Mian Khairul Haq Gohar

Mian Saib was a hard working teacher and the students really liked him. His other hobbies were playing chess and doing crossword competitions. He was born in Sra-Derai Mardan in 1906 and later on settled in Mardan during his career as a teacher in High School. Those who have seen him may have seen him on his bike. His personality was as balanced as the wheels of his bike.

He was one of the senior writers and the life long President of Mardan Adabi Jarga. He has done much creative work which was published in different journals from time to time. He wrote some beautiful poems but we like the following lines:

STA DA ISHQ PA JURUM KE RAKAGI ME MAQTAL TA NAN
KHALAQ DEE RAJAMA DAMAMA GHAGEEGI DUNG DUNG

Mian saib sadly died at the age of 83 in 1989 leaving behind a bunch of talented students and writers.

Hasan Khan Soz

This generous writer was born in Mardan city and was the elder brother of the famous writer Qamar Rahi. He served in the British Army in Karachi and Bengal. In later stages he was running an independent Homeopathic Clinic in Becket Gunj. A good poet, excellent writer and was famous for his critique.

He was also very hospitable and will usually take his friends for Chapli Kebab. Not only he used to pay for the kebab but also used to give free medicine if the kebab caused any stomach upset.

Soz was suffering from heart disease and was normally very careful about the treatment. One night he was sitting in his home when a child in the neighbourhood hurt himself. The child was screaming and Soz ran to his help. This was enough to cause a heart attack which proved fatal. Sadly Soz died.

After his death the family members were vacating his clinic. They found many envelops with addresses and money inside. These were the people he used to help financially without disclosing to anyone. Not many people, including Charity Trustees, will help the poor people as Soz did:

De Watan Ke Zama Sa Dee Che Sa Dee Hagha Pradee Dee
Faqat Yaw Zra Da Soz Khpal Wo Hagha Ranj Aw Bala Yawro

(There is nothing mine in this temporary world apart from my heart.But that too has been stolen by the miseries of the world).

Ali Haider Joshi

Ali Haidar Joshi was born in Ismaila village, in 1914 about 20 km from Mardan city. He was a real and gifted poet who conveyed his message through different forms of poetry including Tappa, Charbeta, Neemakai and Rubaiyat. However his very popular version of poetry was the folk story of Yousaf Khan Sher Bano. He wrote this as "Badala" (a long version of poetry). Because of this he gained huge popularity. The story became so popular that it became the first Pushto film Yousaf Khan-Sher Bano in 1971. It was a hit movie because of the good story and the beautiful songs. Ali Haidar Joshi wrote on a variety of topics apart from love and romance. The readers have enjoyed his poetry in any form.

His published books are: 1) Yousaf Khan Sher Bano 2) Ajiba Gul 3) Deewan-i- Joshi 4) Deedar-i- Husain 5) Gul Sarhad 6) Deewan-i- Haidari and a few more.

He was a respected Pushtoon elder and liked to be seen in a traditional Pukhtoon dress and Loongi. Because of his ongoing good work he was awarded "The best performance Award" by the government in 2002. He spent his life with his family in Takhtbai from 1981 onwards. He did not return to his village and died on 6th January 2004. He was then buried in his birth place, Ismaila. He still has some unpublished work which if published will be another great asset to Pushto literature.