By Abdullah Usman Morai | Sweden

Kamran had always been a competent student.

From primary school to university, his report cards rarely gave his parents a reason to worry. Teachers knew him as the kind of student who submitted assignments on time, grasped difficult subjects quickly, and somehow managed to look innocent even when something was clearly going on.

Then he entered engineering university.

Suddenly, Kamran discovered that some subjects weren’t taught in any textbook.

One of them was called love.

He was three years younger than Nazia, a senior student at the university. He had never spoken to her. She probably did not even know his name. Yet Kamran had developed a perfectly respectable, completely one-sided crush on her.

In his imagination, however, they had already had several conversations.

In reality, they had not even exchanged a “hello.”

That is the strange mathematics of a university crush: the less you know someone, the more space your imagination has to complete the missing information.

Nazia was simply Nazia.

She walked through the university corridors, attended classes, talked to her friends, and went about her life. Kamran, meanwhile, had quietly promoted her to a very important position in his private imagination.

Then one ordinary day, something happened that Kamran apparently considered a historic event.

He saw Nazia drinking water in the computer laboratory.

She finished drinking and put the glass down.

Kamran looked at the glass.

Then at Nazia.

Then at the glass again.

A normal student would have walked away.

Kamran was not operating under normal circumstances.

He picked up the glass and put it into his bag.

He did not drink from it.

He simply wanted to keep it.

Unfortunately, or perhaps fortunately, the laboratory assistant saw the entire operation.

The assistant said nothing.

Perhaps he thought, this boy is studying engineering. Let him solve his own problems.

A few days later, one of the professors called Kamran aside.

“Kamran,” he said, “you are a competent student. But I didn’t know you were a thief.”

Kamran smiled.

“Yes, sir.”

The professor looked surprised.

Kamran continued, completely seriously:

“But I’m a thief of hearts. And this particular glass I am not going to return.”

The professor probably wondered whether engineering education had begun producing a new category of criminals.

Kamran then did something that somehow made the whole story even funnier.

He bought a dozen identical glasses and left them in the laboratory.

Perhaps it was his way of paying compensation to the university.

Or perhaps he wanted to make sure nobody could say that one glass had been stolen and the laboratory had been left short.

From then on, Kamran occasionally drank water from that glass.

For him, it was no longer just a glass.

It had become a tiny souvenir of a feeling that had never become a relationship.

Nazia eventually left the university after another year.

There was no dramatic farewell.

No confession.

No proposal.

No movie-style scene at the university gate.

She simply graduated and moved on.

Kamran kept the glass.

And life continued.

Then came Nadia.

Unlike Nazia, Nadia was his batch-mate.

This time the crush was sudden.

And there was a problem.

Nadia already had her own glass.

So Kamran could not repeat his previous achievement.

There was no opportunity to steal the glass, and apparently Kamran had learned that university laboratories were not exactly the ideal place to build a romantic collection.

But Kamran was an engineer.

Engineers find solutions.

He approached a university clerk and asked if he could get Nadia’s photograph, the one attached to her admission form.

The clerk immediately understood.

There are some situations in life that require no explanation.

The clerk looked at Kamran.

Kamran looked at the clerk.

The clerk probably thought, another one.

He agreed to provide the photograph, but naturally, there was a small unofficial fee involved.

Kamran agreed.

When the photograph finally arrived, Kamran paid him.

Not the agreed amount.

Five times more.

Perhaps Kamran was generous.

Perhaps he was embarrassed.

Or perhaps he simply understood that some investments are impossible to calculate in money.

For a while, things with Nadia became serious.

Unlike the Nazia story, this time there were conversations.

There was mutual understanding.

There was even talk of involving families and moving towards a proper engagement.

For a young man who had previously stolen a drinking glass, this was considerable progress.

But life has its own timetable.

The engagement never happened.

And once again, Kamran was left with a memory instead of a relationship.

Years passed.

Nazia got married.

Nadia got married.

Both had children.

Life moved forward for them in the ordinary, beautiful way life does.

And Kamran?

Kamran remained Kamran.

He had a few more crushes along the way.

Some lasted a week.

Some lasted longer.

Some perhaps existed only in his imagination.

But he was happy.

He eventually came to understand something that nobody teaches at university:

Sometimes getting what you want changes the very thing you wanted.

A crush can be beautiful partly because it is incomplete.

You imagine the person.

You imagine conversations.

You imagine possibilities.

You see only the beautiful parts because reality has not yet arrived to introduce the bills, disagreements, responsibilities, habits, families, expectations, and ordinary Tuesdays.

Perhaps that is why Kamran eventually began to believe that the journey could be more interesting than the destination.

And sometimes, when you finally get the destination, you discover that you have lost the very mystery that made the journey exciting.

Years later, Kamran occasionally came across the old glass.

And sometimes he saw Nadia’s photograph.

He would smile.

Not because he regretted what happened.

Not because he wanted to go back.

Simply because those objects carried pieces of a younger version of himself.

A young man who had once believed that a drinking glass could preserve a feeling.

A young man who had paid five times the price for a photograph.

A young man who could fall in love without knowing whether love would ever answer him back.

Perhaps somewhere in his belongings there were other small reminders too: some forgotten photograph, a note, an old university paper, or some other harmless evidence of a crush that had long disappeared.

Each object was a little time machine.

And each one said:

“You were young once.”

But there was another side to Kamran’s story.

As he grew older, he began to understand why some of those relationships had not become marriages.

He had come from a village family.

His responsibilities did not end with himself.

His parents, relatives, and family members back home were part of his life. He knew that marriage was not simply about two people. In his circumstances, it could also mean bringing together two families, two lifestyles, and sometimes two very different worlds.

The girls he had fallen for were from cities.

Kamran sometimes wondered whether their lives and expectations would fit comfortably into his village family environment.

Would they understand his responsibilities?

Would he still be able to support his family back home?

Would the differences between urban and rural life eventually create a distance between the people he loved?

These were not easy questions.

And perhaps there were no perfect answers.

So time made some decisions for him before he could.

And maybe that is one of life’s strangest gifts.

We spend years thinking that we are deciding our future, only to discover later that circumstances, responsibilities, geography, family, timing, and fate have quietly been making decisions alongside us.

Yet Kamran did not consider himself unlucky.

Far from it.

He completed his engineering degree with a gold medal.

The same boy who had once been caught stealing a glass graduated as one of the university’s outstanding students.

Perhaps the laboratory assistant was right not to report him.

After all, the boy had bigger things to steal from life: knowledge, memories, experiences, and perhaps a few hearts.

Kamran never stole anyone’s heart permanently.

And nobody stole his.

Maybe that was the point.

Some people enter our lives to stay.

Others enter simply to leave behind a story.

Nazia left behind a glass.

Nadia left behind a photograph.

Others left behind memories that may not have had physical objects attached to them.

And Kamran carried all of them quietly into adulthood.

Sometimes we think a successful life means getting everything we once wanted.

But perhaps success is also learning how to smile at the things we did not get.

Kamran could have spent his life asking, why didn’t it happen?

Instead, he learned to ask, wasn’t it beautiful while it lasted?

That changed everything.

Because not every love story needs a wedding.

Not every crush needs a confession.

Not every beginning needs a conclusion.

Some stories are meant to remain unfinished.

And perhaps that is why, whenever Kamran sees that old glass or Nadia’s photograph, he smiles.

For a few seconds, the gold medal disappears.

The years disappear.

The responsibilities disappear.

He becomes that young engineering student again the boy standing in a laboratory, looking at a glass and thinking that perhaps love could be kept inside it.

And then he laughs.

Because he knows better now.

You cannot keep love in a glass.

You cannot keep it in a photograph either.

You can only keep the memory of how it made you feel.

And sometimes, that memory is more valuable than possession itself.

Perhaps Kamran’s greatest lesson was not about love at all.

It was about life:

Some people are destinations. Some are journeys. Some are lessons. And some are simply beautiful memories we carry without ever needing to possess them.

And if you are lucky, years later, you can look back at all of them and smile not with regret, but with gratitude.

After all, Kamran had learned the most important lesson of engineering:

Not every structure is meant to be built. Some are simply meant to be admired.

Read: Quiet Power of Ordinary Voters

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Abdullah Soomro, penname Abdullah Usman Morai, hailing from Moro town of Sindh, province of Pakistan, is based in Stockholm Sweden. Currently he is working as Groundwater Engineer in Stockholm Sweden. He did BE (Agriculture) from Sindh Agriculture University Tando Jam and MSc water systems technology from KTH Stockholm Sweden as well as MSc Management from Stockholm University. Beside this he also did masters in journalism and economics from Shah Abdul Latif University Khairpur Mirs, Sindh. He is author of a travelogue book named ‘Musafatoon’. His second book is in process. He writes articles from time to time. A frequent traveler, he also does podcast on YouTube with channel name: VASJE Podcast.

The post The Glass, Photograph, and Unkept Loves first appeared on Sindh Courier.

Dr. Jernail S. Anand

With the explosion of knowledge and the smart apps in the form of AI and Grok, I feel our kids are living in an atmosphere of hyper ideas, thoughts, words and phrases which represent global passion for the post-technology slang. The child of sixties and seventies who was not aware of words like ‘compartment’ and ‘scholarship’, now knows all about almost everything. The parents, in the past, had minimum five or six kids, and they were so busy with their living chores that they had little time for the kids’ mental development. Everything was left with the teacher. But, today, things have been reversed. Everything now rests with the mother, the father who is no longer the autocrat he used to be. His position in the family has melted to a friend, and even below that, to a homourist, who must buy costly toys, and eatables to keep the little boss in good humour.

The kids now start with a huge store of knowledge available from the mobile, and soon grow into young men and women with a brain loaded with millions of smart ideas. They keep busy with hundreds of apps, which, no doubt,  give them a lot of exposure and knowledge too, but without any understanding of life, which was to come from a direct touch with books and a respectful attachment with teachers, – they have neither time for this, nor any inclination. In a way, kids are now growing up in an atmosphere of moral non-committal. May I call it moral vacuum. Parents, who are all out to please them, because they have either only one son, or only one daughter, express unalloyed love for these kids, who are growing up unhindered, and uncorrected in their mental reflexes.  Love is not only to please the child, if we do not correct them when they go astray, it is not love, it is irresponsible behaviour, which affects not only the life of the kids when they grow up, but also puts the future of mankind at risk, because unchecked human passions open the doors for gangsters and mafiados who do not believe in human decencies. Can parents be expected to be ethically irresponsible?

In the absence of any moral compunctions, either from parents, or from the teachers, who have been reduced from being moral guides and role-models to facilitators, [every paradigm has suffered a downslide: parents, teachers, preachers], the youth have a free for all  in the bazaar of ideas and ideologies. Apart from mental freedom from parental control and moral restrictions, they have only one worry: to train themselves for a job. The consumerist culture of today, and the corporatization of work culture have now said goodbye to settled job routines of seventies and eighties, when people would spend fixed hours in offices, come home at the set time, and have tea in the open verandah of the house with their spouse.  Everything has been turned on its head. Pensionless jobs, insecurity, job hopping, passion for packages, have made our youngsters a rolling stones, the more they roll, the greater is the moss they carry.  Stability is a negative virtue, not only in office, but also in life. How can you spend entire life in the same house, in the same office and in the same environment? Change is always for the better. There is some truth, of course, but not the whole truth.

Inversion of Intelligence

In this atmosphere of crass insecurity, where all the measures of social security have gone to winds, the intelligence quotient of the younger generations too has taken a turn  away from the ideal of social welfare, living for society, and working for society. Nobody looks at his job now as serving a social cause or doing something socially useful. A job is now shorn of all social responsibility. It is meant only to sustain the man who holds it. Job is meant for your family, for your kids, and close relatives if you have a good human relationships record. If you are in business, is it run for helping the society or the country? I beg to differ. The sole purpose of setting up any business, even if it is a University nowadays, is how to cycle and recycle your wealth, and multiply it. All the knowledge, all the wisdom that a man gathers from the mobile, Google, Chatgpt, and from his experience with other people, is piped into forming a hyper-personality, where you are meant only for yourself, your family and your close circle, and beyond it, who is dying, suffering and crying, – the society at large – it is not your worry. Let the people fend for themselves. Who has stopped them from doing what you are doing. And when intelligence is suffering such an inversion, who bothers about the cosmic balance? Who bothers about God, who, even writers have said in desperation, is dead.  God is dead because he has realized it is useless to argue with men who are too intelligent. After all, they the byproducts of the forbidden fruit of knowledge.

The epicenters of morality have been deliberately weakened. Teacher has been removed from the scene. Family has been destroyed. And the holy shrines suffer erosion under the pressure of materialism and physical delight. Everything that made the old times good, has gone with the wind, leaving behind a life which is lived for the self, in the most selfish manner.

The Smart Intelligence

The intelligence that we now come across is not vertical. It is horizontal. People believe in moving around, discussing and debating their thoughts, and thus gathering some points for their CVs. They are not interested in intelligence for its own sake. Only he is considered intelligent who can show up in high voltage journals. Wealth is playing a great role in the acquiring of intelligence. If you have land, you can set up a University. You do not need any other accomplishment. If you want to make it a business proposition, no problem. What type of education you are providing, who bothers? What the students need are certificates. Go and get. The virtuosity of intelligence that is being bartered here is suspect, because it is horizontal, not vertical. Who can sit at his home and think and meditate deeply on any issue of social, moral and cosmic relevance? After Swami Vivekananda, and Kalam, how many more intellectuals have been born? We had great scholars, in the western world, but they were disillusioned with life, and some of them did themselves in.

Imparting Sense to the Absurd World

Who will lend sense to this absurd world? The intelligent people, the men who know. Not the men who only know how to get jobs. Life is lived beyond that. Job is meant for eight or nine hours. A day has twenty four hours. How to live those hours? Who will tell? Who will guide? Mobile? Very well. There are still nations which believe in their poets as prophets. But, the corporate world does not believe in prophetism. They believe in profit, and they are going strong.

Read: Cultivating Global Ethics for Next Generation

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 Dr. Jernail S. Anand, with 210 books to his credit [20 epics] is a Chandigarh-based top ranking author, whose seminal work ‘Lustus: The Prince of Darkness’ challenges the moral complacency of our era. He is founding President of the International Academy of Ethics, and Laureate of Charter of Morava [Serbia], Seneca [Italy], Franz Kafka [Germany, Ukraine, Czeck Rep] and Maxim Gorky [Russia] Soka Ikeda and Mahakavi Bharati (India) Awards, his name is inscribed on the Poets’ Rock in Serbia. Email: anandjs55@yahoo.com.

The post The Inversion of Intelligence first appeared on Sindh Courier.

A more enduring address than any house can offer.

We are together—

Forever—

Within the pages of a book.

Binoy Majumder 

Binoy Majumdar was one of the major post-Tagore poets, who, despite his higher education in engineering, spent his life in a one-sided love with a woman. He was not only a poet but also a brilliant engineer, a social reformer, and a dervish-like individual with communist ideals, whose life is an astonishing story oscillating between brilliance and deep mental agony.

Binoy spent the last several years of his life away from the noise of Calcutta in a dilapidated house in Thakurnagar, where his only friends were butterflies, fish, and trees. He called himself India’s first “Chandal poet,” dismantling human arrogance to present a formula for equality with nature. He rejected offers to become a university professor, choosing instead to be a poet. He was hospitalized for psychiatric treatment multiple times, where he received electric shocks. Laughing at himself, he would say: “I am the Inspector General of all the mental asylums in West Bengal.”

Binoy Majumdar introduced the concept of “Green Romanticism” to Bengali poetry. This theory emphasizes a deep unity between humans and nature. Researchers refer to his works as Écriture Écologie, or ecological writing. While traditional romantic poets were limited to flowers and nightingales, Binoy used unconventional symbols such as fish, mosquitoes, insects, blood, and flesh.

Translated by Debasree Chakraborti

The Two of Us

The two of us have won—

We won a long, long time ago.

Your complexion remains just as it was in those days,

Though you are no longer a Hindu;

You have embraced Christianity.

And yet, you and I have both grown old.

The hair I once cut short

Has now been mirrored upon your head—

Trimmed close, just as mine.

I saw your photograph in the daily newspaper,

And for a moment, time seemed to fold in upon itself.

When we were young—

When you were a young woman and I a young man—

Did we ever imagine that one day

Youth would quietly leave us behind,

And old age would come to sit beside us?

I hope that, by now,

You have children, grandchildren,

And a house filled with the ordinary music of generations.

My address still exists at your home;

Yours still remains at mine.

There is no need to write letters anymore.

For we have already found

A more enduring address than any house can offer.

We are together—

Forever—

Within the pages of a book.

___________

Debasree Chakraborti is a renowned novel writer of Bengali language. Based in Kolkata, West Bengal, India, she has done Master’s in Modern History from the Kolkata University, and authored some thirty books, mostly the novels, with historical perspective and themes. Her novel is ‘Maharaja Dahir’ that covers the history of Sindh from 662, the year of first attack on Sindh by the Arab armies till date, was published in 2024 and translated by Nasir Aijaz into Sindhi language. Recently, her new Bengali novel ‘The Last People of Mohenjo Daro’ has also been published.

 Read: Two Shores of the Same River

The post The Two of Us – Bengali Poetry first appeared on Sindh Courier.

I have never crawled before dishonorable people,

I have crawled only during battle.

Bahtiyar Hidayet

Bahtiyar Hidayet, born in 1974 in the Gazakh region of the Republic of Azerbaijan, graduated from university in 1995 and has been working as a history teacher since 1998. Wrote poetry since high school and has 4 poetry books published in Azerbaijan.

Knee Pain

I have never knelt before time,

I have never crawled before dishonorable people,

I have crawled only during battle.

Why do you ache, my knee?

Maybe you are offended with me.

When loneliness was howling like a wolf,

I hugged you so much.

Why do you ache, my knee?

After all, I have to stand up.

Every day is a court—

It’s okay,

I will object to the order,

“Stand up, the court is coming.”

After all, I have to stand up.

The teacher of life is starting the lesson.

It’s okay, I will object to that too.

The bell of that lesson is like the bell of death.

Why do you ache, my knee?

You do not have the right to hurt this much.

After all, I want to escape from this country.

After all, you have to be strong.

Why do you ache, my knee?

The doctors said that salt has accumulated.

I thought only my tears were salty.

So you are crying for me too,

Quietly and silently.

And forgive me, my knee,

When the doctors tested my nerves,

They also hit you hard with a hammer.

I myself also hurt you by hitting my knee.

Now I understand why you ache, my knee.

Forgive me.

You would not understand me.

I have hit my knee both in times of tragedy,

And I have hugged my knee in loneliness.

Maybe it is confusion that is hurting you.

Do not pay attention to me,

Even God does not understand me.

Why do you ache, my knee?

I am going to the doctor again.

The doctor will hit you with a hammer.

Prepare yourself, my knee.

The doctor will hit you with a hammer.

I am afraid that, like a nail,

You will be nailed into this land.

I am afraid that I will not be able to escape from here.

Look, I am confused too.

Come, let us help each other and escape from here.

Why do you ache, my knee?

_______________

Read: The Good Pears Are Eaten by Bears

The post Knee Pain – Poetry from Azerbaijan first appeared on Sindh Courier.

Nuzair Ahmed Jamro

It is true that for thousands of poor and middle-class families in Sindh, the Sindh Institute of Urology and Transplantation (SIUT) is much more than a hospital. It is a place where people who cannot afford expensive private treatment find care, dignity and hope. Yet the nature of that demand is changing. Kidney disease increasingly overlaps with diabetes, hypertension, cardiovascular disease, anemia, infections, nutritional deficiencies and respiratory complications. This means that the future of renal care cannot be defined by dialysis alone.

The next stage should be a more integrated, technology-enabled and patient-centered healthcare system in which specialized services work together around the needs of the patient.

A Kidney Patient Is More Than a Kidney Patient

Disease rarely respects the boundaries between medical specialties. Diabetes, for example, can progressively affect the kidneys, heart, eyes and nervous system, while hypertension can damage the kidneys and increase cardiovascular risk. A patient receiving dialysis may therefore also need management of diabetes, blood pressure, anemia, nutrition or cardiovascular complications.

This makes multidisciplinary care increasingly important. Nephrology and urology should be supported by cardiology, endocrinology, pulmonology, emergency medicine, intensive care, nutrition, physiotherapy and other relevant specialties. The principle is straightforward: treat the whole patient rather than treating each illness as a separate problem.

SIUT Sukkur: A Regional Opportunity

SIUT’s presence in Sukkur gives this vision a strong geographical foundation. Its facilities in Sukkur provide important urological and renal services, including dialysis, emergency care, lithotripsy, surgery, radiology and laboratory support. The larger Medical Complex at the Sukkur Bypass adds further capacity and creates an opportunity to develop a stronger regional referral system. Its location is particularly significant for northern Sindh. Patients from Sukkur and surrounding districts, including Shikarpur, Larkana, Jacobabad, Kashmore-Kandhkot, Ghotki and Khairpur, can potentially access specialized services without routinely travelling to Karachi.

The priority, therefore, should be to consolidate Sukkur as a regional hub for renal and related specialist care, while ensuring that patients requiring highly complex treatment remain connected to SIUT Karachi. This approach can improve access without attempting to reproduce every tertiary-care service at every location.

Connecting Kidney Care with Cardiac Care

Cardiovascular disease deserves special attention because many patients with chronic kidney disease, diabetes and hypertension also face cardiovascular complications. Here, SIUT and the Sindh Institute of Cardiovascular Diseases (SICVD) have complementary roles. SIUT’s expertise lies principally in renal, urological and transplant care, while SICVD provides specialized cardiovascular services through its network across Sindh. The opportunity is therefore coordination rather than duplication.

A patient receiving dialysis who develops chest pain, severe breathlessness or another suspected cardiac emergency should have a clear pathway for rapid cardiac assessment and referral. Conversely, cardiac patients with significant kidney disease may require timely nephrology input. Formal referral protocols, shared clinical communication and appropriate access to patient information could make this relationship more effective. The objective is simple: specialized institutions should work as parts of one patient-centered system rather than as isolated services.

Pulmonology and Critical Care

Renal patients can also develop respiratory complications because of fluid overload, infection and other serious conditions. In such situations, timely oxygen therapy, respiratory support, monitoring and intensive care may be essential.

Strengthening pulmonology, emergency medicine and critical-care capacity should therefore accompany the development of major SIUT facilities. However, advanced equipment is only one part of critical care. Ventilators and ICU monitors require trained intensivists, pulmonologists, nurses, respiratory therapists and biomedical engineers. The effectiveness of technology ultimately depends on the people who operate and maintain it.

Urology: From Treatment to Early Intervention

Urology remains a central part of SIUT’s mission. Kidney stones, urinary obstruction and urological infections can cause severe pain and, when treatment is delayed, may contribute to infection or deterioration in kidney function. Early diagnosis and appropriate treatment therefore require access to imaging, laboratory investigations, lithotripsy, endoscopic procedures and surgery.

SIUT’s existing urological capacity in Sukkur provides an important base. Further strengthening the connection between urology, nephrology, radiology, laboratory medicine and emergency services can help patients move more efficiently from diagnosis to treatment. The emphasis should be on early intervention and continuity of care, particularly for conditions that can contribute to preventable kidney damage.

One Patient, One Connected Medical Record

Digitalization could significantly strengthen this model. A secure electronic health record could bring together a patient’s dialysis history, laboratory results, blood pressure, glucose levels, hemoglobin, medications, imaging, urological procedures, cardiac investigations, admissions and specialist consultations.

This would allow authorized clinicians to understand the patient’s broader medical history rather than relying on fragmented records. A cardiologist, for example, could review relevant renal information, while a respiratory team could see important details about kidney function and previous admissions. Such connectivity could reduce unnecessary repetition of investigations and improve continuity of care. Privacy, cyber security and role-based access would be essential components of such a system. Digital technology should not replace clinical judgment. It should give clinicians better information at the point of care.

Telemedicine: Extending Expertise beyond the Hospital

Digital connectivity can also address one of Sindh’s most persistent healthcare challenges: distance. For patients from Jacobabad, Kashmore, Shikarpur and other remote areas, repeated journeys to Karachi can impose significant financial and physical burdens. Telemedicine can bring specialist consultation closer to these communities while retaining access to tertiary expertise.

A practical model could connect: Local facility → Regional SIUT hub → SIUT Karachi

Routine follow-up and selected consultations could be handled closer to the patient’s home, while complex cases could be referred to Sukkur or Karachi. This would make regional healthcare more efficient without requiring every facility to become a tertiary hospital.

Taking Renal Care Closer to Underserved Communities

Once a strong regional hub is established, the next question is how to reach communities that remain distant from specialized care. Areas such as Shikarpur, Jacobabad, Kashmore-Kandhkot and Kandiaro could be considered for SIUT-linked renal and diagnostic services, subject to population needs, feasibility and available resources.

These facilities need not replicate the full SIUT model. Depending on local demand, they could provide dialysis, nephrology consultation, diabetes and hypertension screening, basic laboratory services, essential imaging, nutrition counseling and telemedicine, with complex patients referred to Sukkur or Karachi. Such a hub-and-spoke structure would allow SIUT to expand its reach while maintaining specialist oversight.

Prevention Must Accompany Treatment

No expansion of hospital services can fully address kidney disease without prevention. Diabetes and hypertension are major contributors to chronic kidney disease, and early detection can provide an opportunity for intervention before complications become advanced. Community programs should therefore promote regular blood-pressure checks, diabetes screening, kidney-function assessment, healthy dietary practices, physical activity and medication adherence.

Schools, workplaces, colleges, community organizations and primary healthcare facilities can all contribute to this effort. The public-health message need not be complicated: Detect diabetes early. Control blood pressure. Protect the kidneys. Protect the heart.

Rehabilitation and Quality of Life

Successful healthcare should not be measured only by survival. Chronic kidney disease and prolonged hospitalization can affect mobility, strength, nutrition, employment and emotional wellbeing. Rehabilitation, physiotherapy, dietary counseling and appropriate psychosocial support can help patients maintain independence and improve their quality of life. For chronic-care patients, these services should be viewed as part of treatment rather than as optional additions.

Investing in SIUT’s Next Chapter

Such a healthcare network will require sustained investment, but investment should extend beyond buildings and machines.

The Government of Sindh can play an enabling role through long-term infrastructure support, land and utilities where appropriate, ambulance and referral systems, digital connectivity and coordination with other public-sector health institutions. Donors and philanthropists can support targeted areas such as ICU development, ventilators, advanced diagnostics, laboratories, telemedicine, electronic medical records, ambulances, rehabilitation and specialist training.

Equally important is investment in human resources. Doctors and nurses must be supported alongside technicians, pharmacists, physiotherapists, respiratory therapists, laboratory professionals, IT specialists and biomedical engineers. There is also an opportunity to establish dedicated support for research and innovation so that future expansion is guided by patient data, clinical evidence and regional healthcare needs.

Keeping the Human Spirit at the Centre

Amid all this discussion of technology and expansion, the central principle of SIUT should remain unchanged: the ability to pay should not determine access to treatment. Technology should strengthen that principle.

A dialysis center closer to a patient’s home reduces the burden of travel. A reliable cardiac referral pathway can shorten delays during emergencies. A properly staffed ICU can provide timely critical care. A connected medical record can prevent important clinical information from being lost between departments. These are not simply technological improvements. They are ways of making healthcare more accessible and humane.

A Connected Healthcare Future for Sindh

The next chapter of SIUT should not be defined simply by more dialysis machines, additional beds or new buildings. Its greater opportunity lies in building a connected healthcare network.

SIUT Karachi can continue to serve as a center of excellence, while SIUT Sukkur and the Babarlo Bypass facility can develop as an important regional hub for northern Sindh. Carefully planned satellite and linked services can bring essential renal care closer to communities in other underserved districts. At the same time, structured coordination with SICVD can strengthen care for patients whose kidney, diabetic and cardiovascular conditions overlap.

In such a system, a patient could begin treatment near home, receive specialist advice through telemedicine, access advanced regional services when necessary and be referred to Karachi for highly complex care. Most importantly, patients should not have to understand the boundaries between institutions. The healthcare system should manage those boundaries for them.

For a poor family in a remote part of Sindh, quality healthcare should not be a choice between travelling hundreds of kilometers and going without treatment. SIUT’s next chapter can therefore be about much more than dialysis. It can combine free healthcare with advanced technology, multidisciplinary medicine, digital connectivity and regional access, while preserving the compassion that made the institution distinctive in the first place.

Free healthcare. Advanced technology. Connected services. Multidisciplinary care. And, above all, dignity for every patient. That is how SIUT can continue helping turn healthcare from a privilege into a right for the people of Sindh.

Read: Strengthening Rural Primary Healthcare

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Based in Shikarpur, Sindh, the writer is a civil servant and MS research fellow in Public Administration. He writes on governance, public policy, and digital transformation. Email: najamro@gmail.com.

The post Redefining Renal Care for Sindh’s Future first appeared on Sindh Courier.

Poet and writer Amir Murtaza shares his poem. Based in Karachi, Amir Murtaza is a published writer of two poetry books, “Khizan Main Rang Dhoondta Hoon” & “The Last Clouds”. He has also written a number of short stories for children. Amir can be contacted at amirmurtaza1@hotmail.com

In The Last Clouds, Amir Murtaza writes about the serious danger of climate change with deep feeling. The three poems—”Extinction,” “Deforestation,” and “Just Think”—show how human greed is destroying nature. “Extinction” tells a true story about farmers in Khairpur who are losing local birds and plants to extreme summer heat. “Deforestation” gives a voice to the trees themselves, showing the sadness of a green forest being cut into pieces by heavy machines. Finally, “Just Think” is a direct warning to our conscience, asking us what will happen to future generations if we destroy our planet for money. Together, these poems are a powerful reminder to protect the earth before it is too late.

Extinction

In a village close to Khairpur

One summer evening

Conversing with some farmers.

Someone said that in the past few years

The temperature in their area has risen significantly

Summers used to be harsh here

Now, it seems fire is burning

From the sun.

Due to that heat

A few plants, birds and insects

Which were the inhabitants of this region

They are totally gone.

In a web based gathering

Somebody let me know

Climate change is a primary stimulus of the extinction.

By the end of this century

Around one million species may get terminated.

____

Deforestation

I was born here on this earth

Grew up with my kin and friends 

We live here with various species

A few of us are same

Some are totally different.

We are largely companions

We help each other

Our existence is important for one another

And, for the ecosystem too.

We are necessary for the survival of human beings on earth

Still he has become our foe.

These people consistently come here

In huge vehicles

Bring heavy machines.

They have begun cutting my siblings

What’s more, companions

One day me as well

We cut into pieces

The green forest is gone.

____

Just Think

In my primary school books

I read about the benefits of backwoods

For people, creatures and fowls.

Benefits for everybody

Yet, woods have been cutting down ruthlessly

Are we trying to vanish them from the planet?

Just think.

What will happen to the beneficiaries of forests?

Human beings, animals and birds

Just think.

 The people from the timber trade

They couldn’t care less

The timberlands are vanishing

They are earning cash.

The greed makes our fields empty

We are leaving the blank fields

For generations to come

Just think.

_____________

Read: Silent Moments

The post The Last Clouds – Environmental Poetry first appeared on Sindh Courier.

But first we need to understand

What is Peace!

Eva Lianou Petropoulou

Eva Lianou Petropoulou is an awarded author and poet from Greece with more than 25 years in the literary field, having published more than 15 books. Her poems are translated in more than 20 languages. She is President of creativity and art of Mil Mentes Por Mexico Association, representing Greece; President of Global UHE Peru, Vice President of Cultural Association China, Mexico. She is also the Ambassador of Peace for The Global Nation newspaper Bangladesh; World Ambassador of International Academy of Ethics India.

Peace

So expensive

We buy so many weapons

To maintain it.

If we pray more

If we were kind to each other

We could say

We have Peace of mind.

Poetic heart

Call for meditation

Inside our heart.

Peace,

We say a lot

We make nothing.

Peace,

Such as a woman

We adore

But few can get.

Peace,

A value with no cost

If the humans understand the word…

I wish one day….

…….

Peace

We found inside us

We are grateful for every hard moment

Because once the tough will pass.

We will be in a complete harmony with our self

We need peace of mind

We are in a transmission

And everything is going too fast

Information about things we do not need

Advice about how to react

To live

To eat

To breathe

To exist

We are in need of peace

But first we need to understand

What is Peace!

…….

War

Smile not exists

Happiness is stopped

Hungry stomach

Hungry soul

……

Enough

Tired from the bodies

That are afraid of their shadows

I would like to have a man who speaks truth

Who acts

Who believes

In power of love.

___________ 

Read: Freedom- Poetry from the Greece

The post What is Peace! – Poetry from Greece first appeared on Sindh Courier.

Ambassador M. Alam Brohi

Though the war has stalemated, the indirect talks between Iran and the USA have not collapsed – threatening pasturing, pause in exchange of messages, hot and cold statements, and boasts of annihilation of a civilization notwithstanding. Iran is economically hard pressed, the USA feels the shortage of arms and ammunition, Israel advances its plan to secure its flanks from Hezbollah, and turn the Arab world into a divided and weak bloc of nations. Israel has had no challenge from any Arab country since its last war of 1973. History

The USA policy to undermine the nationalist autocrats to secure Israel and the Gulf monarchies was successful. The present Middle East with no strong country on the scene would have gone under the security umbrella of Israel signing the Abraham Accords had the latter not been arrogantly over-ambitious seeking to establish itself as the master of the region. Among all the countries in the Middle East, only Iran stood out as the resisting block.

Two important events exposed the limits of the USA political and strategic prevalence in the Middle East. The overkill in Gaza by Israel devastating indiscriminately entire neighborhoods, schools, hospital, improvised camps of the internally displaced persons. The entire Palestinian population, and the entire well-built city were the target of ruthless bombardment to shock and disgust of the world. The invasion of Iran at the behest of Israel while with it were in progress on a question of utmost importance to the USA and Israel. These two events were bound to have seismic changes in the Middle East much beyond the estimations of invaders.

Maybe, the USA leadership was trapped by the rosy assessment of the direction of the war by Israeli strategic leaders. The Western and Arab world were watching the destruction and killings in Gaza, and the intensive on Iran. The war in the Middle East has left the world wondering about the political, economic and military resilience of Iran, and the limits of the military power of the USA. The military fight with a middle power country, already facing the USA sanctions, pushed the USA to the end of its tether. Amazing.

Bogged down in the Middle East, President Donald Trump seems at the end of his wits as to how to exit the war. The Islamabad MoU signed by him along with President Masood Pezeshkian of Iran, and Prime Minister Shahbaz Sharif elicited severe criticism in the USA. Even the close followers of President Trump called it a document of surrender than peace. This criticism forced him to look desperately for excuses to wriggle out of it, probably temporarily to pause the technical talks with Iran until the mid-term elections. His advisors chose to leave the outcome of the war ambiguous and elaborate it in ambiguous terms during the campaign for mid-term elections. An impression of defeat in the war would have played havoc with the electoral outcomes.

However, the world economy would not afford the closure of two important chokepoints – Strait of Hormuz, and Bab Al-Mandib – for any longer period. It is at the verge of a collapse. Oil ships scarcely pass through Strait of Hormuz. Bab Al-Mandib is closed for Saudi oil ships. The Saudi East-West oil pipe carrying over 5 million barrels a day was provisionally shut after drone attack on it.  Saudi also meet 5% of the global energy requirement or 5-6 million barrels a day through Bab Al –Mandib. The Strait of Hormuz caters to 20% of the global oil needs. The world seems in chaos. The Hoathis have the upper hand in the fight for strategically important positions in the western coast of the Red Sea.

An African adage describes this situation well that two elephants fight, destroy the vegetation and exit the contest. This war has really choked the international trade, and the flow of oil to the world. The USA leadership along with Benjamin Netanyahu did not have the slightest idea that Iran would be able to close these important waterways. The gross miscalculations on their part have changed the direction of the war. Instead of removing the ruling clerics, the hasty, unplanned and haphazard invasion of Iran has fortified their grip on power, showing them as heroic defenders of their land and civilization.

The war will come to an end in one way or the other after the mid-term elections. But the arrogant mindset and the superpower’s ego would be reluctant to concede victory to Iran. No clear defeat to Iran is actually the defeat of the lone superpower. Their exit would be accompanied by ambiguity, arrogant talk, threats and procrastination in discharging their responsibilities towards Iran as pledged in the Islamabad MoU or a fresh understanding. However, the ground realities would tell another story which would markedly include: 1) the dashed dream of Israel to control the region as planned; 2) the erosion of the Abraham Accords which were reining in Arab countries; 3) the erosion of the trust in the USA security architecture with other countries emerging as perceptibly reliable strategic partners in the Gulf Region; 4) Iran regaining its dominant regional position within a short span of time wooing Gulf States to find out a strategic framework for peaceful co-existence with necessary confidence building measures to reassure their security and territorial integrity.

This does not mean that with the end of the war, the USA would wrap up its affairs in the Middle East and leave. It will redouble its efforts to revitalize its strategic relations with the Gulf States by revamping defence systems and offering more sophisticated and technologically advanced weapons. It could possibly strike a deal with Iran to retain an aura of political and strategic influence in the Middle East, and safeguard the political, economic and strategic interests of Israel. Iran has a tougher stand on the interaction with Israel than all the Muslim countries. But the compulsions of statecraft cannot be ignored. Between states, anything in national interest is kosher. Geographic Reference

China is very careful, and has been carefully moving to avoid any accidental confrontation with the USA anywhere in the world. Similarly, it will also move carefully to fill in the political, and strategic vacuum in the Middle East. Russia is bogged down in its war with Ukraine. The western world would like Russia to remain embroiled in this war. It should consolidate its position in the Crimea and the surrounding Russian speaking regions, and exit from the war. It has been in this conflict for too long. So, Vladimir Putin will also not be in a position to step in the Middle East.

Pakistan and Turkey are two states at the periphery of the conflict. Pakistan cannot trade away its military strength for the sake of a bag of dollars. Turkey has an advanced defence industry, and would be able to revitalize the defence systems of these countries. For that matter, the global defence markets are open for such lucrative purchases. The Makka Defence Accord is at the embryonic stage, and would need time to take a strategic shape.

Read: Part-1, Part-2,                  

___________________

The writer is a former member of the Foreign Service of Pakistan and has served as Ambassador for two terms. He is the author of five books

First published by The Friday Times Lahore

The post Mid-East Conflict Reshapes Global Power-3 first appeared on Sindh Courier.

Bharumal Amrani

​A handsome poet with a gentle disposition, in whose poetry tears speak and the history of the heart is chronicled. His art spans centuries, bringing the anguish of the Kurukshetra battlefield to the banks of the Indus River. From the Karan Phool (a traditional ear ornament) of his pen drip the extracts of sorrowful roses. He possesses the rare gift of warming the listener’s soul through the spoken cadences of verse. In the land of sand dunes, his poetry knows how to shine as the morning star (Vahao Taro). Through his work, one learns how grief can be made to ripple through words.

​Passing through sorrows, pain, solitude, and melancholy, he maintained a lifelong devotion to poetry. Every day, the songbird of love (Taro) sang in his soul, and the peacocks of affection called out. Yearning for a single drop of close companionship, he addressed poetry in the words of Rasool Gamzatov:

​”O Poetry! Do you not know that I can never abandon you? Can I ever run away from the joys of my life, or from the river of tears swelling in my eyes?”

​He knew that without Moomal, Rano (Mendhro) is nothing; without the yearning for Saranga, the entire journey of Sadawant is futile; and it is solely because of the longing for the soil of Malir that Marui attained immortality.

​In a foreword to Dil Ji Tareekh (History of the Heart), the second poetic collection of this beautiful Sindhi language poet Prof. Saindad Sand, I wrote:

​”Before absorbing the intoxication of Sain Saindad Sand’s poetry into one’s heart, it is essential to first relish the beauty of the folk poetry of his native Thar—a poetry imbued with deep love for the homeland and an immense aesthetic fervor, both of which are reflected in his work.”

​Early this morning near the pond, I was astonished to see deities bowing in reverence to a patch of ground. Going closer to inspect the spot, I realized that you had gone there at dawn to draw water, leaving behind the footprints stained with fresh henna. The deities were prostrating before that sacred earth.

​At night, light flashed like lightning toward Amarkot (Umerkot) and Dhat. I was in a distant land. Seeing that radiance from afar, I thought rain had returned to Thar, and set out immediately. On the way, a traveler informed me that it had not rained at all. I then realized you must have been riding a swing when your veil slipped, and the brilliance of your skin lit up the sky.

​O my son! Rise and heed the call of the soil. If you retreat during this national struggle, my milk shall turn to poison for you.

​O friend! I have never liked the neighborhood of cowards; I sacrifice myself for those brave souls who bargain with their heads.

​Neither meeting is easy nor parting; leave both behind. Parting causes the fish to perish, while meeting draws the moth to its death.

​Among the tribes of Sindh, the Sodha tribe has been renowned for upholding truth, valor, and generosity. As the Charan poet declares:

​Whether Kachhwaha, Jhala, Rathore (Kamdhaj), or the praised Sisodiya warriors of the world—or even the Yadu descendants of Machhari—none can ever match the Sodhas.

​The Sodha sons of Sindh carved out their legacy across history: from sacrificing themselves for Dodo Soomro in the desert of Rahimki Bazaar to fighting heroically on the battlefield of Taltee. From Hansaji Sodho to Ranmal Sodho, the pages of history are filled with the historical feats of true Sodha. In both classical and modern Sindhi literature, “Sodha” characters stand as monumental figures.

​The Sand tribe—known in the Thari dialect as Savand—is one of the 35 sub-castes of the Sodha tribe. It is said that three generations before Gujjo Rano lived Savand Sodho, whose descendants came to be known as Savand or Sand.

​While the Sodha tribe historically maintained a reputation for sword craft through generations, the Sand branch in Sindh became recognized more for holding the “pen” than the “sword.” Among the Ranos of poetry’s Kaak (the realm of love), figures such as Mama Jaman Darbadar, Haleem Baghi, and Prof. Saindad Sand, alongside Haji Sand, Anwar Sand, and Ishaq Sand, have earned widespread acclaim.

​Sain Saindad was the youngest of five sons born to Muhammad Hassan Sand in the village of Mataro Sand near Islamkot. His elder brothers are Lawang, Imam Bakhsh, Peer Dano, and Mangio. According to official school records, his date of birth is March 1, 1960, though his actual year of birth was 1961.

​From childhood, Saindad was an exceptionally bright student. To pursue his education, he traveled to primary and secondary schools across various villages, including Joglar, Venjhnaiari, Islamkot, Jogi Marhi, Fazal Bhanbhro, and Naokot. After completing his first year at Shah Abdul Latif College in Mirpurkhas, he enrolled in Sachal College, Hyderabad, for his Intermediate studies, eventually making his way to the Old Campus of the University of Sindh. From primary school to his Master’s degree in Sindhi, he consistently secured first position, passing his M.A. in Sindhi with first-class honors.

​Recalling his student days, Sain Saindad often spoke of “Fazal Bhanbhro,” where he lived and studied alongside Faqir Sher Muhammad Bilalani. Renowned short-story writer and playwright Abdul Qadir Junejo and Prem Shivani were among his teachers, instructing students in standard curriculum as well as fiction, poetry, and fine arts.

​From 1978 to 1986, Saindad worked at Sindhology. By his own account, he would quietly read books on poetic technique away from the eyes of Dr. Ghulam Ali Allana and Madam Mahtab Akbar Rashdi, though he often viewed theoretical knowledge as distinct from lived expression.

​​On September 22, 1986, he joined Degree College Mithi as a Lecturer in Sindhi Literature. During his tenure at Mithi College, he rose through the ranks from Lecturer to Professor, eventually serving as Principal. It was during his service that the Degree College Mithi was named after the celebrated folk singer, Sadiq Faqir. Saindad retired from government service in February 2017 while serving at Degree College Diplo, yet he continued to teach and share knowledge through informal classes for students well after retirement.

​Prof. Saindad Sand began writing poetry during his Intermediate studies. For several years, he would write verses only to tear them up, but the first ghazal he ever composed remained etched in his memory like a first love:

​Yadun jagyun sapna jagya,

Akhrin andar ghorha jagya.

​(Memories awakened, dreams awakened,

Within the eyes, tears awakened.)

​Ghorhen Galhayu (Tears Have Spoken) became his debut poetry collection, containing this initial ghazal. The piece was first rendered by Kareem Faqir and later recorded by numerous vocalists. Kareem captured the profound melancholy of Nagarparkar in his soulful rendition, making it feel as though Sadawant were singing in a Jain temple while longing for Saranga.

​Just as Saindad was initially reluctant to publish his first collection, Ghorhen Galhayu (relenting only under intense persuasion from friends like Dilip Kothari), he similarly resisted releasing his second collection, Dil Ji Tareekh. Eventually, Dilip Doshi Lohano and I persuaded him to proceed.

​Following the martyrdom of Benazir Bhutto, he wrote poignant verses (Baits) amidst deep grief, which were compiled in his collection Sindh Kurokshetra Jiyan (Sindh Like Kurukshetra). This was the sole book the poet himself was eager to publish; it was brought out by Vasdev Jani through Amesha Publications. I had the honor of writing the forewords for both Dil Ji Tareekh and Sindh Kurokshetra Jiyan. Drafting the introduction for the latter was an intensely moving experience:

​Dharti ji daman mein, suti munhji bhen,

Duniya banji neenr, rooi thanh ki roz thi.

​(In the lap of the earth sleeps my sister,

The world becomes an eye, weeping for her daily.)

​Rani tunhji rat man, jurya jiyala,

Bhala i bhala, Sindh Kurokshetra jiyan.

​(O Queen! From your blood, brave hearts were born,

Lances upon lances, Sindh stands like Kurukshetra.)

​Earlier in life, Saindad composed poetry late into the night in his college hostel room, lost in solitude while chain-smoking. Later, in his green home near Godam Colony, he wrote as the first light of dawn emerged. Yet internal solitude, life’s bitterness, tears, and sorrow remained constant companions. He never concerned himself with critics measuring poetry by rigid formulas or ideological reviewers underlining lines with a ballpoint pen. His expression was natural and spontaneous; the absolute truth of his life lies within his poetry.

​When a friend once asked me whether poetry is an autobiography of the poet, I spontaneously recited a few lines of Saindad verse, explaining that he laid bare the secrets of life in precisely this manner. Opening the doorway of his heart, he sought beauty from the edge of vision to the rays of imagination, translating romantic hues, psychological insights, and philosophical reflections directly into his art.

​The mid-1980s through the 1990s marked the rise of vocalists Sadiq Faqir and Kareem Faqir. _Sainingdad’s poetry was first brought to life by them before resounding across Sindh through various artists. His verses sung by Fouzia Soomro gained widespread popularity, particularly:

​”Khn hath hilaya ta ghorha gari pya” (When someone waved goodbye, tears fell)

​”Ko ta ahrho hujey, ghorha munhja aghay” (If only there were someone to wipe my tears)

​”Mirkandi mirkandi ji toon munh san milien, gham munhja khushi mein badalji vanjan” (If you meet me with a smile, my sorrows turn to joy)

​”Vichhri vanjin tho toon par yad kandin dadho” (You are parting ways, but you will miss me deeply)

​Lines like “Toliy’an man i tariyo tha, dil patthar ji dhariyo tha” and “Dil ki dhodindarr hi gharhi ahe” were rendered by Sadiq Faqir with a resonance no other singer could duplicate. In reciting a verse from Saindad’s ghazal “Jadhn gheri vanje gham ko, tadhn mun dey hali acchan”, Sadiq Faqir infused the phrase “Munhji mithri janan” (My sweet beloved) with such melody that it echoed in the listener’s heart like the call of a cuckoo. Rajab Faqir, Rafeeq Faqir, and Abbas Faqir have likewise sung his poetry with deep devotion.

​Ustad Hussain Faqir also delivered exceptional renditions of his poetry. To learn raaga and music from Ustad Hussain Faqir, Saindad purchased a new harmonium. Ustad began lessons in the hostel room, though how long those lessons continued or how much formal music theory Sain mastered remains uncertain; what was always clear was his lifelong love for melody and music.

​I do not recall the exact date of my first meeting with Sain Saindad, but I vividly remember attending the “Welcoming the Rains” (Vaskare Ji Aajyan) event organized by Sadiq Faqir and other companions in Saran Colony, Mithi, in 1997. I recited a Wai (a traditional poetic form), which Sain praised warmly.

​On my first day at college, Sain entered the classroom and asked questions regarding Shah Abdul Latif Bhittai. I was among those who answered correctly. Throughout our college years, literary gatherings met regularly—from the classroom to Sain’s hostel room—focusing on literature, poetry, and life values, often stretching past midnight. On one cold winter night, I prepared to leave his room without a coat or sweater; Sain gave me his fine Ajrak shawl to wrap around myself. Such a high-quality Ajrak was beyond my means to purchase at the time. The following evening, before returning it, I draped it over my shoulders and walked through the town a few times to show it off.

​Whenever I met Sain, he maintained the same warmth, respect, and candor. He possessed an exceptionally sensitive nature, guided by his heart rather than societal conventions, and was devoted to his students. He often remarked that a person might remain “de-classed,” but must never allow themselves to be “degraded.” Consequently, he never tolerated disrespect, carrying a refined artistic dignity (ego).

​During our student years, Sain Reejho Krishnati served as College Principal—a truly noble human being who treated me with great kindness. When a group of us requested a trip to the Karoonjhar Mountains, Sain Saindad advocated on our behalf and accompanied us as we explored the Nagarparkar region.

​I read extensively from Sain’s personal library. Thanks to my closeness with him, I also gained access to the college library resources. He remained a major exponent of modern literature and progressive thought in Thar.

​Shortly after the “Thar Seminar,” a grand literary gathering (Rahaarn) was organized in Mithi for Sain Saindad by his former students—Dr. Lal Lohano, Dr. Suresh Makhi, Dr. Kishor Khatri, Vasdev Jani, and others. This coincided with the height of Fouzia Soomro’s popularity; a recording of that evening remains preserved with Pappu Kotak.

​Sain wrote prose infrequently, his prose was refined. His book Khayalan Ja Pakhi (Birds of Thoughts) compiles radio scripts, speeches, and interviews. His radio broadcasts enjoyed immense popularity. Another of his works, Thar Ji Adabi Tareekh (Literary History of Thar), remains unpublished. He briefly penned newspaper columns, though he discontinued the series after a few installments.

​When Sain became Principal of the college, I arranged a commendation ceremony in his honor at the Mithi Press Club along with my colleagues Shahab Nahriyo and Nashad Samoo. Though initially hesitant, Sain accepted out of regard for his students and friends.

​​Although I began writing during high school, I learned poetic meter and prosody (Arooz) directly from Prof. Saindad Sand. Previously, I had attempted to compose verse using Taj Joyo’s book Sindhi Geet, though I had not yet mastered the nuances of metric science.

​​​When I launched the weekly newspaper Thar News, Sain offered his full backing, guiding our team continuously through its five-year run.

​Creator of iconic folk verses such as “Mathari mathi moriro boley, manro heenyro hichkoley”, Prof. Saindad Sand navigated life in Thar with deep insight, fortitude, and steadfast principles. Active in the Sindhi Adabi Sangat since his days in Jamshoro, he frequently hosted Mithi branch meetings in his hostel room, serving at various times as Branch Secretary and Councilor.

​Whenever I looked at Saindad, Mirza Ghalib’s famous couplet came to mind:

​Na janoon nek hoon ya bad hoon, par sohbat mukhalif hai!

Jo gul hoon to hoon sehra mein, jo khas hoon to hoon gulshan mein.

​(I know not whether I am good or evil, yet my surroundings conflict with me;

If I am a flower, I bloom in the desert; if a weed, I grow in the garden.)

​Like a flower blooming in the heart of the desert, this poet stood solitary like fragrance itself, unique to his native soil. He distilled tears into words to nurture his poetic craft. In 1998, a manuscript of his poetry was stolen from his hostel room—a loss he grieved throughout his life.

​Concluding Reflections

​I have written extensively on Saindad Sand’s poetry in the past, including an analysis of his prose in Khayalan Ja Pakhi. In this biographical sketch, I have sought to convey his personality and art without repetition. Readers may judge how far I have succeeded; I have written what I genuinely felt regarding his life and work. Many memories remain, to be shared on another occasion.

​Sain frequently recited his own ghazal:

​Rat guzri vanje ta dadho suttho,

Yad visri vanje ta dadho suttho.

​(If the night passes, it would be so good,

If the memory fades, it would be so good.)

​​Poets like Saindad are born but once; in a single lifetime, they gather the artistic essence of thousands of lifetimes, filling all directions with vibrant color. In an expanse adorned with millions of stars, their creative brilliance shines anew with every passing day, and centuries bear witness to the light of their verses.

​In life’s journey, every stanza of Saindad’s poetry represents a step forward. Traversing the dry desert of human attitudes, an ocean of pain (Hakro) surged within him, giving his poetry a deeply reflective interiority. Behind every couplet lies a lived reality.

​Sain Saindad was a poet of tears and sorrows. Even when a smile crossed his dark-complexioned face, it seemed as though a quiet line of shy tears lingered just behind that innocent expression.

​Just as musicians practice their scales (Riyaz), he performed his poetic Sadhana (devotional discipline). He carved every line from the depths of his soul like fire, contributing a distinct desert voice from Thar to modern Sindhi ghazal.

​Beginning his professional journey at Sindhology, Prof. Saindad Sand went on to play a major educational role through teaching and administration at colleges in Mithi, Diplo, and beyond.

​This fine poet of the Sindhi language passed away on International Mother Language Day. On World Book Day, following special directives from Sain Sardar Shah, an official letter was issued to name the college in his honor. Although a signboard was initially delayed at the local level, it has now been formally installed at the college entrance.

​Saindad Sand’s published works include Ghorhen Galhayu (poetry), Dil Ji Tareekh (poetry), Sindh Kurokshetra Jiyan (poetry), Khayalan Ja Pakhi (prose), and Ko Ta Ahrho Hujey (poetry), along with remaining unpublished manuscripts. The devoted labor of this respected teacher and great poet of Sindh continues to receive the recognition it richly deserves.

Read: Peacocks have forgotten their dance

​_________

Bharu Mal Amrani is a distinguished folklorist, poet, writer, researcher, journalist, script writer & compere of Radio Pakistan, and social–environmental activist from Tharparkar, Sindh, who has devoted more than two decades to the preservation, documentation, and promotion of Thari dialect, folklore, culture, and heritage. Currently he is working as a subject specialist of Sindhi at Raichand Rathore Government Higher Secondary School, Chelhar.

The post Saindad Sand: The Desert’s Voice first appeared on Sindh Courier.

• Supported by her husband, Allama I. I. Kazi, she bridged vast linguistic and cultural divides to capture the rhythm, imagery, and mystical spirit of Bhittai’s work, pioneering a legacy that inspired generations of scholars and translators.

Rafia Bukhari

Elsa Kazi (1884–1967), affectionately known as “Mother Elsa” in Sindh, holds a high esteem in the literary and cultural history of the region. A German-born writer, poet, translator, and a painter, she was the wife of the eminent philosopher and scholar Allama I. I. Kazi. Although she was not a native speaker of Sindhi, her profound dedication for Shah Abdul Latif Bhittai and her deep association with Sindh enabled her to engage closely with the spiritual and philosophical dimensions of Bhittai’s poetry.

Elsa Kazi’s literary contribution extends beyond her translation of Shah Abdul Latif Bhittai. Nevertheless, her English rendering of Shah Abdul Latif Bhittai’s Risalo (Selections), published in 1965 remains one of her most noteworthy literary achievements. Although the work contains selected verses rather than the complete Risalo, it occupies an important position in the history of English translations of Bhittai’s poetry.

For a reader familiar with Shah Jo Risalo in the original Sindhi, Kazi’s rendering exposes an evident attempt to reproduce not merely the literal meaning of Bhittai’s verses but also their poetic and mystical dimensions. She transforms the substance of the original verses into an English poetic form in which rhythm, imagery, and musical notes contribute to an effect reminiscent of the original poetry. Translating poetry is inherently challenging because the translator must negotiate between linguistic meaning and poetic form. The difficulty becomes even greater when the source text is mystical poetry deeply embedded in a particular cultural and spiritual tradition.

Elsa Kazi as a Poet and Translator

Kazi’s own poetic sensibility appears to have played an important role in her approach to Bhittai’s poetry. Her ability to appreciate the aesthetic and spiritual dimensions of poetry allowed her to approach Shah Jo Risalo not merely as a text material but as a work of mystical and philosophical significance.

One of the notable examples of her poetic rendering appears in her translation of a verse from Sur Suriraag:

“Those who kept up all night

To adore Glorious One;

Latif says: E’en their dust

Became with honour dight;

Scores to their resting site

Flock, homage there to pay.”

(Kazi, 1965, p. 106)

The translation proves Kazi’s endeavor to preserve the devotional atmosphere of Bhittai’s poetry while presenting it in an English poetic structure. The imagery of devotion, honour, and spiritual reverence remains central to the translated passage.

Another striking example is found in Sur Marui, where Bhittai evokes the pre-creation pledge between God and human soul:

“Am I not thy Lord?” came a voice;

A voice so sweet and clear;

And I said: “yes” with all my heart

When I this voice did hear;

And with a bond I did adhere

That moment to my love.

(Kazi, 1965, p. 179)

The passage refers to the Qur’anic concept of the compact, in which the human soul responds affirmatively to the divine question, “Am I not your Lord?” In Bhittai’s poetry, the episode acquires a mystical significance, while Marui turns out to be associated with spiritual fidelity and commitment.

Kazi’s rendering attempts to preserve this spiritual dimension. Her translation therefore demonstrates that her engagement with Bhittai was not confined to lexical equivalence. Rather, she sought to communicate the mystical resonance underlying the original verses.

The Role of Allama I. I. Kazi

The role of Allama I. I. Kazi in Elsa Kazi’s engagement with Shah Jo Risalo be worthy of attention. Since Elsa Kazi was not a native speaker of Sindhi, her husband’s knowledge of Sindhi language, literature, philosophy, and Islamic thought provided valuable assistance in understanding Bhittai’s poetry.

Their intellectual and literary partnership appears to have contributed significantly to the development of Elsa Kazi’s translation. Her familiarity with English poetic expression, combined with Allama I. I. Kazi’s understanding of Sindhi and Islamic philosophical traditions, created a unique perspective for the translation.

Her work can therefore be viewed not simply as a linguistic transfer from Sindhi into English but as an intercultural literary endeavor. Her dedication to Bhittai and her admiration for Sindh appear repeatedly in accounts of her literary life. Her famous admiration for Bhittai is reflected in the exclamation attributed to her: “Oh! There is no poet like Latif.”

This statement illustrates the profound literary appreciation that she cherished in her heart for Shah Abdul Latif Bhittai.

Preservation of Poetic Form

One of the notable characteristics of Kazi’s selected translations is her attention to poetic form. She attempts to reproduce elements of rhyme, rhythm, imagery, and musicality, while simultaneously conveying the semantic and spiritual content of the source text.

Such an approach presents a considerable challenge because Sindhi and English differ substantially in their linguistic structures, poetic conventions, cultural associations, and systems of imagery. A translation that seeks to reproduce both meaning and poetic effect must consequently negotiate between fidelity to the source and creativity in the target language.

Kazi’s work validates such negotiation. Her translation suggests that she was concerned not only with what Bhittai conveyed but also with how his poetry could be knowledgeable in English. Her poetic background appears to have supported her in creating an English poetic form capable of conveying aspects of the original’s aesthetic and spiritual atmosphere.

Elsa Kazi’s influence on other women

Elsa Kazi’s translation also occupies an important place in the subsequent history of translating Bhittai’s poetry into English, because she was the first woman who translated Shah Jo Risalo preceded by Amena Khamisani’s The Risalo of Shah Abdul Latif Bhittai (1994).

Khamisani herself acknowledges the significance of Kazi’s work, stating:

“Mrs. Elsa Kazi’s Selections of Shah Jo Risalo and Brohi’s introduction to it, were of a great help to me.”

(Khamisani, 1994, p. 16) .  Elsa Kazi also played a pivotal role in my research on the English translations of Shah-Jo-Risalo. As a poet myself, I felt a particular affinity with her literary work and exploring her translation of Bhittai’s poetry. Further my aspiration to understand how her poetic vision shaped her approach to translation drew me deeply towards her work.

These acknowledgements indicate that Kazi’s translation constituted an important point of reference for the later translators/researchers of Shah Jo Risalo. Her contribution can therefore be considered within the broader development of women’s engagement with the English translations of Bhittai’s poetry.

A Foreign Voice in Sindhi Literary Tradition

Elsa Kazi’s contribution is particularly interesting because she approached Bhittai’s poetry from outside the linguistic and cultural tradition in which it originated. Her achievement raises an important question concerning the relationship between cultural belonging and literary understanding.

A translator does not necessarily need to belong to the culture of the source text to respond deeply to its literary and spiritual dimensions. At the same time, the absence of native linguistic and cultural competence creates particular challenges for translation. Kazi’s work is significant precisely because it represents an attempt to cross these linguistic and cultural boundaries.

Her engagement with Bhittai demonstrates the possibility of literary dialogue across cultures. Through her translation, aspects of Sindhi mystical poetry became accessible to English-speaking readers beyond the immediate cultural and linguistic environment of Sindh.

Her contribution should therefore be understood as part of the wider history of intercultural literary exchange surrounding Shah Abdul Latif Bhittai.

Mother Elsa and Her Legacy

Elsa Kazi passed away in 1967 at the age of 82 and was laid to rest beside her husband, Allama I. I. Kazi, at the University of Sindh in Hyderabad. Although she did not have children of her own, she developed a devotional bond with students and the people of Sindh, who affectionately came to know her as “Mother Elsa.”

Her association with Sindh extended beyond her marriage to Allama I. I. Kazi. Through her literary and artistic work, she became associated with the cultural and intellectual life of the region. Her translation of Bhittai’s poetry remains an important part of this legacy.

Read: Life-long Love Story of Sindhi and German Scholars

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Rafia Bukhari, an English-language poetess and writer from Larkana, was born on June 15, 1982, to the Syed family. Her two English poetry books, “The Painful Payment” (2021) and “A Flight of Broken Wings” (2023), have already been published. 

The post Elsa Kazi: Sindh’s German Literary Icon first appeared on Sindh Courier.