|
| next Sufi, Saint, R. Scholor back |
Shah Abdul Latif
Shah Abdul Latif [Shrine] (1689--1752) was not only the greatest poet of Sindh, he was probably the greatest Sindhi in history As a poet he belongs to world class. His poetry is more valuable than all the other Sindhi literature put together. And he was not only a great poet; he was a great saint, a great nationalist, a great humanist. And at a pinch. he could be a humorist, too.
A Frenchman, who saw ``Hamlet'', said that the play was fine but the author had uied too many quotations. He did not know that the ``quotations'' had been coined by the author Or ``Hamlet'' himself. So, too, with Shah. Many wise sayings, which are current coin in Sindhi, had been authored by Shah. Here was a Syed who spent three years visiting holy spots from Hinglaj to Dwarka. Except when he wore black during Moharrum, he draped himself in bhagwa. Atal and Chanchal, two singers from Delhi, played music in his durbar, despite orthodox displeasure.
Much of his poetry expresses the aspirant's seeking for God in terms of well-known ballads. In Islamic tradition the seeker and the sought are both males. But Shah followed the Indian tradition, in which the seeker is a woman. Most of Shah's heroines come from a ``lower'' strata than the heroes --- but they shine brighter. His ``Sur Husseini'' glorifies the martyrdom of Hassan and Hussain. ``Not only men, but birds and animals and the angels in the skies, too, wept for them.''
In ``Sur Samundi,'' Shah immortalises the trading traditions of Sindh. ``The monsoon is over. It is Diwali time and traders are preparing to set sail for distant lands. Their wives are bringing offerings to the waves with tearful eyes. Here they clasp the mast; there they say that without their lords, they will feel cold even in their quilts.'' But then he gives it a quick spiritual turn: ``You must worship the Deep (God) if you wish to gain rubies and pearls.... They who worship the sea, they shall be fulfilled.''
``Sur Ramkali'' is devoted to the yogis. ``They carry nothing with themselves, certainly not their own self (ego).... They have sewed up their hearts to Rama. . . For them joy is the same as sorrow; they offer arati with their tears of blood.... If you want to be a yogi, follow the guru, forget all desires and proceed to Hinglaj. The yogis respond to an ancient call that was given even before Islam; they have given up everything, to be one with Gorakhnath.''
As a yogi himself, Shah looks upon the world with an equal eye. ``Sorrows are the ornament of joys; I have no use for joys unmixed with sorrows.... Don't follow the beaten path; other people float downstream, you should swim upstream.''
Shah has no use for formal Hindus and Muslims. He tells the Muslim hypocrites: ``Faith does not consist in saying the 'Kalma'; with evil in your heart, you are a devil and not a Musalman.'' Likewise he tells hypocritical Hindus: ``Don't call yourself a Hindu: you don't deserve your janeo. The tilak behooves only those who are true to God.'' He says: ``Roza and Namaz are all right; but it is some other discipline that helps you see the Lord.'' On one occasion he had stopped the forcible conversion of a bania (trader) who was crying piteously.
With rain so sparse in Sindh, Shah invokes it again and again in `Sur Sarang'. ``The clouds should learn weeping from the lovers, whose eyes never dry.'' When it rains, it is bliss itself. ``The pedigree horse is there in the yard, and out, there, is the buffalo; the house is shimmering in the plain; the bed smells good with my lord by my side; oh rain, go on pouring May I and my lord live long and equal.''
In another verse, Shah prays for rain in Istanbul and Maghreb, China and Samarkand, Kabul and Kandhar, Delhi and Deccan, Jaisalmir, Bikaner, and Girnar, but above all in Sindh. ``Saeen Sadaeen Karein Mathay Sindh Sukar'' (Oh Lord, may you always confer plenty on Sindh). Here is the national poet of Sindh wishing the whole world well. He is only too right when he says that his poetry is not ordinary verses; they are `ayats', inspired verses. Here is a rishi of recent times. Top
|
|
