About the book
SAMI: A FLAME LIT FROM WITHIN
Bhai Chainrai Sami, the Vedantic poet of Shikarpur, stands alongside Shah Abdul Latif and Sachal Sarmast as one of Sindh’s great voices of wisdom. His verses, deeply rooted in the Gita and the Upanishads as well as in lived devotion, embody a lifetime of spiritual inquiry. With quiet clarity, Sami’s words invite reflection rather than display – not to dazzle, but to awaken. For years, however, his shlokas remained hidden in an earthen jar in his home – preserved but largely unseen – until Diwan Kauromal Chandanmal rescued them from obscurity and brought them before a wider Sindhi readership. Sami’s poetry was soon sung in homes and temples across Sindh. After Partition, much of it was lost to those forced to rebuild their lives in unfamiliar lands. This book brings Sami’s voice back – faithfully translated and lovingly presented – that his wisdom may once again light the path for seekers born into silence.. 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.