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Awaz Sayeed (6th December 1933-2nd
July, 1995), full name Awaz Bin Sayeed, was a
renowned modern short-story writer, poet,
Khaka-naveez and playwright from Hyderabad,
India. He was known for his unique, innovative
and inimitable style of short story writing. He
is counted among the few modern Urdu writers of
the Indian sub-continent, who have given a new
meaning to Urdu short-stories.
Awaz Sayeed’s first Urdu
afsana “Jeetey
Jaagtey” was published in 1949 in
‘Nizam-e-Lahore’. Thereafter, several of his
stories have been published in reputed Urdu
magazines of the Indian Sub-continent such as
Nuqoosh, Seep, Shabkhoon, Sher-O-Hikmat,
Tanazur, Jadeed Adab, Sabras, Zehn-e-Jadeed, The
Shair, etc.
Awaz Sayeed also excelled in
Shaqsi-Khaka-Nigari, demonstrating his
acumen in minutely observing the external and
internal traits of a person that is reflected in
a gripping but thoroughly humorous style. His
dimension as a humorous
Khaka navees
sharply contrasted the serious narratives in his
short stories, reflecting the depth and command
of his language and the ease with which he could
switch over styles.
Awaz Sayeed’s stories have been translated in
several languages, including English, Hindi and
Malayalam. Several scholars have done research
on his works for Ph.D. and M.Phil.
Awaz Sayeed was an Arab by descent. His
father’s name was Sayeed Bin Awaz Bin Jaber Bin
Abdullah. He
completed his early education from
Anwar-ul-uloom High School. Thereafter, he
passed out Matriculation from the City College
(1948),
Intermediate
from the Chaderghat College (1952) and
Graduation from Anwar-ul-uloom College.
He
joined the Food Corporation of India in 1954 and
got married to Kaneez Fatima in 1960. Awaz
Sayeed has two children: Dr Ausaf Sayeed
(b.1963), who is a senior Indian Foreign Service
Officer in the Ministry of External Affairs,
Government of India and Dr Seema Nishat
(b.1967), who is a leading Internist in
Brookesville, USA.
The
following are extracts from the M.Phil.thesis of
Ms.Syeda Nusrat Jahan titled ‘Awaz Sayeed Ki
Shaqsiyat Aur Fan’.
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