Sufi Ghulam Mustafa Tabassum

Sufi Ghulam Mustafa Tabassum, also known by his pen name Tabassum, was a prominent poet, scholar, and translator of the 20th century. He was born in Amritsar, Punjab, in 1899, to parents of Kashmiri ancestry. He obtained his master’s degree in Persian from Forman Christian College in Lahore, and taught at Government College Lahore for his entire career. He wrote poetry in Urdu, Persian, and Punjabi languages, and translated many works from Persian into Urdu and Punjabi. He is best known for his poems for children, especially the character of Tot Batot. He also wrote songs for the Pakistan Army during the 1965 war. He received several awards and honors from the governments of Iran and Pakistan for his contributions to literature and culture. He died in Lahore in 1978.