MITHI: Speakers at a literary symposium said that Shaikh Ayaz’s poetry provides ideas for creating connections between civilisations in the light of the message of Shah Abdul Latif Bhitai in an age of post humanism dictated by the theory of clash of civilisations.

“Ayaz’s poetry offers ideas for creating connectivity between civilisations and guides us towards a more humanist perspective of the globe. We are living in the age of digitalisation and Artificial Intelligence, where humans are being pushed backward and the products made by them are promoted at the beck and call of markets,” said Prof Noor Ahmed Janjhi at the literary symposium titled “Shaikh Ayaz…..Poet of Connectivity” and launch of his book Mystical symphonies and earthly echoes (English translation of Shaik Ayaz’s Sindhi poems). The programme was arranged by Ghulam Muhammad Janjhi Oracle and Seven Star Publishers at a local hotel here.

Prof Janjhi said: “The present day world is facing multifaceted crises and challenges. It is called a global village but villages of the world lack even safe drinking water. Most of the population of the world is not a direct beneficiary of the digitalisation boom”.

He said the digital connectivity had affected physical interaction between people and consequently, people had been turned into introverts who avoided expressing the truth about their problems.

“It follows an intellectual hyper-activeness and many psychological problems. Living in a shared world we are behaving like fragmented entities. It is the tragedy of the world because it is not connected in spite of digital connectivity,” he said.

He said that Ayaz’s poetry provided a concept for the connectivity of civilisations to address such issues of the world. “Inspired by Bhitai’s sublime thoughts, Ayaz composed poetry, offering beautiful thoughts of love, humanism and environment. I have translated his Sindhi poetry into Urdu and English to bring his message to those who don’t know Sindh,” he said.

He said: “Ayaz says he had tried to build a bridge between people of Sindh and the world and has about 50 books of excellent poetry and prose to his credit. He has shared knowledge and genuine ideas in his writings and poetry. He, however, focuses on Sindh with great connectivity with world leading to a peaceful and prosperous globe.”

Dr Allahnawaz Samo, a development expert, said: “We are very lucky to have such a prolific writer as Prof Janjhi who writes continuously on a wide range of themes, ranging from Thar to Rumi, Bhitai to Ayaz. He explains classicism simply and effectively. He is really a classic hailing from Thar, who reflects on contemporary trends in world literature and writing.”

Chaman R. Thari, Mr Rajesh Gosamai, Sunil Lachhani, Dayanad Meg­hwar, Narain Nimano, Mohammad Umar, Lachman and Sahil Sub­hash said that the translation of Azay’s poems was faithful to the original with no addition, omission and modification.

Towards the conclusion of the programme, Karim Faqir and Heero Lohar, well-known local singers paid tribute to Ayaz by singing his poetry.

Published in Dawn, January 2nd, 2024