KARACHI: Leading Sindhi poet Soz Halai breathed his last at a private hospital on Tuesday in Hyderabad after suffering a stroke. He was 80. Soz leaves behind a widow, five daughters and four sons.

He was also a profiler of singers, composers and instrumentalists belonging to various parts of the subcontinent.

He was admitted to the hospital on Feb 17, with complaints of high blood sugar. He was then kept in the intensive care unit (ICU) and was eventually diagnosed with stroke by doctors.

He is popular and revered for his poetry, representative of classical romantic genre, and had a special relationship with legendary singer Ustad Mohammad Jumman.

Javed Soz, his son, said he was buried at Khudi Khathoori graveyard in Old Hala town.

Halai was one of the few poets in Sindh who had great knowledge about the nuances of classical music. He often suggested a particular raga for composition of a piece of poetry.

“He was in fact a non-performing member of the team of Ustad Jumman,” said his son, “he would help the rest [with] how to compose a particular Kalam of Shah Latif or other great poets.”

Born on Dec 5, 1937 in Hala, the late Halai’s family was respected in the area for its contributions in education and cultural landscape of the town. His mother had memorised Shah Latif’s poetry and his elder brother was a musician.

Soon, he himself became a poet with incredible knowledge about classical music. Being part of the town where giants like Makhdoom Talibul Maula ruled the roost, Halai soon succeeded in creating his own niche.

“He was a member of the Bazm-i-Talibul Maula and Sindhi Adabi Sangat, but he believed in thinking free of all sorts of influences,” said a colleague.

He was the first person in the family who did post-graduation. Before this, he could not get a job and toiled hard to earn a livelihood. He learned English and continued his education as a private candidate and completed his post-graduation. Later, he got a job in the Sindh government and practiced as a lawyer for sometime after his retirement 20 years ago.

Two of his collections of poetry Darshan Dharo Dhar and Rung Rata Pechra have been published.

Besides, his autobiography titled Kavi-a ji katha was published a couple of years ago.

Recently his landmark book Saz aen awaz was published in which he profiled 86 musicians, singers and instrumentalists belonging to various parts of the subcontinent. Critics say it is the first book of its kind in which so many instrumentalists, who largely remain unsung, have been documented.

He was an ardent admirer of Ustad Jumman as evident from his works showing a complete book Karoon was kayam dedicated to Ustad Jumman’s life. Besides, he has written another thick tome on the legendary singer’s life, which is waiting to be published by the Sindhi Adabi Board.

Almost every singer has sung the verses of late Halai, which have been aired by Radio Pakistan for many decades and are still in vogue.

Published in Dawn, February 21st, 2018