Modern interpretive illustration of Kazim Khan Shaida, not an authenticated historical likeness.
Modern interpretive illustration of Kazim Khan Shaida, not an authenticated historical likeness. Khatirnama · All rights reserved · Image source ↗ (opens in a new window)

Classical · Indian style

Kazim Khan Shaida

کاظم خان شیدا

A leading Pashto poet of the Indian style, celebrated for subtle conceits and densely layered ghazals.

Life and work

Introduction

Kazim Khan Shaida was an eighteenth-century Pashto poet and an important voice in the Khattak literary tradition. He spent part of his life away from his homeland in India.

Shaida's poetry is associated with the Indian style, intricate conceits, and layered figurative language. His divan survives in manuscripts and several edited print traditions.

A master of the Indian style and one of classical Pashto poetry's foremost intricate stylists.

Sources

Biographical references

Recorded works

Poems

Books and editions

Bibliography