Qamar Jalalvi

Who was Qamar Jalalvi?

Qamar Jalavi was a renowned Pakistani poet. He was born in Jalali near Aligarh, India in 1887. After the creation of Pakistan in 1947, he moved to Karachi.

Qamar Jalalvi is regarded as one of best classical Urdu Ghazal poets. His ghazal poetry has unique simplicity of expression.

Qamar Jalalvi started composing poetry when he was only 8 years old. He had become a popular poet when he was in his 20s. Qamar Jalalvi lived a life of financial hardship and for a long time worked at various bicycle repair shops. In India and Pakistan, a person fixing flat bicycle tires is called 'Ustad'. Qamar Jalalvi too was initially called Ustad because of his work at the bicycle shop. Much later, his mastery in the field of poetry was accepted by critics, and it became common to call him Ustad Qamar Jalalvi.

Ustad Qamar Jalalvi died in Karachi, Pakistan on 4 October 1968.