ISLAMABAD: The 40th death anniversary of prominent Urdu poet, humorist, travelogue writer and columnist Ibn-e-Insha was observed on Thursday.

According to a private news channel, Ibn-e-Insha was born on June 15, 1927 in the Jalandhar district, Punjab, India. His original name was Sher Muhammad Khan.

He did BA from Punjab University in 1946 and MA from University of Karachi in 1953. He was associated with various governmental services including Radio Pakistan, Ministry of Culture and National Book Centre of Pakistan.

He also served UN for some time and this enabled him to visit a lot of places and was the reason of his subsequent travelogues.

He is considered to be one of the foremost humorists in Urdu literature and has written four books of humorous prose in this regard. His other works include a number of travelogues recorded with a distinguished touch of humor.

Ibn-e-Insha was also a remarkable poet and three collections of his poetry have been published. He is considered as one of the most versatile poets and writers of his generation.

His most famous ghazal “Insha Ji Uttho” sung by Amanat Ali Khan is a modern day classic. He died of Hodgkin Lymphoma on January 11, 1978 in London and was buried in Karachi.