Mystical Symphonies & Earthly Echoes: Shaikh Ayaz’s Poetry

Translated by Noor Ahmed Janjhi

The book is a poetic intellectual exploration of Shaikh Ayaz’s selected verses that have been translated from Sindhi into English by Noor Ahmed Janjhi, a writer and committed researcher on the poet and his cultural ethos. Ayaz believed that the best poetry is invariably expressed effortlessly and spontaneously. When he was young, Ayaz used to be boggled by questions of existentialist philosophy and he would ponder over the complications of life and the Creator of life. He also watched with utter horror the events post-World War II, such as communal carnage, poverty, hunger, famine and pestilence. Those experiences reflect in Ayaz’s verses his love for the motherland and the plight of his people. The translator has retained his thoughts and the power of his penetrating words that stay in the mind for a long time.

Broken Emotions

Murli Dhar
Translated by Prof Muhammad Hashim Solangi

The writer of the book is a doctor by profession and a sensitive soul who writes in Sindhi about ruthless discrimination in the name of race, religion, caste, creed and colour. He writes about women killed in the name of honour, about the massacre of schoolchildren (remembering the Army Public School tragedy), about dreams, emotions, sacrifice, love, separation and waiting. His words evoke feelings but they also have the power of healing. When Dr Murli witnesses or experiences anything, he reflects on it through prose and poetry, the vehicles of his reflection. The translator of his works, Prof Muhammad Hashim Solangi has done a painstaking job in selecting and translating the writings which retain their original thought and emotion.

Published in Dawn, Books & Authors, May 12th, 2024