KARACHI: The weather on Thursday morning had suddenly become gloomy. Though it was humid and pretty hot, the gloominess was what writer Mushtaq Ahmed Yousufi’s admirers must have been thinking about. There was a touch of sadness to the atmosphere, perhaps because Yousufi, arguably the greatest humorist in the Urdu language, had passed away on Wednesday.

Not as many people visited the late writer’s residence on Wednesday night as one would have expected to. On Thursday afternoon, at Defence’s Sultan Masjid, where the funeral prayers for Yousufi were to be held, the situation till 12.45pm too was a little iffy. People had just begun to trickle into the mosque. But by 1.15pm, a good number of men and boys had turned up. And they belonged to all spheres of life –– literature, politics, the banking sector and even economics.

As soon as the namaz-i-janaza, after Zuhar prayers ended, the electronic media, which these days comes across as a juggernaut with unbridled powers, rushed towards every and any known face to elicit comments on Yousufi sahib’s art and life. Most of those faces obliged.

In the meantime, the coffin was being lifted to be transported to the DHA Phase I graveyard, the final resting place of the author of masterpieces such as Chiragh Taley and Zarguzisht.

‘Society is fast losing its distinguished individuals’

Renowned poet Pirzada Qasim looked visibly disturbed by Yousufi’s demise. Not just that, he also, while talking to Dawn for a brief period, mentioned the death of noted diplomat Mahdi Masud a few days earlier. He hinted at the fact that society was getting depleted of distinguished individuals.

Poet Iftikhar Arif, who had specially flown in from Islamabad on Wednesday night, reminisced about the time when he first met Yousufi and then became a close friend during their stay in London in the 1980s.

Former senator Javed Jabbar was also there. He said though he knew the late writer from a distance, he admired his talent.

The side lane to the right of Sultan Masjid was chock-a-block with cars, motorcycles and mourners. And for some strange reasons not all of them wanted to go to the graveyard where Yousufi was to be buried. So, gradually, the crowd dissipated. Most of them went back to their homes or to their jobs, whereas members of Yousufi’s family and some of his ardent fans headed towards the cemetery where after a couple of hours the greatest humorist in the Urdu language was laid to rest.

Published in Dawn, June 22nd, 2018