![ . ][1]

Sindh’s legendary classical poet, Shah Abdul Latif (1689-1752), did not write his poetry himself but would instead recite it at gatherings of friends and devotees. Most of them not only memorised these baits or wais but also sang them accompanied by musical instruments known as the Tambura, which he refined. However, few devotees committed to writing his poetry.

One of the oldest collections of his and other poets’ poetry sung in his gatherings was collected in a volume which is now known as Ganj. Various scholars in the past have tried to compile Shah jo Risalo after consulting Ganj and a few other manuscripts but few have courted controversy as Dr Hotchand Moolchand Gurbuxani (1883-1947) did. By the time Gurbuxani decided to compile his Risalo, he was already accomplished in the field of academics — he is said to be the first Sindhi scholar to earn a PhD in English Literature from the University of London in 1928. (His topic of dissertation was Mysticism in the Early Nineteenth Century Poetry of England, which was later published in book form in India during the scholar’s centenary celebrations).

Gurbuxani wasn’t the first scholar to publish the Risalo: Dr Ernst Trump (1828-1885), the renowned linguist, was the first person to publish Shah jo Risalo in Germany in 1866; Qazi Ibrahim did so in the coming year; Tarachand Shoukiram in 1909 and Mirza Qaleech Beg (1853-1923) in 1913. However, Gurbuxani was the first scholar to publish the Risalo with modern research methodology and the most comprehensively.

Gurbuxani was the first scholar to publish the Shah Jo Risalo with modern research methodology

The scholar planned to publish the Risalo in a four-part volume, the first of which appeared in 1923. It contained five surs (melodies) having 500 baits, 32 wais, along with the meaning and etymology of words and terms, explanation of verses. Gurbuxani not only gave the meanings of difficult words along with its etymology but also explained various verses and discussed the background and the folktales used in the surs.

The most prominent and also controversial portion of the book was the introduction (muqadama). Divided into 10 chapters or articles, the introduction covers various topics including the Shah’s biography, his personality, character and religion. Gurbuxani also discusses Vedanta and Sufism, his views on Shah’s poems and its contents. The author also analyses the art and technique of Shah’s poetry, and the history of the compilations of Risalo.

The introduction was later slightly revised and published as separate booklet Muqdama-i-Lateefi, in 1936 was translated into English by Dr Habibullah Siddiqui and published by the Institute of Sindhology in 2009. But back then, Gurbuxani faced criticism from many scholars including Jethmal Parasaram Gulrajani (1886-1948) who famously claimed that Dr Gurbuxani was responsible for and guilty of a triple murder: language, the deletion of 1,000 baits and misinterpretation.

Gulrajani pointed out that Gurbuxani could have used simple Sindhi but instead used complex Persian idioms. He also felt that the writer misinterpreted various spiritual concepts, terms and words and that he also deleted 1,000 baits as extraneous verses, without giving a valid reason. Gulrajani concluded Gurbuxani had ruined, not enriched the Risalo.

Some Muslim scholars were critical of Gurbuxani’s approach of overlapping Vedanta and Sufism with Shah’s religion but others were less critical and also had praise for the well-researched book. Bherumal Meharchand Advani (1876-1950 ) agreed with most of the points discussed in the muqudama and also supported Gurbuxani’s deletion of the baits. However, he criticised his peer for the abuse of past lexicons and compilers, and pointed out what he thought were Gurbuxani’s mistakes in meanings.

Other scholars, such as Syed Asadullah Tikhrahi, also supported deletion of extraneous baits. Sindhi scholar Dr Abdul Kareem Sandeelo pointed out that Gurbuxani’s Risalo contains an etymology of words and the book was clearly diligently researched. Dr H.T. Sorley, a renowned scholar on Shah Latif, also commended Gurbuxani.

In 1924, Gurbuxani published the second volume which contained six surs (938 baits, 78 wais). The third, containing seven surs (601 baits and 32 wais) came out in 1931. The fourth volume could not be published as planned but with his three volumes, Gurbuxani managed to edit and compile 18 surs (2039 baits, 147 wais) of Shah Latif.

Following Gurbuxani’s death in 1947, the scholar was once again part of a controversy in the 1950s. Lutfullah Badwi and Dr Ibrahim Khalil claimed in an article, based on the discovery of letters written by Dr U. M. Daudpota, that the actual compiler and editor of Gurbuxani’s Risalo was Dr Daudpota. They claimed that Daudpota withdrew his support after the third volume and this was the reason Gurbuxani was unable to complete and publish his fourth and final volume as planned.

Some Muslim scholars were critical of Gurbuxani’s approach of overlapping Vedanta and Sufism with Shah’s religion but others were less critical and also had praise for the well-researched book. Bherumal Meharchand Advani (1876-1950) agreed with most of the points discussed in the muqadama and also supported Gurbuxani’s deletion of extraneous baits. However, he criticised his peer for the abuse of past lexicons and compilers, and pointed out what he thought were Gurbuxani’s mistakes in meanings. Other scholars, such as Syed Asadullah Tikhrahi, also supported deletion of extraneous baits.

On the other hand, supporters of Dr Gurbuxani point out that if Dr Daudpota was the actual compiler, why did he fail to produce his own version of Shah jo Risalo even though he lived until 1958 and had more opportunities at the time? In addition, the excerpts of Daudpota’s letters published by Badvi and Khalid in their article do not prove that it was written by Daudpota himself.

According to the academic Ghulam Muhammad Shahwani (1912-1950), Daudpota supported Gurbuxani and sought the fourth volume from the former scholar’s son. In the introduction to his own Risalo which was published in 1950, Shahwani says that Dr Daudpota told him: “I have sought the fourth volume from the late Gurbuxani’s son, but he is avoiding me. I have not seen the fourth volume, nor participated in its preparation. I assume that Sur Kedaro is not composed by Shah. Dr [Gurbuxani] included it in his third volume. I differed with him and since then have not worked with him.”

Some academics point out that it’s possible that Gurbuxani was too financially strained to publish the last volume, others say that he was disheartened by the response he received on the publication of the previous three. Pir Saeed Hasan, Gurbuxani’s favourite student writes in his memoirs that he had seen the manuscript for the fourth volume of the Risalo.

If Gurbuxani’s later publications are any indication, then it does seem he chose to stay away from writing on the famed Sindhi poet anymore. He later wrote Noor Jehan, a historical novel and Lawari ja Lal, a book on Sufism. But even with just three published volumes, Gurbuxani established himself as an accomplished scholar of Shah Abdul Latif. Prior to him, no other scholar or researcher had compiled and edited Shah jo Risalo on such a scale.

Even now, 94 years after Gurbuxani’s first volume was published, he is appreciated for his scholarship and extensive research by academics of Sindhi literature.

Published in Dawn, EOS, July 23rd, 2017

[1]: https://i.dawn.com/primary/2017/07/5973b25cc6956.jpgemphasized text