Ayaz Gul’s poetry holds a profound place in Sindhi literature, echoing the spirit of an era

By Nisar Banbhan

Poetry is the voice of the heart’s deepest yearnings, a mirror to the soul’s hidden sorrows. When these pure emotions rise, they manifest as words, turning the poet’s silent suffering into a lyrical tale of longing. Poetry, rich in both depth and melody, is an art that transcends mere expression. Literature, like a river in endless flow, carries fresh waters with every wave. And within the vast, flowing stream of Sindhi literature, countless names have shaped its evolution. Among these, one name shines with unmatched brilliance—Ayaz Gul, the poet cherished by yesterday, today, and tomorrow. Ayaz Gul’s poetry holds a profound place in Sindhi literature, echoing the spirit of an era. The wave of modernity that swept through Sindhi poetry after the partition revived its form and imagination. Among the pioneers—Sheikh Ayaz, Adal Soomro, Imdad Hussaini, Ustad Bukhari, Ibrahim Munshi, and Wafa Nathan Shahi—Ayaz Gul stands out as a radiant torchbearer. Sheikh Ayaz, celebrated for liberating the ghazal from foreign influences and grounding it in Sindhi tradition, paved the way for poets like Ayaz Gul. With his innovative genius, Ayaz Gul introduced new dimensions to modern Sindhi poetry. His brilliance lies not only in form but in thought, as he brings forth fresh ideas and concepts, captivating the youth and inspiring them to write with the same fervor.

Ayaz Gul has explored every poetic form—songs, ghazals, kafi, and poems—infusing them with his emotions, thoughts, and observations

A master of the Sindhi ghazal, Ayaz Gul infused new life into the genre. After Sheikh Ayaz, it is Ayaz Gul who is revered as one of the finest poets of Sindhi ghazal. His verses, vibrant with love, resonate like the intricate hues of Andalusian tapestries. Born on March 6, 1959, in Sukkur, Ayaz Gul is celebrated by both the literary elite and the common folk. A poet of the heart, his essence embodies love, kindness, and sincerity. Today, a new generation of Sindhi poets follows his path, experimenting with style while drawing inspiration from his artistry.

Ayaz Gul, with his vast experience and keen observation, has given Sindhi ghazal a new identity. His poetry reflects every shade of life, every nuance of society, capturing the joys, pains, and struggles of Sindh. Ayaz Gul’s poetry strikes a deep chord with the youth, who find in his words the pulse of their own hearts. His verses echo through university corridors, on the lips of students weary from their studies, who seek solace in his songs. On quiet nights, when a student hums Ayaz Gul’s or Haleem Baaghi’s lyrics from the rooftops of hostels, even the silent rocks of Jamshoro seem to tremble. Ayaz Gul, without a doubt, is a poet for all ages, whose verses continue to inspire generations.

A master of the Sindhi ghazal, Ayaz Gul infused new life into the genre. After Sheikh Ayaz, it is Ayaz Gul who is revered as one of the finest poets of Sindhi ghazal

His journey as a poet began early, fueled by a love for words and literature. After completing his primary education in Sukkur, he chose teaching, sharing his knowledge in the Sindhi Department of Shah Abdul Latif University, Khairpur. The year 1971 marked a pivotal point in his career, as he poured his heart into writing, shaping the landscape of Sindhi literature. Ayaz Gul has explored every poetic form—songs, ghazals, kafi, and poems—infusing them with his emotions, thoughts, and observations. Music, too, has a special place in Ayaz Gul’s heart. His room is adorned with audio and video cassettes and photographs of artists who have immortalized his verses. For poetry, like a jealous lover, demands undivided attention and does not tolerate distraction. Those who treat poetry as a fleeting fashion are quickly forgotten, lost in the storms of time. But those who dedicate themselves to the craft, nurturing it with hard work, study, and observation, elevate poetry to an act of devotion. Ayaz Gul is one such poet—through persistence and struggle, he has carved a unique place for himself. The images, colors, and depths of emotion in his poetry resonate with the soul, enriching life with their presence.

Read: The Exiled Memories

As the eminent Dr. Tanveer Abbasi once remarked: “Ayaz Gul will forever shine like the fourteenth moon in the history of Sindhi poetry.”

For me, Ayaz Gul has always been more than just a poet—he has been my guide and mentor, helping me discover my potential and encouraging my growth. I consider myself truly fortunate to have Ayaz Gul as my teacher, the one who connected the dots of my life. He is not just a mentor but also a benefactor, offering the cool shade of kindness and warmth. His guidance has grounded me, and his presence brings a deep sense of friendship that blooms within me, uplifting my literary spirit. Among poets, he holds a special place in my heart, and my bond with him strengthens my sense of self-worth. On September 28, 2024, after many years, I had the honor of spending time with my beloved Sain Ayaz Gul in Sukkur. The memories of that day are etched in the soil of my mind. It was as if I had relived the innocence of my youth, in a university brimming with grace and beauty. That day, I saw my Sain Ayaz Gul in the prime of his youth, weathered by life’s storms yet standing tall, a figure deserving of admiration. I left that day with all my prayers for him and the unshakable belief that he holds me close to his heart.

Read: Ayaz Gul’s two books declared ‘Best Poetry Books of the Year’

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Nisar Banbhan is a seasoned professional with nearly 24 years of diverse experience, including 3 years in journalism, 21 years in a public sector organization, and a longstanding career in writing and freelancing. He specializes in content creation, scriptwriting, screenwriting, lyricism, poetry, short stories, and the crafting of articles and columns in both Sindhi and Urdu.

The post Ayaz Gul: The Eternal Luminary of Sindhi Poetry first appeared on Sindh Courier.

Emily Hauze

I truly regret that I wasn’t able to come to Khairpur to attend the launch of Ayaz Gul’s poetry book ‘The Exiled Memories’, translated into English by Latif Noonari.

This is an important contribution to what is now a growing library of texts available for English-speaking readers as a way to gain access to Sindhi thought and Sindhi culture, which is very much needed to spread these peaceful notions across the world. I find this book to be a particularly poignant vessel for bringing these ideas to new readers because Ada Ayaz is a master of traditional forms as well as a modern Sindhi poetic form, all of which feel very fresh in his pen. Partially beautiful, I think, are his Ghazals in which striking couplets are linked by a word or phrase, which word, in turn, becomes transformed as it links one couplet to the next, transformed into a new pearl of insight in each couplet.

The subject matter in this work combines elements that are familiar or classical with quite new and thoughtful commentaries on modern life. He moves smoothly between modes of speech and time frames. A good example of this is the title poem, which is called The Exiled Memories. This is a little selection from that poem:

Neither you nor I look the same

The eyes are the same but

There dwells a wilderness in them

A stranger stunned in an alien land

Few sentences seem recorded on tongues:

“How are you?

Where and how are you?

Still writing?

Haven’t read you since long!”

Here we can see this elegant motion between the very abstract world of poetry and the concrete details of daily life, a motion from the broadness of great ideas to the intimate realities of modern life.

Ayaz Gul addresses conditions specific to modern Sindh and contemporary life.

It’s unusual for a book of poetry to be a page-turner, and yet, this is what Ayaz Gul has achieved in this. One gripping poem leads to the next in such a way that one doesn’t want to stop the flow of attention-grabbing and heart-touching images.

A few lines will readily illustrate what I mean, for example this couplet from a poem entitled Every Moment is like Fire:

“The tear trapped in the eye-corner

Is like on the door the doorman.” 

It is a beautiful image of a tear as a guardian of the emotions inside the eye. And similarly striking are the first lines of a poem called Without You:

“Each moment seems like a bullet,

Seems like a gang of enemies.”

With such a vibrant array of images, Gul’s verse pulls the reader deep into his poetic world.

The themes of the work are in many cases the timeless and traditional themes of Sindhi poetry: love, loss, separation, and isolation. Interspersed with these, however, Ayaz Gul addresses conditions specific to modern Sindh and contemporary life. He does not shy away from the perpetual difficulties of his land, the pall of oppression and corruption that overshadows its greatness. These sorrows also find their voice in Gul’s poetry, but, crucially, he doesn’t succumb to despair. He does not predict ultimate devastation, but rather guides the mind toward a persistent ray of hope. This can be seen, for example, in the poem entitled I am Eternal:

“Of the dark room

A skylight I am

Death, you never can kill!”

English-speaking readers will recognize echoes in these lines with the familiar Biblical lines:

“Death. Where is thy sting?

Hell, where is thy victory?”

Ayaz Gul’s own line, “Death, you never can kill,” links into an ancient and global idea of hope for the triumph of good over evil, of the will to live over despair.

And another verse that evokes this theme has the emotionally urgent title, Still, It’s Our Time, Our Era: a phrase which demands that we recognize our own place in this universe. It is a poem for those moments when we feel that the world is somehow getting away from us, that time is slipping by, that we no longer relate to what’s going on around us, or no longer have control or even interest in current affairs. The verse is a reminder that we are still responsible: this is not someone else’s time, or someone else’s problem, but our own time. It is a call to life in the present, and it is deeply encouraging:

“The blaze of wisdom still remains alight

Still the sun comes to kill the night!”

The beauty of the translation must also be mentioned, as it is an essential element of the book’s success. Translator Latif Noonari has elegantly rendered Gul’s poetry into clear and lucid English, without its Sindhi flavor. As such, this volume is well poised to intrigue and delight readers wherever it reaches, and I hope that its reach will be far and wide. And I want to give you all my friends, my warmest wishes, from the United States here. I wish you a Merry Christmas and I wish you all a happy New Year. My best to all of you. Saddaeen gadd’u!

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Emily Hauze is a traveler, writer, translator, and photographer, who feels her greatest honor is to be called the “Amriki Sindhiani” by her Sindhi friends. She received her education in the fields of Music (bachelor’s degree) and German Literature (Bachelor’s and Master’s degrees). During her time as a graduate student studying German literature, she presented a paper at a national academic conference, organized a conference of her own, and published two papers in academic journals. Later she went to work in broadcast media, working as an assistant in public television and radio. In recent years, however, learning about Sindhi culture has been her primary endeavor. She has visited Sindh 12 times since 2015, with particular interest in historic sites and traditional ways of life. She does not consider this travel to be ‘tourism,’ but rather a kind of homecoming. She has written a blog (https://www.emilyhauze.com/blog) that covers many experiences in her first several trips to Sindh, which she hopes will soon be published in book form. She is an ardent student of the Sindhi language, especially in writing, and she has begun a project to translate Shah Abdul Latif’s Risalo in its entirety into English verse. She shares her translations with a wide public, both Eastern and Western, and aims to bring Shah Latif to new audiences. She is always on the lookout for ways to use her skills and devotion for the benefit of Sindh.

The post The Exiled Memories first appeared on Sindh Courier.

Sindh Courier

Anjuman Taraqi Pasand Musanfeen Sindh, an organization of progressive writers, has awarded two poetry books ‘The Exiled Memories’ and ‘Nind’a Pari’ (Fairy of Sleep) of renowned Sindhi poet Prof. Ayaz Gul, as the best books.

The first one is the English translation of Ayaz Gul’s Sindhi poetry, and the other one is a compilation of his selected poems for children. His Sindhi poems have been translated into English by Prof. Latif Noonari. Both the books have been published by Popat Publishing House Khairpur, run by Qurban Mangi, in the year 2021.

The awards were announced on February 12, 2023 at a literary conference titled ‘Bardo Sindhi Memorial Conference’, organized by Anjuman Taraqi Pasand Musanfeen at Ghotki town.

‘The Exiled Memories’ is the collection of over sixty selected poems of Ayaz Gul, the first-rank progressive Sindhi poet. The book, which contains the foreword written by Late Muhammad Ibrahim Joyo, a legend of scholarly world of Sindh, an introduction by Vali Ram Vallabh, another renowned octogenarian writer, and a preface by Prof. Latif Noonari, the translator, was to be published a decade and a half back, but was delayed due to certain ‘painful reasons’, as described by the poet.

Poet Ayaz Gul, who is based in Sukkur, in his brief note says, “Years have gone by and I continue dreaming. My poetry is but a form of dreams, the dreams that come furtively to pass a night or, at times, gatecrash like a storm into the eyes in broad daylight. I have attempted to welcome both forms of the dreams into the beautiful house of words and feelings. And these dreams are not mine alone, if they kiss the threshold of your eyes and knock at the door of your heart, they are yours, too. My best reward is just that.”

The title of the book has been chosen from one of the poem ‘The Exiled Memories’. The translator in his preface says he found Ayaz Gul’s poetry so simple. The diction he uses is so unassumingly common that one wonders if conversational structure can put on the garb of a poetic idea.”

The translator has quoted certain selected verses:    

The sharp screech of tyres and a cry

A life is crushed on the road!

***

Not late will be the light

Crawling goes the night!

***

Every time fear of fall is there

Love is like the first flight, dear

***

In this era of disco

Our life is a saintly song

***

Millions of horrors in your heart

Shall descend like dagger

In this race of munitions!

Corpses you shall get

In this race of munitions!

***

The book ‘Nind Pari’ – Poetry book for Children contains selected 28 poems of Ayaz Gul, who says children are his weakness. “I love children so much that they have become my weakness.”

This is his second poetry book for children. His first book ‘Gul ain Tara’ (The Flowers and the Stars) was published back in 1979 when the world first time celebrated it as the ‘Year of Children’.

Underscoring the importance of children’s literature in the languages, Ayaz Gul realizes in his note the dearth of children’s literature in Sindhi language, and also laments that no serious effort has been made even at government level, which is a big tragedy. He suggests that the private publishing houses can afford to publish a few books for children in a year.

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By Sanwal

Khairpur

Two books – ‘Exiled Memories’ and ‘Nind Pari’, authored by renowned poet Ayaz Gul and published by Popat Publishing House Khairpur, were launched on Sunday at Gymkhana Club Khairpur.

Two books are compilation of poetry of Ayaz Gul. The ‘Exiled Memories’ is the English translation of his Sindhi poetry.

Ayaz Gul has dedicated new books to the people of Sindh. He particularly dedicated English Poetry Book to the youths.

A number of local writers addressed the ceremony besides Emily Hauze, a traveler, writer, translator, and photographer, who spoke online from America. Emily feels is called the “Amriki Sindhiani” by her Sindhi friends, and she feels proud to be called with this title.

Emily, who received her education in the fields of music and German literature, and worked in broadcast media, is working as an assistant in public television and radio. In recent years, however, learning about Sindhi culture has been her primary endeavor. She has visited Sindh 11 times since 2015, with particular interest in historic sites and traditional ways of life. She does not consider this travel to be ‘tourism,’ but rather a kind of homecoming. She has written a blog (https://www.emilyhauze.com/blog) that covers many experiences in her first several trips to Sindh, which she hopes will soon be published in book form. She is an ardent student of the Sindhi language, especially in writing, and she has begun a project to translate Shah Abdul Latif’s Risalo in its entirety into English verse. She shares her translations with a wide public, both Eastern and Western, and aims to bring Shah Latif to new audiences. She is always on the lookout for ways to use her skills and devotion for the benefit of Sindh.

Speaking at the ceremony poet Taj Joyo, Fareed Hussain Bhutto, Latif Noonari, Hassan Shaikh, Ibrahim Khokhar, Qurban Mangi, Amar Iqbal and others said that Ayaz Gul’s poetry is the voice of every era.

They said that translation of the poetry of the Sindhi poets is a need of hour to get International recognition.

“This book is of international quality in terms of print, while the book “Nand ​​Pari” is a unique book on poetry,” they said recalling his four decades old book ‘Gul and Tara’.

Speaking on the occasion, author Ayaz Gul said that there was no competition for poetry in his journey as poet. “This is a journey of love, which has come up in the form of these two books.”

He hoped that his book ‘Exiled Memories’ translated by Latif Noonari will encourage the writers to get their books translate in English. He described the book an important addition to the world of poetry.

The ceremony was attended by the journalists, civil society and others.

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By Ayaz Gul

Ayaz Gul

Ayaz Gul, a great name in poetic art, based in Sukkur Sindh, is a former professor of Shah Abdul Latif University Khairpur. It is amazing here that words look breathing and giving look of images concrete, running to create rhythm and rhyme in a natural flow. It is poetic art; here, where words have rare lips and a tongue to produce wonderful music. Ayaz Gul is a rare gem in Sindhi poetry and to discuss here in a few lines is not a justice to living legendary poet. Let’s give our endearing ear to our noble and rapturous thoughts adding to the Beauty of The Sindhu River he has marvelously composed – Translator’s Note

The Sindhu River!

The river that’s like Love itself;

Just as the longing of beloved itself;

The river that’s the remedy of pains itself;

The river just as the beloved’s destination

O across the river itself!

The river that has poured down

From myriad many a cloud;

That has flown since aeon old

Has flown down from the passes;

From the lowing tracks of waters across;

From the mountainous passes across;

Comes dancing like a goddess,

Nymph Naiad beautiful,

Ah, in embraces of men’s bodies;

Seems to be coquettish, O bashful!

The river that ties our destinations,

Joins our fortunes together;

The river that’s like our breathing-fire

That’s just as our staunch trust, O dear!

The river that’s like our angry

And reconciled beloved,

O playing on the mounds of desert

It’s just like a beautiful Thari* child!

Sometimes as if challenging it were;

Sometimes as if our beloved it were;

The river with which our life is tied to;

O with which our Sindh is married to!

The river, O my Sindhu River

That’s been waking since centuries;

For series of ages it has been flowing

Who is there to stop her?

Debris of dust will stop her?

O let Sindhu be safe and sound ever;

And make Sindh’rri* fertile ever……

O Sindhu River that’s like love itself,

That’s like the longing of love itself!

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Translated by Professor Mohammad Hashim Solangi

*Thari Child – A child of Sindh’s Thar Desert

*Sindhr’ii – Sindh

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