Birth anniversary of Shaikh Ayaz today

Shaikh Ayaz was one of the great Sindhi poets. He was born in Shikarpur Sindh. By profession he was a lawyer but he also served as the vice chancellor of Sindh University. His poetry brought new trends into Sindhi literature.Ayaz is one of the major voices in twentieth century poetry. His literary career spanned almost six decades and covered a wide range of poetry and prose forms‚ ranging from the traditional bait‚ wai‚Nazam‚Azad Nazam and ghazal to plays in verse‚ prose poems and musings‚ extending to short fiction‚ memoirs and journals‚ polemical and literary essays‚ news articles‚ editorials‚ and a projected novel.His work is spontaneous‚ objective and forceful. He defiantly wrote verses on topics hated by the establishment. He was incarcerated many times for his seditious writings.He wrote short stories‚ novel‚ essays‚ poetry‚ travelogues‚ diaries‚ an autobiography and the translation of Shah Jo Risalo in Urdu. He also composed poetry in Urdu and two of his anthologies‚ Booye Gul‚ Nala-i-dil and Neel Kanth Aur Neem Ke Pate were highly acclaimed.Ayaz portrayed the miseries of suffering humanity‚ the sorrows of the deprived and the wretched conditions of the exploited masses who had been suffering at the hands of an unjust system for centuries.Through his poetry‚ Shaikh Ayaz battled against the military dictatorship of Ayub Khan. During the anti-One Unit campaign one of his poems Sindhri taan sir ker na deendo‚ sanhando ker mayar (Is there anybody who will not sacrifice his head for Sindh‚ and be ashamed of it)‚ became very popular among the people of Sindh and subsequently its broadcast was banned from Radio Pakistan.He was banned for a number of times from cities and towns where he was to participate in Mushairas. Three of his anthologies-Bhounr Bhare Akas‚ Kulhe Patam Keenaro and Je Kak Kakoriya Kapri- drew sharp criticism from fundamentalists and the government denounced them.He wrote against tyrannical rulers and the wars they waged.Shaikh Ayazs poetry played a major role in the development of progressive thinking in the country‚ particularly in Sindh. He was the very imprint of Shah Latifs mystic poetry and will always be remembered as a great humanist and artist.