ISLAMABAD: The 22nd death anniversary of renowned poet Parveen Shakir was observed on Monday.

Chairperson of the Parveen Shakir Trust Parveen Qadir Agha and Chairman Pakistan Academy of Letters Qasim Bogio placed wreaths on the late poet’s grave in the H-8 graveyard Monday morning.

Also present on the occasion were Parveen Shahkir’s son Syed Murad Ali and her sister Nasreen Shakir.

Parveen Shakir started writing at a young age and published her first collection of poetry, ‘Khushbu’ in 1976, which were followed by other works including ‘Sad Burg’ in 1980, ‘Khud Kalami’ in 1990 and ‘Kaf-i-Aina’.

She also wrote newspaper columns including ‘Gosha-i-Chashm’ and was awarded the Pride of Performance Award for her contributions to literature.

She worked as a teacher for nine years before she joined the civil services and started working in the Customs Departmet.

She was appointed CBR Secretary in 1986. When she appeared in the Central Superior Services Examination in 1982, there was a question regarding her poetry in the exam.

On December 26, 1994, her car collided with a bus near Zero Point because the traffic signals were not working due to electricity load shedding.

She died in the accident and the road on which the accident happened was named after her.

The late poet was married to Naseer Ali, who was a doctor and whom she later divorced and had one son, Syed Murad Ali.

Syed Murad Ali, who is visiting from Canada, told media persons that though his mother was a busy woman she always gave him proper time.

“She set a timetable for me which included when I had to study and when I had to perform chores. She has set all the goals in my life and it is because of her attention that I have achieved them,” he said.

Talking to Dawn, Mr Agha said a large number of people visited her grave this year on her death anniversary.

Published in Dawn December 27th, 2016