Sara Shagufta


Sara Shagufta was a Pakistani poet who wrote poetry in Urdu and Punjabi language. She committed suicide by throwing herself before a passing train in Karachi.

Life

Sara was born on 31 October 1954 Gujranwala, Pakistan in a lower-class family. Her family had migrated to Karachi from Punjab during the partition of India. Belonging to a poor and uneducated family, she wanted to rise socially but could not pass her matriculation.
She married for the first time at the age of 17, which was followed by other three unsuccessful marriages.
She was admitted to a mental hospital due to her illness. After a non-fatal suicide attempt, she committed suicide at an early age of 29 on 4 June 1984, around 11 PM, by throwing herself before a train passing from Drigh Colony railway crossing in Karachi.

Works

Her collections of poetry was published posthumously as Aankhein and Neend Ka Rang by Saeed Ahmed, a person she was in love with. Asad Alvi translated her poetry into English and published as The Colour of Sleep and Other Poems.

Legacy

Indian author Amrita Pritam, also a close friend of Sara, wrote two books based on the life and works of Sara; Ek Thi Sara and Life and Poetry of Sara Shagufta. Main Sara, a play written by Shahid Anwar, is based on the life of Sara. Sara Ka Sara Aasman, another play written by Danish Iqbal and directed by Tarique Hameed, is also based on the life of Sara. Based on Amrita Pritam's books on Sara, the play was presented by Wings Cultural Society at All India Radio's Urdu Theatre Festival in 2015.