April 14, 2008	Monday	Rabi-us-Sani 7, 1429

KARACHI, April 13: Poet Zeeshan Sahil passed away here on Saturday and was laid to rest today. He was 47.

Mr Sahil was born in Hyderabad (Sindh), where his father was in charge of a government library, on December 15, 1961. He went to school in Hyderabad and continued his education in Karachi, where he came to live in 2000.

He began writings poems in 1977 and has also written some prose, including critical articles and radio columns. He also had a brief association with the National Book Council of Pakistan.

The late poet had published eight collections of poetry in Urdu: Arena (1985), Chiryon ka Shor (1989), Kohr-alood Aasman ke Sitare (1994),

Karachi aur Doosri Nazmain (1995), Email (2002), Shab Nama (2002), Jang ke Dinon Mein (2003) and Neem-tareek Muhabbat (2005).

Described as a shy man, critics have praised Zeeshan Sahil’s poetry for its sensitivity and simplicity, as well as his post-modern approach.

Though he suffered from a deformity, he did not let it get in the way of his work and was truly passionate about poetry.

“If I did not write poetry then I would not have done anything. Writing poetry is my vocation and not a hobby or habit. Perhaps from the age of 10 or 12 I started to write bits and pieces, a major part of which was poetry. I did not give much thought to education or making money, which I sometimes regret.

But poetry took hold of me gradually, so now the fact that I am a poet gives me great pleasure,” he once stated in an interview published in this newspaper’s Books & Authors section.

The late poet’s Soyem Majlis and Quran Khwani will be held on Tuesday, April 15 at 3pm at Gulshan-i-Iqbal’s Masjid-o-Imambargah Madinatul Ilm.