Mushtaq Ahmad Yusufi

Mushtaq Ahmad Yusufi D.Litt. (HC), SI, HI ( – , 4 September 1923 – 20 June 2018) born in Tonk, Rajasthan, India 1923, was a Pakistani satire and humour writer who wrote in Urdu. Yousufi also served as the head of several national and international governmental and financial institutions. He received the Sitara-i-Imtiaz Award in 1999 and the Hilal-i-Imtiaz Award in 2002, the highest literary honour given by the Government of Pakistan.

Early life and career
Yusufi was born in a learned family of Jaipur, Rajasthan, on 4 September 1923. From his paternal side he was Pashtun of the Yusufzai clan, while from his maternal side he was a Rajput of the Rathore clan. His father Abdul Karim Khan Yusufi was chairman of the Jaipur Municipality, and later Speaker of the Jaipur Legislative Assembly. Yusufi completed his early education in Rajputana and earned BA from Agra University while MA Philosophy and LL.B from Aligarh Muslim University. After the partition of India and formation of Pakistan, his family migrated to Karachi, Pakistan.

He joined Muslim Commercial Bank in 1950, became deputy general manager. Mushtaq Ahmad Yusufi Joined Allied Bank Ltd in 1965 as managing director. In 1974, he became president of United Bank Ltd. In 1977, he became chairman of the Pakistan Banking Council. 
He was awarded Quaid-i-Azam Memorial Medal for distinguished services in banking.

Works
His Urdu novel Aab-e-Gum was translated in English as 'Mirages of the Mind' by Matt Reeck and Aftab Ahmad.

Other famous Urdu books of him are Chiragh Talay (چراغ تلے), Khakam Badahan (خاکم بدہن), Zarguzasht (زرگزشت), Sham e Shair Yaran (شام شعر یاراں).

Considering the standard of previous works of Yousafi, Sham e Shair Yaran turned out to be a great disappointment for many Yousafi lovers., Mr Yusufi himself mentioned that he was not satisfied yet with the book but due to his frail health, everyone insisted on having it published on as is basis.

Contemporary comments
Ibn-e-Insha, himself an Urdu satirist and humorist, wrote about Mushtaq Ahmad Yusufi: "...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 Yusufi!" 
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'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 was living in Karachi and often appeared on TV programmes as well as seminars. His fifth book Shaam-e-Shair-e-Yaaran (2014) was launched at the Arts Council of Pakistan in Karachi in 2014 at a ceremony presided over by a well-known writer Zehra Nigah who said at the event, "Neither Yousufi sahib, nor any of his books will ever get old". Another distinguished writer from Pakistan, Iftikhar Arif, also spoke on this occasion. A major English language daily newspaper in Karachi called him "a wordsmith par excellence".

Death 
On 20 June 2018, after a protracted illness he died in Karachi aged 94. On 21 June 2018, he was laid to rest after his funeral prayer was offered in Sultan masjid in DHA, Karachi.

Awards and recognition
 Sitara-i-Imtiaz (Star of Excellence) Award in 1999 by the President of Pakistan
 Hilal-i-Imtiaz (Crescent of Excellence) Award in 2002 by the President of Pakistan
 Quaid-i-Azam (Memorial Medal)
 Pakistan Academy of Letters Award for 'Best Book' in 1990
  Hijra Award
 Adamjee Literary Award for 'Best Book'

Bibliography
 Chiragh Talay (1961)
 Khakam-ba-dahan (1969)
 Zarguzasht (1976)
 Aab-i-gum (1990)
 Sham-e-Shair-e-Yaaraan (2014)
 Zameer Wahid Mutabasum
 School Master Ka Khwab
 Shahar Do Qissa
 Yadsh Bekhairia Aur Dusarey Mazameen
 Car, Kahli Wala Aur Aladdin Be Chirag
 Dheeraj Ganj Ka Pehla Yadgar Mushaira
 Zameer Wahad Mutbasam

References

https://www.rekhta.org/ebooks/aqwal-e-yusufi-aur-deegar-mazameen-mushtaq-ahmad-yousufi-ebooks/

Category:1923 births
Category:Pakistani humorists
Category:Aligarh Muslim University alumni
Category:Recipients of Hilal-i-Imtiaz
Category:Recipients of Sitara-i-Imtiaz
Category:Urdu non-fiction writers
Category:Urdu scholars
Category:Urdu humorists
Category:Writers from Karachi
Category:Pakistani satirists
Category:Faculty of Law, Aligarh Muslim University alumni
Category:Pakistani people of Rajasthani descent
Category:2018 deaths