Jaun Eliya’s father, Shafiq Hasan Eliya, was deeply involved in art and literature. This literary environment modeled him along the same lines, and he wrote his first Urdu couplet when he was just 8. He studied Arabic and Persian at a local madrasa in Amroha and also acquired great proficiency in English and a small knowledge of Hebrew. After partition, Eliya migrated to Pakistan and settled in Karachi.
Eliya was a prolific writer but could not be convinced to publish his work. His first poetry collection, “Shayad,” was published when he was 60. The second collection, “Yaanii,” was published posthumously in 2003, and the third, “Gumaan,” was published in 2004. Jaun was also involved in translation, editing, and other activities.
He edited the Urdu literature magazine Insha, where he met another Urdu writer, Zahida Hina, and finally married her. Jaun and Zahida divorced in the mid-1980s, leaving Jaun devastated and alone. He passed away on November 8, 2002.
