Daily Times

SHIKARPUR: A programme to mark the 20th death anniversary of an iconic Sindhi and Urdu language Poet Shaikh Ayaz, was held at Ajrak Club Shikarpur which was organised by the Sindhi Adabi Sangat, Shikarpur on Saturday.

An eminent Sindhi, Urdu poet Mubarak Shaikh known as Shaikh Ayaz was born on 2nd March 1923, at Shaikh Muhallah in Shikarpur, he had been a lawyer and served as Vice-Chancellor [VC] at Sindh University, Jamshoro.

Shaikh Ayaz passed away on 28th December of 1997 in Karachi due to cardiac arrest and was buried in Bhit Shah, near Qarar pond in Matiari District of Sindh.

Shaikh Ayaz introduced modern trends in Sindhi, Urdu poetry and literature; he wrote more than 50 books on poetry, plays, biography, article and short-stories in both Sindhi and Urdu languages and translated Shah-Jo-Risalo into Urdu.

His poetry holds high aesthetic value and has been translated in all the major languages of the world, including English, Urdu, Sindh, French, Chinese, Russian and other as well.

In addition, he was awarded with “Sitara-e-Imtiaz” for his literary services.

The poetry of Shiakh Ayaz played a major role in the development of progressive thinking in the country, particularly in Sindh while he was the very imprint of Shah Latif’s mystic poetry.

Besides, he was jail inmate of Zulfikar Ali Bhutto, the former Prime Minister of Pakistan, during the regime of General Ayub Khan.

Shaikh Ayaz provided jobs to famous columnist Abdul Qadir Junejo, the first woman story writer, Sumera Zareen and prominent singer Allan Fakir and many other of the like.

Meanwhile, prominent writer and columnist, Nasim Bukhari has strongly criticized the decision made by Ayaz’s family to bury him in Bhit Shah and termed it a loss being incurred to the people of Shikarpur.

However, Shaikh Ayaz in his autobiography had wished to buried in Shikarpur’s “Alif Shah Shaheed graveyard,” near the grave of his sister, “Mst Subhan” or in the area of Clifton, Karachi, beside the sea.

Dr Aamir Abbass Soomro, Agha Sanaullah Khan, Zahid Hussain Pahore, Rahim Bux Jaffari, Riazat Buriro, Sajjad Mahar, Hisam Memon, Abdul Salam Unar, the president Press Club Shikarpur, Zafar Alvi, Nadir Baloch, Sarang Munir Soomro, Waheed Phulpoto, Sarang Bapar and others paid a great tribute to Shaikh Ayaz and demanded the higher authorities to name a building, road or a museum in Shikarpur after the late poet as a tribute to his contribution development of progressive literature in the country, especially in the Sindh.

Published in Daily Times, December 31^st 2017.