Sitara-i-Imtiaz , is the third highest honour and civilian award in the State of Pakistan. It recognizes the individuals who made an "especially meritorious contribution to the security or national interests of Pakistan, world peace, cultural or other significant public endeavors"...
and Hilal-i-Imtiaz
Hilal-i-Imtiaz
The Hilal-i-Imtiaz, English: Crescent of Excellence, Urdu: هلال ا متيا ز , is the second highest civilian award and honor given to both civilians and military officers of the State of Pakistan|Pakistan armed forces by the Government of Pakistan...
.
Excerpts
A few lines from his book:"...No sooner had I received the salary, I bought grocery and other items for the household so that the dog I had brought home could guard these items. For us parents I pointed out the advantage of having a dog by submitting that after all it was an Englishman's dog... even an illiterate person in our country gives an English name to his dog and always calls him or reprimands him in English, therefore, it was obvious that because of this dog our children would learn English!"
"...it's better to write one's own foreword (meaning foreword on one's own book) for then, others are saved from telling lies... there is another advantage: the foreword writer picks up the pen after reading the book!"
Penning his own sketchy sketch Yousufi informs us about his date of birth: "I have reached the stage in life when in case someone wants to know my date of birth, I confuse him by providing him my telephone number!"
About his likes and dislikes: "I like Ghalib, Hawkes Bay and okra (bhindi). I like the smell of newly printed currency notes. For a pet I like dogs. The first dog I had was for security. It was stolen! Now I have a dog for a different reason. That is, man is dog's best friend! Muslims have a logic behind their dislike for dogs... they do not like animals which they cannot eat!... I love music, therefore, I don't listen to the radio... I don't like emotional men and unemotional women..."
"Okay, if you insist, let me tell you that I was born on August 4, 1923 and it was a premature birth! My ancestors were Yusufzai Pathans settled in Jaipur. When my father visited Peshawar and introduced himself as a Pathan Yusufzai, everyone laughed. He returned to Jaipur and stopped calling himself a Yusufzai or a Pathan. However, he gave the family a new name - Yousufi!"
Critics and contemporaries
Ibn-e-InshaIbn-e-Insha
Ibn-e-Insha was a Pakistani Leftist Urdu poet, humorist, travelogue writer and columnist. Along with his poetry, he was regarded one of the best humorists of Urdu...
, himself an Urdu satirist and humourist, wrote about Yousufi Sahib: "...if ever we could give a name to the literary humour of our time, then the only name that comes to mind is that of Yousufi!"
Another scholar, Dr Zaheer Fatehpuri, wrote, "We are living in the 'Yousufi era' of Urdu literary humour..." The Yousufi era started from 1961 when Yousufi Sahib's first book Chiragh talay was published. So far 11 editions of this book have appeared. It has a foreword titled 'Pahla pathhar' written by the author himself plus 12 satirical and humorous articles. In 2008, he is living in Karachi and often appeared in TV programs as well as seminars.
External links
- http://www.aku.edu/news/majorevents/yosufi.shtml