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Jon EliaJaun Elia (1931-2003) was an Indian/Pakistani poet. He was born in Amroha, India, 80 miles off Delhi, into a Shi'a Muslim family. He was the youngest of his siblings. His father's family 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. His early inclinations were secular and Marxist. He used to do dramatic presentations of the early Muslim period, and hence his knowledge of Muslims history was recognised by many. During his youth, the united India was involved in a Muslims-Hindu feud, which led to the partition of the country on religious lines. Being Communist, Elia was averse to the idea, but finally compromised on it. A close relation of Elia's, Syed Mumtaz Saeed, recalled that Elia went to Syed-ul-Madaris in Amroha, a Madressah (Koranic school) affiliated with Darul Uloom, Deoband. "Jon had a way with languages. He could learn them effortlessly. Apart from Arabic and Persian that he had learnt at the Madressah, he acquired great proficiency in English and a smattering of Hebrew." Elia migrated to Pakistan after the partition, in 1957. Before long, he became popular in the literary circles of Karachi. His poetry, which bears ample testimony to his wide-ranging reading habits, won him acclaim and approbation. Poet Pirzada Qasim said: "Jon was very particular about language. While his diction is rooted in the classical tradition, he touches on new subjects. He remained in quest of an ideal all his life. Unable to find the ideal eventually, he became angry and frustrated. He felt, perhaps with reason, that he had squandered his talent." He was a prolific writer, but could not be convinced to publish his work. His first poetry collection "Shayad" was published when he was 60. This poetry presented in this collection added Jon Elia's name in the Urdu literary canon forever. Jon Elia wrote the preface of this collection that provided deep insights into his works and the culture within which he was expressing his ideas. The preface can also be considered as one of the finest examples of modern Urdu prose. The second poetic collection "Yani" came after his death in 2003. The third colletion of Jon Elia's poetry "Gumaan" was published in 2004. Jon Elia was an unabashed open anarchist, nihilist and atheist in generally a conservative society. His elder brother, Raees Amrohavi, himself a poet and influential intellectual, was brutally murdered by a religous zealot, and ever since his death, Jaun was a bit conscious of what he would say in public. Jon was also involved in translation, editing and other activities. His translation of various Mautazalite treatises, Hasan Bin Sabah, and various texts about the Ismaili sect in Islam are a major contribution to Urdu langauge. Most of his non peotic and translated works are not easily available. Some of these could be searched at the Ismaili centers and libraries. He acquired encyclopedic knowledge of Philosophy, Logic, Islamic History, Muslim Sufi Tradition, Muslim Religious Sciences, Western Literature, and Kabbala. He also synthesized this knowledge into his poetry that also differentiates him from his modern contemporaries . He also edited urdu literature magazine "Insha". He came to know of another prolific urdu writer Zahida Hina through 'Insha', and finally married her. He had 3 children with her. They both got divorced/separated in mid 80s. This left Jaun devastated and alone. He became alcoholic and depressed. Elia, Jon Elia, Jon
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