Himayat Ali Shair

Himayat Ali Shair was born in Aurangabad, Hyderabad Deccan, British India on 14 July 1926. His mother died when he was three years old. At a very young age, he was exposed to the leading leftist writers of that time. He did his master's degree in Urdu from the University of Sindh at Jamshoro, Pakistan. ==Career==

Himayat Ali Shair worked for All India Radio before migrating to Pakistan in 1951 to begin his career with Radio Pakistan in Karachi. Shair wrote the first few evergreen songs in the cinema of Pakistan. Some of the songs include Na Chura Sakogay Daaman, Shair is the only poet in Urdu literary history who wrote an autobiography titled "Aaina Sar Aaina." Over 400 pages, the autobiography is composed of as many as 3,500 couplets. In 2007, he published a collection of all of his poetry as "Kuliyat-e-Shair". On 27 March 2010, a literary evening was organized in Hyderabad, Sindh by Kamaluddin Memorial Society in honor of Shair. The Vice-Chancellor of Sindh University, Dr. Nazir A. Mughal announced the establishment of "Himayat Ali Shair Chair" in recognition of his services to literature. He also announced five scholarships of Rs 5,000 each per month for research on literary contributions of Himayat Ali Shair for M.Phil/PhD degrees. A resolution was adopted on the occasion called for naming a road in the city after Himayat Ali Shair. ==Personal life==

Himayat Ali Shair married Meraj Naseem in 1949; they were together for 52 years, until his wife died in Toronto, Ontario, Canada of liver cancer. She is buried in Pickering, Ontario, Canada where their children live. Himayat Ali Shair spent most of his time in Pakistan and Canada where his children live and frequently visited his hometown in India, where his siblings reside. ==Filmography==

Himayat Ali Shair wrote film songs for the following Pakistani films: • Aanchal (1962) • Jab Se Dekha Hai Tumhein (1962) • Khamosh Raho (1964) • Kaneez (1965 film) • Naila (1965) (Himayat Ali Shair wrote only one song for this popular film, the rest were written by Qateel Shifai) • Mujahid (1965) • Lori (1966) [wrote a highly popular lori (lullaby song) for this film] • Tasveer (1966) • Wali-Ehad (1968) ==List of works/bibliography==

• An Kahi (a short story) • Aag Mein Phool (this collection of poetry won him a Presidential Award in 1959) • Shikast-e-Aarzoo • Mitti Ka Qarz (poetry) • Harf Harf Roshani (poetry) ==Awards and recognition==

• Pride of Performance Award by the President of Pakistan in 2002 • Nigar Award for film Aanchal (1962) and Daaman (1963) as 'Best Film Song Lyricist' • Makhdoom Mohiuddin International Award in Delhi, India in 1989 • Life Achievement Award in Washington in 2001 • Allama Iqbal Award • Naqoosh Award == Death ==

Himayat Ali Shair died in Toronto, Canada on 15 July 2019 at age 93. He reportedly suffered a heart attack. Among his survivors are his eight children, four boys including Roshan Khayal, Auje Kamal who live in Canada now, and four girls. ==References==