Dr. S.M. Moin Qureshi was famous for his elegant, kind, friendly and cheerful disposition. He has left about 27 memorable books.
Nasir Soomro
My very mind does not believe that S.M. Moin Qureshi has passed away. It was my dream to meet him, who was one of the most iconic Urdu and English writers. During my University days, I remember reading his book, “West is west” which was his travelogue to England. I was completely hooked by his English writing skills; I kept searching for him in different literary circles in Karachi, but failed to approach him. One day in an Events Announcement page of a local newspaper, I read about his book launching at Arts Council Karachi. I rushed to meet him in person; it was a brief meeting, he shared his contact number. I just wanted the meeting to last some good time with him. He also invited me to his home in DHA. He was man of pluralistic mindset, and bigotry was not his forte.
I found the man very sophisticated, down to earth, thorough gentleman and easy on eyes. We discussed Urdu and English literature, I had presented him a copy of my book, and he wrote a review of it in an Urdu newspaper. When the review was published, he kept on dialing my number, but my number was turned off since I was on USA tour, and then he sent his review through courier. I was impressed by his humble nature. I found extraordinary wit and humor in his writings. What an irreparable loss to Pakistani literature has been caused by his death.
Literary Services
Dr. S. M. Moin Qureshi, who passed away recently, was known as a linguist, researcher and a satirist who valued the creation of polite and purposeful literature. Like an awakened writer, he had a keen eye on the anomalies in society. He wrote articles and columns in Urdu as well as English. Dr. SM Moin Qureshi was famous for his elegant, kind, friendly and cheerful disposition. With the encouragement and admiration of his younger contemporaries and new writers, he helped and corrected the accuracy of language and expression. His scholarly articles and columns had been regularly published in Pakistan’s leading journals and newspapers. He did LLB, Adib Fazil and MA in Journalism and later joined an honorary appointment to teach journalism at Karachi University.
After the publication of one of his essays in 1953, he started a series of comics and made a name for himself. He started his journey of satire and humor from the most popular magazine like Majeed Lahori in 1962. He also wrote an Urdu column under the pen name of Ibn Mansha.
In 1983, his book, Social Security, was published, which covered a very important topic. He published a book on the same subject in English which is very important for MA students. This was followed by his valuable effort in Urdu under the title of Advertising, which is still considered to be the first and most useful work in the marketing curriculum. He has left about 27 memorable books.
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