Birth anniversary of Shaikh Ayaz celebrated

The birth anniversary of noted Sindhi poet and writer Shaikh Ayaz celebrated on Sunday. Shaikh Ayaz was a renowned ambassador of Sindhi culture and language, who kept people abreast of their past, present and future and called for social and political changes in the Sindhi society, Radio Pakistan reported.
Born in Shikarpur on March 2, 1923, Ayaz wrote around 50 books in addition to his works of prose, most of them in Sindhi language and two in Urdu. His famous book in Sindhi literature was "Kithe Ta Bhanabo Thak Musafi".
His original name was Mubark Ali Shaikh. By profession he was a lawyer and served the Sindh University as vice chancellor. His poetry brought new trends in Sindhi literature. Revolutionary poet Shaikh Ayaz first earned recognition for his poem, "Gaey iqilab gaey", written before the independence of Pakistan. Ayaz's biggest claim to fame was his first poetry compilation "Bhanwar Bharee Aakash" (Sky full of swirls) in 1963 which was the translation of Shah Abdul Latif Bhitai's poetry from Sindhi to Urdu. His subsequent translations of Shah Jo Risalo, of 18th century Sufi poet Shah Abdul Latif Bhittai, from Sindhi to Urdu established Ayaz as an authority. Shaikh Ayaz is one of the major voices in 20th century poetry.