Languages and cultures are true representatives of any nation. They speak out louder even after many centuries when they are preserved. But it depends upon their preservation. They cannot be enclosed in some closet or sealed packs but in form of verses, prose, fiction, and scripts. Literary figures are the people who preserved them in pages and generations after generations keep reading them to understand their past and to plan their present and future. Therefore literary people are the most honorable and important models of any society. They are the actual high-profile people.
However, every region is blessed with such high-profile people who can replicate histories for hundreds of years. Likewise, Balochi literature is also preserved by some of the great names. Among all those literary legends Syed Zahoor Shah Hashmi is one who made tremendous contributions.
About
Syed Zahoor Shah Hashmi was born in the port city of Gwadar, on the 21st of April in 1926. He grew up to be an extraordinary poet, an intellectual, an academic, and a notable philosopher. He has made noteworthy contributions to Balochi literature. He is considered to be one of the most important Baloch figures. The talented figure had a strong grip on other languages like Urdu, Arabic, Persian, and Sanskrit apart from Balochi. Syed Zahoor Shah Hashmi is among the few who had been bestowed with the award of pride of performance which is considered to be the prestigious award in the Islamic Republic of Pakistan. This award is awarded to such people who have marked outstanding contributions in the fields of art, science, literature, education and sports.
Moreover, Syed Zahoor Shah Hashmi received his early education from the Saeedia School and also learned from his father. The learning atmosphere developed a keen interest in literature and writing at an early age. His first serenade by the name of “nagumani chist bant darkayant oparag mani” as a result of his hard work and encouragement from his peer Qasim Hoot. He was having an extraordinary attachment and love for his mother tongue that led him to dedicate his entire for the revival of the Balochi Language.
His Journey as a writer
His affection towards the preservation of Baloch culture and literature persuaded him to learn different dialects of the Balochi language. For that, he traveled and learned different stylistics and presented them outstandingly. His aim was to master his language so that he could truly revive it for the coming generation. He found the words that had not been in use anymore and used them in his works. He also worked to eradicate common mistakes that people made while learning and writing Balochi. In order to do this, he wrote about Balochi grammar in his noteworthy book called “Balochi Syahag-e-rast nibisag”.
Furthermore, one of his greatest achievements in this respect was the first-ever Balochi dictionary called “Syed Ganj”. This dictionary carried within it, hundreds of thousands of Balochi words with their meanings, illustrations, and even the antonyms with examples of how they can be used. This dictionary was later published by the Hashmi Academy in Lyari, Karachi.
A novel of Syed got fame in Pakistan as it was adopted by Pakistan Television (PTV) Bolan. This novel is called “Nazuk” which is one of his amazing literary works. In his novel, he shed light on the lives of the women of Gwadar and the people who live near the coast. The lives of women have not been highlighted by many writers. So, writing specifically about women who lived near the coast was an initiative to reckon with. Urdu scholar Ghaos Bakhsh Sabir later translated his novel to Urdu which was then published by the Pakistan Academy of Letters in Islamabad.
The writing style of Syed encapsulated his love for his motherland and his mother tongue. It encouraged the youth of his land to stand together in love and unity for their nation. He has preserved the real culture of Balochistan that is open for every culture lover.
