A Link with the Creator

By Prem Chand Sahajwala, "Indo-Pak Sindhi writers meet in New Delhi – I" - Meri News - New Delhi, India
Thursday, March 27, 2008

Sahitya Academy held a conference of Indo-Pak Sindhi writers in New Delhi. It’s quite an encouraging step to strengthen the relationship between the two countries

Sindhi is one of the many Indic languages and it has gone through many phases of ups and downs in the histories of pre/post-partition India and Pakistan. Sahitya Academy (government of India) organised for the first time a two-day seminar of interaction between Sindhi writers from India and Pakistan on March 17-18, 2008, at its Academy Auditorium in New Delhi.

Prominent Indian Sindhi writers, led by MK Jetley, vice chairman, Sindhi Academy (government of Delhi), gathered to discuss many literary aspects of the Sindhi literatures on both sides of the border with prominent Pakistani writers like Dr Fahmida Hussain, Taj Joyo, Ayaz Gul, Imdad Hussaini, Shoukat Hussain Shoro among others.

The event became more significant than usual, looking at the current phase of comparatively better relationship between India and Pakistan in spite of years of bitterness, wars and the agony of the partition. Several other literary enthusiasts were also present in the seminar as audience.

Welcoming the guest writers from Sindh (Pakistan) in the inaugural session presided over by S.S. Noor, A. Krishnamurthy, secretary, Sahitya Academy, remembered the immortal classical names like Shah Abdul Latif (c. 1689 – 1752) and his 20th century incarnation – Sheikh Ayaz (1923 – 1997) – who put Sindhi language on the world stage by their Sufi literatures.

Shah Latif was the unique mystic Sufi poet who felt an interior link in every breath with the Creator, like any Sufi saint and, would say:

“A thousand doors and windows too,
the palace has, but see,
wherever I might go or be,
master confronts me there”

His poetry had the content of divine music.

Krishnamurty said that Sindhi was the language that developed in Sindh much before partition and many legendary poets like Sami, Sachchal Sarmast, Hamal Fakir, Dalpat Sufi and others evolved the language and literature through talent and perseverance.

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Indian’s Vasdev Mohi, the programme convener, said that in this seminar the Indian writers were seeking to present Sindhi literature of India while their counterparts from Pakistan were there to talk about their respective literature in Sindh and the Sahitya Academy would encourage such seminars in future.

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The welcome session was followed by sessions on various branches of literature like criticism, novel, and short story, the most evolved branch being poetry, which required three separate sessions for ghazal, poetry and the new poem.

Some prominent writer from either side chaired each session. Papers were read by one writer from each side of the border followed by two reviewers, with a discussion subsequently carried out by some other prominent writer.

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