Jamal Abro
Encyclopedia
Jamaluddin Abro, also known as Jamal Abro (2 May 1924 - 30 June 2004, Larkana
, Pakistan
) was a Sindhi
writer. He was born in May 1924 at Sangi, a small village in Mehar Taluka
, then part of Dadu District
.
from Bombay University in 1941. He became a student at the Bahauddin College in Junagadh
, Gujarat. In 1944 he went to Bengal
and worked as a volunteer at relief camps for famine affected areas
. He also worked as an activist with the Khaksar Movement.
He took a degree in law in 1948 and started working as a lawyer. He entered public service in 1952 and was posted as sub-judge in a number of places in Sindh. In the latter part of his career he served as a judge in the labor court and as Secretary to the Provincial Assembly of Sindh
. He remained active on the literary front with the Sindhi Adabi Sangat
, the organization of Sindhi writers with members all over Sindh.
His children, all residing in Karachi, are Shahida Sikandar (married to Sikandar Hayat), Badar Abro, Dr. Azhar Jamal Abro, Athar Abro, Rabail Vaka (married to Babar Vaka), Shabana Khaskheli (married to Niaz Khaskeli), and Sajid Abro from oldest to youngest.
, the leading Sindhi poet who was a close friend, led him to write his first story in fifteen years. This story was a poetic and haunting narrative focusing on karokari, the ritual murder of a woman accused of immorality, written as only the author of "Pirani" could have. It was followed by a story, written during the Writers' Conference, Islamabad
, in the days of General Zia ul-Haq's Martial Law; it describes the conference as a setting for an encounter with the angel of death.
Although Abro wrote only a handful of stories he had great influence on the modern Sindhi short story. He wrote on some common situations in the society around him and marked them with his individual stamp. Shaikh Ayaz wrote of "Pirani":
http://www.chowk.com/articles/4147
Larkana
Larkana or Larkano is the fourth largest city in the north-western part of Sindh Province, Pakistan, and is located within Larkana District.The old name of larkano is chandka which was changed in 1901. In August 2000 Larkana celebrated its hundred years of existence...
, Pakistan
Pakistan
Pakistan , officially the Islamic Republic of Pakistan is a sovereign state in South Asia. It has a coastline along the Arabian Sea and the Gulf of Oman in the south and is bordered by Afghanistan and Iran in the west, India in the east and China in the far northeast. In the north, Tajikistan...
) was a Sindhi
Sindhi people
Sindhis are a Sindhi speaking socio-ethnic group of people originating from Sindh, a province Formerly of British India, now in Pakistan. Today Sindhis that live in Pakistan belong to various religious denominations including Islam, Zoroastrianism, Hinduism, Sikhism and Christianity...
writer. He was born in May 1924 at Sangi, a small village in Mehar Taluka
Mehar Taluka
Mehar Taluka is an administrative subdivision of Dadu District in the Sindh province of Pakistan.-History:Mehar Taluka was a subdivision of Larkano District during British rule with the town of Mehar as the headquarters...
, then part of Dadu District
Dadu District
Dadu is a district of Sindh Province, Pakistan.Dadu district was created in 1933 by the British Indian administration by merging Kotri and Kohistan tehsils from Karachi district and Mehar, Khairpur Nathan Shah, Dadu, Johi and Sehwan tehsils from Larkana district. The population of the district is...
.
Life
Jamal Abro studied in a number of schools in Larkana and Hyderabad and passed his matriculationMatriculation
Matriculation, in the broadest sense, means to be registered or added to a list, from the Latin matricula – little list. In Scottish heraldry, for instance, a matriculation is a registration of armorial bearings...
from Bombay University in 1941. He became a student at the Bahauddin College in Junagadh
Junagadh
Junagadh is the headquarters of Junagadh district in the Indian state of Gujarat. The city is the 7th largest in Gujarat. The city is located at the foot of the Girnar hills, 355 km south west of state capital Gandhinagar and Ahmedabad. The city is in western India. Literally translated,...
, Gujarat. In 1944 he went to Bengal
Bengal
Bengal is a historical and geographical region in the northeast region of the Indian Subcontinent at the apex of the Bay of Bengal. Today, it is mainly divided between the sovereign land of People's Republic of Bangladesh and the Indian state of West Bengal, although some regions of the previous...
and worked as a volunteer at relief camps for famine affected areas
Bengal famine of 1943
The Bengal famine of 1943 struck the Bengal. Province of pre-partition India. Estimates are that between 1.5 and 4 million people died of starvation, malnutrition and disease, out of Bengal’s 60.3 million population, half of them dying from disease after food became available in December 1943 As...
. He also worked as an activist with the Khaksar Movement.
He took a degree in law in 1948 and started working as a lawyer. He entered public service in 1952 and was posted as sub-judge in a number of places in Sindh. In the latter part of his career he served as a judge in the labor court and as Secretary to the Provincial Assembly of Sindh
Provincial Assembly of Sindh
The Provincial Assembly of the Sindh is a unicameral house of elected representatives of people of Sindh established under Article 106 of the Constitution of the Islamic Republic of Pakistan...
. He remained active on the literary front with the Sindhi Adabi Sangat
Sindhi Adabi Sangat
Sindhi Adabi Sangat is an organization of the writers of Sindhi language that has branches in Sindh, Pakistan and abroad as well. Because of its great number and well-built organization, it is considered as the biggest Adabi Tanzeem of Asia.It was in 1952 that Abdul Ghafoor Ansari and Nooruddin...
, the organization of Sindhi writers with members all over Sindh.
Family
Jamal Abro had 7 children from his wife Noor-un-Nissa. One of his daughters died at a very young age.His children, all residing in Karachi, are Shahida Sikandar (married to Sikandar Hayat), Badar Abro, Dr. Azhar Jamal Abro, Athar Abro, Rabail Vaka (married to Babar Vaka), Shabana Khaskheli (married to Niaz Khaskeli), and Sajid Abro from oldest to youngest.
Work
Abro was one of the generation of Sindhi writers that came to the literary forefront immediately after independence and infused a new consciousness into Sindhi literature. Abro's first short story was published in 1949 and was followed by a some others. Pishu Pasha aroused much debate and discussion, and this was the name given to the collection of nearly a dozen short stories published in 1959. This nearly brought to a close Jamal Abro's work as a short story writer and was followed by a long gap of silence. An invitation to contribute a story for a university magazine being edited by Shaikh AyazShaikh Ayaz
Shaikh Ayaz was one of the great Sindhi poets of Pakistan. He was born in Shikarpur Sindh. By profession he was a lawyer but he also served as the vice chancellor of Sindh University. His poetry brought new trends into Sindhi literature....
, the leading Sindhi poet who was a close friend, led him to write his first story in fifteen years. This story was a poetic and haunting narrative focusing on karokari, the ritual murder of a woman accused of immorality, written as only the author of "Pirani" could have. It was followed by a story, written during the Writers' Conference, Islamabad
Islamabad
Islamabad is the capital of Pakistan and the tenth largest city in the country. Located within the Islamabad Capital Territory , the population of the city has grown from 100,000 in 1951 to 1.7 million in 2011...
, in the days of General Zia ul-Haq's Martial Law; it describes the conference as a setting for an encounter with the angel of death.
Although Abro wrote only a handful of stories he had great influence on the modern Sindhi short story. He wrote on some common situations in the society around him and marked them with his individual stamp. Shaikh Ayaz wrote of "Pirani":
External links
http://www.chowk.com/articles/4147