About the book
SACHAL SARMAST: MYSTIC OF MANY TONGUES
Sachal Sarmast was one of the boldest and most visionary poets Sindh has known. Fluent in many languages, untroubled by convention and moving easily beyond the reach of rigid belief, he sang of divine unity, inner freedom, and the soul’s rebellion against dogma. His verses challenge hypocrisy and celebrate love in its highest, most unbounded form. For the people of Sindh, Sachal has always been a source of pride – mystic, rebel, seer. For those forced to leave Sindh behind, this book offers a return: not through nostalgia, but through living wisdom. In this contemporary English version, Sachal’s voice re-emerges – clear, fierce, and free – for a generation that deserves to reclaim it. Together, the three volumes of this trilogy offer a path back to the spiritual heart of Sindh – through the voices of Shah, Sachal, and Sami – whose words, once carried in song and story, can now speak again to generations that were never meant to forget.
About Kalyan Advani
Kalyan Bulchand Advani (1911-1994) studied at Government High School and DG National College, Hyderabad, Sindh. A writer from an early age, he earned a Bombay University MA in English and Persian, and was appointed professor at his old college and Head of the Sindhi Department in 1942. In 1946, he received an award from the Sindh government for his translation of Kalidasa’s masterpiece Shakuntala. This translation was later prescribed as a textbook for degree examinations.
After Partition, he joined Jai Hind College as a professor of English and Persian and, with high teaching ideals, and time and courtesy for his students, he was much loved.
Kalyan Advani authored books on the medieval Sufi poets of Sindh: Shah (1951) Sami (1953) and Sachal (1954). A scholar of the highest order, in these books he shared knowledge about the great Sindhi poets, who number among the most respected mystical poets of the world.
Raaz o Niyaaz (1960) is a collection of his own poetry. In 1968, he received the Sahitya Akademi Award for his Shah jo Risaalo Mujamal (1966), a critically annotated abridgement of Shah jo Risaalo.
His works in English include monographs on Shah Latif and Sachal Sarmast published by Sahitya Akademi, issued in 1970 and 1971, and Qalam (1987). This collection of poems is in almost all poetic forms and philosophic formulations.
Shah jo Risaalo Mujamal is seen as his magnum opus. When Nandita Bhavnani visited Sindh in 2001, she learnt that it was still considered the most comprehensive work on the subject.