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An unconventional poet of despair and longing, now hugely popular with young readers
Jaun Elia was born in Amroha into a literary family; his brother was the poet and journalist Rais Amrohvi. He studied Arabic, Persian, philosophy and Islamic thought and was widely read in many fields.
He migrated to Karachi in the 1950s, where he worked as an editor and translator. Despite his fame at poetry gatherings, he published his first collection, Shayad, only in 1991, when he was about sixty.
Loneliness, disappointment, love and the questioning of everything, expressed with intense emotion and sharp wit.
Jaun Elia's poetry has gained an enormous following among young people in Pakistan and India, especially through recordings of his recitations shared online.