Satirist of Urdu writing He started his literary career by writing short stories and was a popular genre in Urdu prose. Finally, Jalees took up journalism that he called 'commercial area' of literature. Jalees began his literary career in 1938 and like most writers of that time was influenced by the Progressive Writers Movement. His first collection of short stories, Zard Chehrey, was published in 1945 reflecting poverty. Swept away by the emotional movement led by Majlis-Ittehadul-Muslemeen, for an independent state of Hyderabad, he was associated with the Deccan Radio, being scriptwriter. After the fall of Hyderabad, he had to flee to Pakistan. Jalees's memorable piece, Do Mulk, Aik Kahani, was an acknowledgement of his disillusionment in Pakistan where he spent his hard days in sheer survival though he won acclaim as a columnist commenting on current affairs in a lighter vein. On his return from a six-week tour of China, in 1951, where he was invited to attend the China's second independence anniversary celebration, he wrote a travelogue, Nai Deewar-I-Cheen. In 1961, he went to America on a four-month visit at the invitation of the US's vice President Lyndon B Johnson.