Obituary: Poet Bashir Hussain Nazim passes away

ISLAMABAD:

Eminent poet and Naatkhwan Bashir Hussain Nazim passed away here on Sunday due to cardiac arrest at the age of 75. He was laid to rest at the H-11 Graveyard. He has left behind his wife, five sons and three daughters.

Born in 1937, Nazim authored several books in different languages, including his famed collections Dewan-e-Ghalib, a collection of Naats, and ‘Abadi Awaz’, which was published in Punjabi. Bashir attended his last Mushaira on Saturday evening at the Community Centre in Aabpara.

He felt chest pains when he got back home and was taken to Combined Military Hospital, Rawalpindi, where he breathed his last.

Talking to The Express Tribune, his youngest son Mehtab Bashir said that he has not only lost his father, but also a good friend. “He was a truly humble and caring father, who will always be missed,” Mehtab said.

Bashir was conferred with the Pride of Performance award in 1995 for his Naat recitations. He was also associated with the Nawa-i-Waqt newspaper and had been writing for its pages for decades.

Renowned poet Iftikhar Arif said the death of Bashir Hussain Nazim was a big loss, not only in literary circles but also to religious circles.

“He had command over Arabic and Farsi and the way he recited Naats was unmatchable,” Arif said.

National Language Authority Chairman Dr Anwar Ahmed said “today, literary circles have lost one of the best Naatkhwans”, while adding that “this vacuum will never be filled and his death is a loss for the country”.

Bashir’s soyem will be held on Monday (today) at Hajveri Mosque in Sector I-10/2 at 10am.

Published in The Express Tribune, June 18^th, 2012.