KARACHI, May 20: With a walking stick resting alongside him on the bed, well-known Sindhi poet Sail Azad lies in a Jinnah hospital ward, complaining of a lack of attention by the hospital staff and insanitation all around.

A large number of his Urdu and Sindhi songs have been sung by Pakistani and Indian singers, including Ghulam Fareed Sabri, Ali Mohammad Taji, Alan Faqir, Mehnaz, Munni Begum, Humaira Channa, Arshad Mehmood, Saleem Javed and Mohammad Ali Shehki. Among the most popular ones is Sansar mein bajay dhol/Yeh dunya meri tarah hay gol/Keh paisa bolta hai. Sung by the Sabri brothers, this song has even been copied by an Indian singer.

The late popular Sindh vocalist, Salman Shah, earned a name by singing Azad’s songs. “More than 90 per cent of the songs he sang were written by me,” says the ailing poet.

Besides songs, he also writes witty Qataas (four-line poems) on current situations prevailing in the country and around the globe. In fact, he writes in five languages: Sindhi, Urdu, Balochi, Seraiki and Punjabi.

The 72-year-old Karachi-born poet broke his left leg on Oct 17, 2007, while getting off a bus. He was admitted to the Civil Hospital Karachi for treatment, where the staff asked him to arrange for a rod to be inserted into his leg. But he was unable to pay for it, so he left the hospital and had the leg treated by a quack. Now, he is unable to walk on his feet and uses a stick for support.

Azad is in the hospital for the treatment of a stomach problem yet to be diagnosed and often feels giddy. But seeing the unhygienic conditions there, he says he would prefer to move home rather than suffer the inattention of the doctors and paramedics. “Look there is no covering on this bed. There is no commode and because of my fractured leg I cannot use squat toilets, which too are very dirty. And I cannot afford to pay for a private room with the necessary facilities,” says the poet, adding: “I would like to leave for home as soon as the doctors allow me.”

He lives in a Chanesar Goth house, which he says has no proper roof. He has described the condition of his house in a couplet: Jub chandni raatain hoti hain tau chand utar kar ata hai/Iss tooti chhat ka kia kehna, iss ujray ghar ka kia kehna. (Thanks to the broken roof and ill-maintained house, the moon descends on it on moonlit nights).

His poetry has been published by various Sindhi and Urdu newspapers and magazines over the years, but he has not been able to have it published in book form.

The poet said that around a week ago, the provincial cultural minister, Sassi Palejo, had heard his case and sent his file to the relevant department but there had been no progress so far. He is thankful to Rauf Siddiqui, the former provincial minister, and Iftikhar Arif, head of the Pakistan Academy of Letters, who had paid Rs10,000 each when he was recuperating after fracturing his leg.

He claims that during its second term, Benazir Bhutto’s government had approved a 240-square-yard plot but despite frequent rounds to the relevant office, he could not get the piece of land, and in the meantime, the PPP government was toppled.