The death anniversary of the great poet, Sufi Ghulam Mustafa Tabassum was observed on Thursday (February 7).

Sufi Tabassum was born in Amritsar on August 4, 1899. He was a great poet, critic and teacher. He taught three generations of students, including Faiz Ahmad Faiz, Noon Meem Rashid and Ahmad Nadeem Qasmi who later became renowned poets.

Sufi Tabassum also worked for Radio Pakistan as a script adviser and he distinguished himself as a broadcaster and commentator of literary subjects.

He devoted a lot of time to writing for children.

The famous 'Tot Batot' character was created by him, including translating of many poetical works from Urdu and Persian into Punjabi. In 1966, he received the Tamgha-e-Nishan-e-Sipas award of the Government of Iran, and the Sitara-i-Imtiaz by the Government of Pakistan.

Sufi Tabassum died on February 7, 1978 in Lahore.