Early Life:

Jaun Elia (Urdu: جون ایلیا‬‎, 14 December 1931 – 8 November 2002) was a Pakistani progressive Marxist[1] Urdu poet, philosopher, biographer, and scholar. He was the brother of Rais Amrohvi and Syed Muhammad Taqi, who were journalists and psychoanalysts. He was fluent in Urdu, Arabic, English, Persian, Sanskrit and Hebrew. One of the most prominent modern Pakistani poets, popular for his unconventional ways,[2] he "acquired knowledge of philosophy, logic, Islamic history, the Muslim Sufi tradition, Muslim religious sciences, Western literature, and Kabbala.

Jaun Elia was born on 14 December 1931 in Amroha, Uttar Pradesh, India. He was the youngest of his siblings. Rais Amrohvi was his elder brother. His father, Shafiq Hasan Elia, worked in art and literature. Shafiq was also an astrologer and a poet.[4] Indian film director Kamal Amrohi was his first cousin.[5]

During his youth, Pakistan became an independent Muslim state. Being a communist, Elia was averse to the idea, but finally accepted it as a compromise.[6] He migrated to Pakistan in 1957, and decided to live in Karachi. Poet Pirzada Qasim said:

Jaun 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.[7]

World view[edit]

He termed himself an agnostic.[8]

Works[edit]

Poetry collections[edit]

Ya'ani (2003)
Gumaan (2004)
Lekin (2006)
Goyaa (2008)
Ramooz

Inshaye aur Mazaameen[edit]

Farnood (published by Khalid Ahmed Ansari)

Prose work (mainly translations)[edit]

Elia was not just a poet but was also an editor and a translator, especially of old Sufi, Mutazili and Ismaili treatises.

Masih-i-Baghdad Hallaj,
Jometria,
Tawasin,
Isaghoji,
Rahaish-o-Kushaish,
Hasan bin Sabah
Farnod, Tajrid,
Masail-i-Tajrid,
Rasail Ikhwan al Safa

Above are some of his translations from Arabic and Persian. Not only did he translate these books but also introduced several new words in Urdu language.[9]