Guman / گمان by Jaun Elia

Jaun Eliya’s father Shafiq Hasan Eliya was deeply involved in art and literature. This literary environment modeled him along the same lines and he wrote his first Urdu couplet when he was just 8. He studied Arabic and Persian at a local madrasa in Amroha and also acquired great proficiency in English and small knowledge of Hebrew. After partition, Eliya migrated to Pakistan and settled in Karachi. Eliya was a prolific writer, but could not be convinced to publish his work. His first poetry collection “Shayad” was published when he was 60. The second collection of his poetry “Yaanii” was published posthumously in 2003 and third titled “Gumaan” in 2004. Jaun was also involved in translation, editing and other activities. He edited Urdu literature magazine “Insha” where he met another Urdu writer Zahida Hina and finally married her. Jaun and Zahida were divorced in mid-1980s. This left Jaun devastated and alone. He passed on November 8, 2002.