Shamsher Al-Hyderi is a poet, critic, journalist, broadcaster, former government servant and now the editor of a Sindhi-language daily newspaper. He is a qualified hakeem also. And if you see a traditional health-practitioner smoking incessantly, you may only exclaim: “God bless you,” or aap ka Allah he hafiz hai.

He began his writing career in 1951 and perfected his skills under the tutelage of his maternal uncle, Dr Naveed Husain Al-Hyderi, when he joined the weekly Aelan-i-Haq, edited by his uncle in Badin. At the weekly, besides his editing work, he wrote verses and pieces of literary criticism. In 1954, he moved to Hyderabad and joined a popular daily newspaper.

He is all praise for his uncle, “who was a known poet, critic, journalist, hakeem, orator and political activist, who had suffered incarceration for his political ideas”. “He not only helped raise me, but also bequeathed to me all his characteristics,” says Shamsher in an interview with Dawn.

His first collection of poetry was published in 1962. His published books total eight, but at least three books containing various genres of poetry — ghazal, nazm, wahi, kafi, lyrics, poems for children — and critical essays, both in Sindhi and Urdu, are ready for publication. “I have been contributing poetry as well as prose to various literary magazines all along my chequered career and a big stock of writings have piled. I’m trying to salvage some of the material. I’ll be content with whatever I manage to preserve for the future generations.”

However, he is better known as a broadcaster, as TV and radio reach a larger number of people. “When PTV launched its Sindhi segment in 1970, I was invited by Aslam Azhar to join it as a script writer. The ‘ugly’ face the children first saw in the Sindhi programmes as a compere was mine,” he laughs. “I was the first person to write a play serial for it also.” He has written more than 100 Sindhi and Urdu plays and serials for PTV during his 38-year association with it, besides writing numerous songs both for PTV and radio.

What he likes among his many docu-dramas written for PTV include one on the Hur movement and the other on the life and achievements of Hasan Ali Affendi, the founder of the Sindh Madressatul Islam.

Asked if he could name who is the best among the current writers, he says: “It is difficult to say who is the best writer of the time. Who is a great poet is determined by history alone. We see hundreds of writers at a time in every country in every era, but how many of them live, and how long, after their death? Some survive for a year, a few for a decade, and some live on for centuries. For instance, Shakespeare is still alive, so is Shah Latif.”

He quotes T.S. Eliot who had said that a poet or writer may be popular during his lifetime because he writes what is the demand of the time, but his greatness lies in the opinion of the critics who measure the depth of his thought and his diction after he passes away. Asked what current trends are in Sindhi poetry and fiction, he says: “Influenced by Sufi teachings, Sindhi poets, writers and the people alike are generous, hospitable and liberal in nature. They are affected by injustices committed anywhere in the world — in Vietnam, Iraq, Afghanistan, Kashmir and Palestine, which is reflected in their poetry and fiction. But when something happens closer to home, they react to it more vehemently. So, the local issues, national and international ones have their due place in Sindhi literature.”

Asked if he is satisfied with the standard of current writings, he says: “A writer needs both observation and study. The present writers and poets seem to lack both. Consequently, both Urdu and Sindhi literatures seem to have lost their former appeal. Writers and poets now seem to be in haste to keep pace with the changing international times. They lack the drive to delve into international literary trends. So they produce much in quantity but not so much in quality,” says Shamsher, adding that “There is no reason to be disappointed, however. Such patches come in the history of every literature. Time will fill the voids.”

He says there has been hardly any poet or writer both in Pakistan and India whom he hadn’t known either when he edited the quarterly Mehran or when he was in the ministry of information. “They sent me their works for publication in the magazine and wrote to me otherwise too,” he says and adds with a sigh. “But, sadly, most of my contemporaries in the glorious caravan have proceeded to their heavenly abode.”

Born on Sept 15, 1931 in Badin, he received his early education in a Badin government school, then at Sindh Madressatul Islam in Karachi, and did his BA (honours) and Master’s from the University of Sindh. To carry forward his family tradition of hikmat, he acquired a diploma in Tib. He retired as a Grade 19 officer from the federal government in 1991 after serving the ministries of information, communications and youth affairs since 1956.

He has been a chain smoker since before partition and has never even thought of kicking this habit though he admits it is injurious to health. Surprisingly, he doesn’t have any symptoms of smoking-related ailments. There must be some hikmat behind it.