CHAKWAL: An eminent poet of Chakwal, Abid Jafri, passed away on Saturday, and was laid to rest at his native village of Mangwal, on Sunday.

He was almost 80 years old.

Born on April 24, 1934, named as Allah Dad Khan, he started writing poetry when he was a student of third grade at his village’s primary school.

At that time, when Chakwal was almost dry in the field of literature, Allah Dad Khan immersed himself in the poetry of Waris Shah, Mian Mohammad and Mirza Ghalib.

Brought up in a pastoral environment, Allah Dad Khan could not receive higher education, but did manage to study till the eighth standard, the highest possible degree attainable within his village.

After attaining a diploma from Lala Musa, he became a schoolteacher, and remained dedicated to his career for 28 years. Meanwhile, he did create some excellent verses in Punjabi language, but he never compiled them for publication.

It was Majid Sadiqui, another poet of Punjab, who collected all the scattered poems and ghazals of Allah Dad Khan and got them published in the form of a tiny booklet, captioned ‘Gaey gawachay sukh’ (Of happiness gone and lost), in 1974.

He, then, adopted his pen name as Abid Jafri, and became famous in the literary circles by this name. Dressed in a rough shalwar kameez, a cigarette in hand, with a slightly bearded face riddled with pimple, the poet was always there to welcome his visitors warmly at his home in Mangwal village.

Jafri’s poetry is imbued with similes and metaphors, taken from the cultural and pastoral life of Punjab. The theme of his poetry revolves around life and man.

His masterpiece creation ‘Phull tay tarail’ (Flowers and dew) is part of the curriculum at Punjab University in Chandigarh.

Abid Jafri also wrote poetry in Urdu language. His two books in Urdu are ‘Naqsh-e-rag-jan’ (Image of the chords of life) and ‘Aathwan samandar’ (Eighth sea).

Although he was never honoured by the government, he did receive a few certificates of appreciation at the district level. “I do not wish for any applause or honour,” he had said in December 2012, while talking to this correspondent. “Man should be a slave of knowledge and observation,” he had added emphatically.