Sir: Jalalud’din Rumi — master of wisdom and passionate love — was born on September 30, 1207, on the plains of the Persian Empire. A mystic poet, he is still considered peerless. Rumi’s life has its own twists and turns; his two-year transformation journey began when he met his companion Shams of Tabraiz, a spiritual wanderer, who changed Rumi from a sober scholar to a fierce lover. The two were inseparable, lost in their own world, dwelling on the ideas of self and soul and learning the lessons of wisdom, spirituality and humanity. Rumi followed every path Shams showed him. The death of this true companion brought Rumi enormous grief and pain. It is said that it was the extent of the sorrow that made Rumi a poet par excellence. He is one of the most widely read poets in the world today. He produced 70,000 magnificent verses in only 25 years. He is remembered in history for his passion to love and amalgamate religious harmony in his poems. Rumi had said, “Everything in the universe is within you. Ask all from yourself.” He advocated that the soul is deep and to find something, one needs to look within. His work has been translated from Persian to Urdu, Italian, English and in many other languages. Misha Rizvi Karachi