Khatir Afridi
Quick Facts
Biography
Khatir Afridi (Pashto: خاطر اپریدے ) (1929-August 24, 1961) was a Pakistani poet of the Pashto language. He died young but left behind a son who compiled all of his father's work into a volume.
He was born as Misree Khan in 1929, at Landi Kotal, Federally Administered Tribal Areas, Pakistan near the border of Afghanistan, and died on August 24, 1961. Misree Khan was born to Afridi parents of the Zakka Khel clan. Khatir was a few days old when his father died but his grandfather and uncle reared him very well and raised him like a son. Khatir, unfortunately, could not go to school. He took up a job at the Khyber Rifle's camp as a gardener and later on entered the line of private business. But he was fond of poetry and he learned to compose verses to the tunes of the rabab which was played by the maestro, Bagh-i-Haram, a resident of Malikdeen Khel who lived very close to Khatir.
Qayum Kausar Afridi, his closest companion, once said, "One day I asked Khatir to give me his manuscript so that I could preserve it# I kept it with me till his only son, Javed Khan, grew up and was able to publish it. Khatir dressed simply and would carry a pistol with him according to the tribal tradition. He always wore a black turban but was a polite and calm person. His poetry is simple and spontaneous."
One of his poems is:
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