Renowned literary figure and academician Professor Taha Khan breathed his last on Sunday. His funeral was offered at Cantonment Graveyard where he was buried. Professor Taha Khan was not only a poet, writer but was also an academician who during his service as Professor of Urdu at a local college kept on teaching despite losing his eyesight. But despite losing his eyesight his love for teaching did not end and he stuck to the profession of teaching.
Professor Taha Khan contributed enormously both to Urdu and Pashto literature that would be remembered with great regards forever. He also poetically translated the work of Pashto great poet Rehman Baba into Urdu and his that work was highly praised in the literary circles.
He authored many books and earned national and international acclaim for his writings and enlisted himself among the great translators of sublime masterpiece of a mastermind.
During a chat with some journalists he had told that it took him almost three years to render the complete Diwan of Rahman Baba into Urdu verse form which was indeed an arduous task. He named the translated work of Rehman Baba as Mataa-e-Faqir which had lifted the credentials of Professor Taha Khan and brought his name among the list of the best literary personalities of the country.
Even once President Asif Ali Zardari had appreciated the literary work Professor Taha Khan, who despite his blindness had rendered outstanding contributions in Urdu and Pashto literatures. In his letter to Professor Taha Khan President Zardari had stated, “Your contribution to Urdu literature and poetry have earned the appreciation of many.
“Your engagement in literary and educational pursuits despite handicaps is a testimony of the tenacity and resilience of human spirit, to survive and conquer the storms of time and at the same time make worthwhile contributions.” However, it was strange that not even a single news was there in the media regarding the death of Professor Taha Khan. While the Khyber Pakhtunkhwa Cultural Department was also seemed to be unaware of the death of the one of the greatest literary personality produced by Peshawar.
