| Wazir Agha وزیر آغا |
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| Born | May 18, 1922 Wazir Kot Sargodha district, British Raj |
| Died | September 7, 2010 (aged 88) Lahore, Punjab, Pakistan |
| Occupation | Urdu poet, Writer, Essayist, Critic |
| Nationality | Pakistani |
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Wazir Agha (Urdu: وزیر آغا ) was a Pakistani Urdu language writer, poet, critic and essayist. He lived in Sargodha.[1][2][3] He ran the literary magazine "Auraq" for many decades. He introduced many theories in Urdu literature. He is most famous for his work on Urdu humour. He has also written a seminal book on modern Urdu poets, notably those who have written more poems than ghazals. He has also written poetry and his poems mostly have an element of story.
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Wazir Agha was born on May 18, 1922 in the village Wazir Kot in the Sargodha district.[4] His father was a businessman who dealt in horses from the Persian-speaking Qizilbash family. Wazir’s father obtained 750 acres (3.0 km2) of land from the British government in the Sargodha district.
Agha picked up the Persian language from his father, Punjabi from his mother and the English language from his British friends. During his school years, he developed a strong fondness for Urdu ghazals and started composing poetry on his own. He graduated from Government College, Jhang and later received his masters in Economics from Government College, Lahore. He was awarded the degree of doctorate by the University of Punjab in 1956 for his research on humor and satire in Urdu Literature.[5].
Wazir Agha died on September 7, 2010 in Lahore. He was laid to rest in his native village near Sargodha.
Wazir Agha was the editor of the college magazine "Chanab" in Government College, Jhang. In 1944, he came across Maulana Salahuddin Ahmad who was the editor of famous monthly Adabi Duniya. He was asked to contribute by writing essays on topics uncommon in Urdu Literature of that time, such as economics, philosophy, psychology. In 1953, his work on "In search of happiness" was compiled as a book that opened a formal paradigm of research in Urdu literature.[6]
From 1960 to 1963, he acted as a co-editor of Adbi Duniya and from 1965 onwards, he remained editor of monthly Auraq for many decades.
Wazir Agha used European styles and forms in his work, such as ballads, sonnets and vers fibre. He also experimented with rhymes and metres.[7] He established himself as a critic.
Pakistan Academy of Letters (PAL) has published a book on life and work of Dr. Wazir Agha under publishing project of "Makers of Pakistani Literature".[8] He was also Life Fellow of PAL since 1995.
He also wrote an autobiography Shaam Ki Mundair Sey.[9]
His best-known Urdu works are:
Books
Essays