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Sufi Tabassum
صُوفی تبسّم
Sufi Tabassum; صُوفی تبسّم
Born	Ghulam Mustafa; 4 August 1899; Amritsar, Punjab Province, British India
Died	7 February 1978 (aged 78); Lahore, Pakistan
Occupation	Poet and Author
Nationality	Pakistani
Genre	Fiction
Subject	Literature

Ghulam Mustafa Tabassum (Punjabi: غُلام مُصطفا تبسّم, Urdu: غُلام مُصطفیٰ تبسّم), (4 August 1899 – 7 February 1978) was a 20th-century poet. His pen name was Tabassum (Urdu: تبسّم).^[1]^[2]

He is best known for his many poems written for children, as the creator of the Tot Batot character, and as the translator of many poetic works from mostly Persian into Punjabi and Urdu languages.^[1]

Early life and career

Sufi Tabassum was born on 4 August 1899 in Amritsar, Punjab, to parents of Kashmiri ancestry. He earned a master's degree in Persian language from Forman Christian College (FCC) in Lahore, Pakistan. He worked for and remained with Government College Lahore for his entire career, rising to head the Department of Persian Studies in 1943. Tabassum retired from Government College in 1954.^[2]^[1]

Sufi Tabassum was also closely associated with the members of an informal literary circle called Niazmandan-e-Lahore. This circle's members included Pakistan's noted literary personalities including Patras Bokhari, Abdul Majeed Salik, Imtiaz Ali Taj, M. D. Taseer, Chiragh Hasan Hasrat, Hafeez Jalandhari, Abdur Rahman Chughtai and Majeed Malik.^[1] Sufi Tabassum also edited the magazine Lail-o-Nahar for a while in addition to working for Radio Pakistan, Pakistan Arts Council and Iqbal Academy.^[1]

In Pakistan, he is considered a pioneer in children's poetry. Totbatot and Jhoolnay are his popular poems for children.^[2]

Poems

For fifty years, he was actively participating in Radio Pakistan and Pakistan Television poetry events.^[1] His poems were used as the lyrics of several songs sung by Noor Jehan, Naseem Begum, Farida Khanum and Ghulam Ali.^[3]

Song	Singers	Song lyrics by	Music by	Film or Produced by
"Sau Baar Chaman Mehka, Sau Baar Bahar Aaee" ^[1]	Naseem Begum	Ghulam Mustafa Tabassum	Rasheed Attre	film Shaam Dhalay (1960)
"Aye Puttar Hattan Tay Nahin Vikday, Tuun Labhdi Phirrein Bazaar Kurray"	Noor Jehan^[3]^[2]	Ghulam Mustafa Tabassum	Hassan Latif Lilak	A Radio Pakistan, Lahore^[1] production (A Qaumi Naghma from the Indo-Pakistani war of 1971)
"Who Mujh Say Huay Ham Kalam Allah Allah"^[1]	Farida Khanum	Ghulam Mustafa Tabassum	Hassan Latif Lilak	A Pakistan Television, Lahore production
"Meray Shauq Da Nahin Aetbar Teinun"^[1]	Ghulam Ali	Ghulam Mustafa Tabassum		A Pakistan Television^[1] production ('Nikhar' PTV program-1973)
"Meray Dhol Sipahya Teinun Rab Dian Rakhhaan"^[1]	Shehzad Roy and Ayesha Omer	Ghulam Mustafa Tabassum		Another 1965 War Qaumi Naghma redone by Shehzad Roy. This Qaumi Naghma was originally sung by Madam Noor Jehan.

Awards and recognition

In 1962, he received the Pride of Performance Award from the President of Pakistan
In 1966, he received the Tamgha-e-Nishan-e-Sipaas award of the Government of Iran.^[2]
He was also awarded the Sitara-i-Imtiaz, Award (Star of Excellence) by the President of Pakistan.^[4]
In 2023, he was awarded the Nishan-i-Imtiaz (Order of Excellence) Award by the President of Pakistan.^[5]

Works (partial list)

Tot Batot Collection. Published by Ferozsons (no date), ISBN 969-0-01118-9^[1]
Ab Sab Hain Tot Batot Mian, Published by Gulzar Ahmed, 2000
Jhoolnay (collection of poems for children), Published by Ferozsons (no date)
Doguna. Published by Ferozsons (a translation of the works of Hazarat Amir Khusrow)
Sawan Raina Da Sufna, a translation into Punjabi of Shakespeare's A Midsummer Night's Dream, unknown publisher
Talmatol (collection of poems for children)^[1]
Daman-i-Dil^[1]
Kulliyaat-i-Sufi Tabassum (Poetry in Urdu language)^[1]
Nazraan Kardiyaan Gallaan (Poetry in Punjabi language)
Naqsh-i-Iqbal (Punjabi translation of Allama Iqbal's poetry)^[1]

Death

Sufi Ghulam Mustafa Tabassum died in Lahore, Pakistan on 7 February 1978.^[1]^[2]

References

^ ^a ^b ^c ^d ^e ^f ^g ^h ⁱ ^j ^k ^l ^m ⁿ ^o ^p ^q ^r Rauf Parekh (8 February 2016). "LITERARY NOTES: Sufi Tabassum: a scholar and trilingual poet". Dawn newspaper. Pakistan. Archived from the original on 19 July 2024. Retrieved 4 August 2024.
^ ^a ^b ^c ^d ^e ^f "Profiles of many notable Poets including Ghulam Mustafa Tabassum". Almanac of Pakistan. Overseas Pakistanis Foundation. December 2006. Archived from the original on 22 September 2008. Retrieved 4 August 2024.
^ ^a ^b Hamid, A (26 November 2006). "Nur Jehan: One in a Million". Daily Times newspaper (in Urdu and English). APNA (Academy of the Punjab in North America). Archived from the original on 3 July 2022. Retrieved 4 August 2024.
^ Ghulam Mustafa Tabassum's Sitara-i-Imtiaz Award info on rekhta.org website Retrieved 4 August 2024
^ "President confers Pakistan civil awards on 135 individuals". The Express Tribune newspaper. 23 March 2023. Archived from the original on 24 March 2023. Retrieved 4 August 2024.