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The earliest records
of the Sindhi language are found in the heroic ballads of Shah Abdul
Karim (1538-1625). However, the magnum opus of Sindhi literature is
Shah Abdul Latif’s Shah-Jo-Rasalo, which was produced during the
18th century. Sachal (1739-1829) and Sami (1743-1850) were two great
mystic poets of this period. The pioneer of Sindhi poetry was
Khalifa Gul Mohammad or 'Gul' (1809-1856). His Diwane-e-Gul contains
175 ghazals on the Persian pattern. Between 1843-1947, many Sindhi
poets emerged on the scene who modelled their work on the pattern of
Persian poetry. Kishin Chand 'Bewas' (1885-1947) was renowned for
his traditional style of poetry covering ghazals, geets, dohas and
kafis. Some of his best-known poems are Shirin Shair (1929), Samundi
Sipun (1929) and Ganga Jun Lahrun. Dayaram Gidumal (1857-1927) was
known for his metaphysical poems. His book on philosophic poems
entitled Manaja-chahbuk is considered as a landmark in Sindhi
literature. Lalchand Amardinomal and Hinduraj Lilaram 'Dukhayal'
(b.1910) were famous patriotic poets in Sindhi. Dukhyal published a
collection of his songs called Sangitanjali in 1946. Dewandas
Kishnani 'Azad' was another outstanding poet of this period, whose
Purav Sandesa (1937) is an adaptation of Edwin Arnold's Light of
Asia. Hyder Baksh Jatoi (1901-1970)'s Dariya Sah (1925) is one of
the masterpieces of Sindhi poetry. Another of his poem Azadi-e-qoum
(1946) initiated a new phase of political poetry in Sindhi. Shaikh
Ayaz (b.1926), who wrote Baghi (1945) also contributed towards the
growth of modern Sindhi poetry.
As far as the Sindhi prose is concerned, it began only in the early
years of the British era. Kauromal Chandanmal Khilnani (1844-1916),
Mirza Kaleech Beg (1853-1929), Dayaram Gidumal and Parmanand Mewaram
(1966-1938) are considered as the stalwarts of Sindhi prose.
Kauromal was the first to produce literary essays in Sindhi.
Kauromal's well-known works are Ratnavali (1888), Aryanari-carita
(1905) and Radharani (1914). Mirza Khalich Beg translated several
English and Persian works into Sindhi. He is credited with producing
the first original novel in the Sindhi language (Zinat -1890). Beg
was also an accomplished playwright who produced several plays like
Khurshid (1885), Sakuntala (1896), Hasna Dildar (1897) and Shah Elia
(1900). Dayarm Gidumal was an authority on Sindhi philosophical
literature in prose. His Jap Sahib (1891), Gita-jo-sara (1893) and
Yoga-darsana (1903) are masterpieces of Sindhi prose. Parmanand
Mewaram did a yeoman's service to the promotion of Sindhi literature
through his Sindhi fortnightly Jote (1900-1938). His Kristji Peravi
(1923) and the Sindhi dictionary (1910) illustrate his literary
prowess. Other well-known writers of Sindhi include Fateh Mohammad
Sewhani, Bherumal Mahirchand, Lalchand Amardinomal, Jethmal Parsram,
Acharya Gidwani, N R Malkani and Dr H M Gurbuxani. Fateh Mohammad
Sahwani shot to literary fame with his biography of Abul Fazl and
Faizi (1936). Bherumal Mahirchand (d.1950) was a prolific writer
whose versatile works include travel books (Sind-jo-Sailani and
Latifi Sair), fiction (Ananda Sundrika and Golan-ja-gundar), short
story (Chamra-posh), history of Sindhi language (Sindhi-boli-ji-tarikh),
literary adaptation (Purav Joti) and literary criticism (Sacal
Sarmast). Lalchand Amardinomal has several fictional (Kishni-jo-Kasht
and Coth-jo-cand) and biographical works (Rama Badshah, Shahano Shah
and Sunharo Sacal) to his credit.
Among the important plays written in the Sindhi language, mention
may be made of Jathanand's Nala-Damayanti (1894), Lalaram Singh
Watanmal's Hariscandra (1895), Shewasing Ajwani's Kanisht (1902),
M.U.Malkani's Kismet (1923), Lala Amardinomal's Umar Marui (1925),
Ahmed Chagla's Khuni (1931), Lilaram Pherwani's Hik Rat (1936) and
Ismail Ursani's Bad Nasib Thari (1941).
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