Jaun Elia (pronounced jaw.n aeleeah) was his actual name. Shafiq Hasan Elia was his father's name.

Pardon me for my ignorance but "Juan Elia" was that his pen name only? Any idea why he chose it?

I can totally understand what you are saying and agree whole heartedly....

About his poetry.. one incident related to me that I recall was when he had mentioned to someone that during his visit to Lahore his 'diary' full of verses was stolen by someone.... and that he remained very sad for along time after the loss.

Do you know that the moulvi's refused to grace his soyem? He kept wailing in his poetry about not having found wholesomeness and in his death he was condemned by his generation, the one before it and a few in the one after for having led the kind of life he did and especially for having separated from his wife and children and for not having been a 'good husband'. Ironic.!

And yes truthful to the core and in such a cut and dried unadulterated manner.. like all great minds and great people, his genius was hardly fathomed in his life.. and was only just a lil more appreciated after his death.. and yet he is still compared to other so called 'greats' where as not one of them can truly be compared to him...

and here I thought I was going to be brief :)

Juan Elia ne bhi ajeeb zindagi guzari. From a very early age he was very imaginative and creative. He could master languages so very easily including Hebrew. I guess, many would know that he was brother of the well known philospher, intellectual and poet Rais Amrohi, who was brutually murdered by religious fanatics. That was a big blow to Juan.

He lead a frustrating life as he felt that his talents hace gone wasted. He would not let his works published and his first book was published titeled "Shayad" I think, when he was 60.

In 1980 he had to go for a divorce and henceforth he had become an alcoholic. His work and thinking have always been on very different lines....

he had a very fine brain... and very few saw that while they still had a chance to gain from his immense talents. he was indeed truly gifted when it came to his innate abilities... led a very ironic existence... and it was in his death that the irony was starker still.

loge musroof jaantay hein moojhay
yaan mera ghum hee mayree foorsutt hei

Too good

He really had a style. He could say so much using so few words. Mostly his ghazals are in short "beher".