Bherumal Meharchand Advani (1875/76 – 7 July 1950) was a Sindhi poet, prose writer and scholar. Renowned for his multifaceted contributions, he excelled as an educationist, novelist, linguist, and historian. He authored over 40 books.

Biography

He was born in

Hyderabad Hyderabad is the capital and largest city of the Indian state of Telangana. It occupies on the Deccan Plateau along the banks of the Musi River (India), Musi River, in the northern part of Southern India. With an average altitude of , much ...

Sindh Sindh ( ; ; , ; abbr. SD, historically romanized as Sind (caliphal province), Sind or Scinde) is a Administrative units of Pakistan, province of Pakistan. Located in the Geography of Pakistan, southeastern region of the country, Sindh is t ...

, which is now part of

Pakistan Pakistan, officially the Islamic Republic of Pakistan, is a country in South Asia. It is the List of countries and dependencies by population, fifth-most populous country, with a population of over 241.5 million, having the Islam by country# ...

. The exact date and even the year of his birth remain uncertain. It is believed to be either 1875 or 1876. His father's name was Meharchand Advani. He studied at Mission School and Union Academy

. The Union Academy, founded by Sadhu Navalrai and Hiranand Shaukiram on October 28, 1888, aimed to provide religious instruction, promote the study of

Sanskrit Sanskrit (; stem form ; nominal singular , ,) is a classical language belonging to the Indo-Aryan languages, Indo-Aryan branch of the Indo-European languages. It arose in northwest South Asia after its predecessor languages had Trans-cultural ...

, and foster the character development of the younger generation. At the Union Academy, he learned the poetry of

Shah Abdul Latif Bhitai Shah Abdul Latif Bhittai (; 1689/1690 – 21 December 1752), commonly known by the honorifics ''Lakhino Latif'', ''Latif Ghot'', ''Bhittai'', and ''Bhit Jo Shah'', was a Sindhi Sufi mystic and poet from Pakistan, widely considered to be the ...

from renowned scholars Sadhu Hiranand and Tarachand Shaukiram. He entered into three marriages during his lifetime. From his first wife, he did not have any children. However, from his second marriage, he had one son and one daughter. Additionally, from his third marriage, he had two daughters. He began his career as a Distillery Inspector in the Salt Department located in

Kotri Kotri (, ) is a city and the headquarters of the Kotri Taluka of Jamshoro District of Sindh province in Pakistan. Located on the right bank of the Indus River, it is the 118th most populous city in Pakistan. Name The name ''Koṭri'' is the d ...

. He dedicated 28 years of his life to this department. In 1925, he was appointed as a Sindhi lecturer at D.J. Sindh College in

Karachi Karachi is the capital city of the Administrative units of Pakistan, province of Sindh, Pakistan. It is the List of cities in Pakistan by population, largest city in Pakistan and 12th List of largest cities, largest in the world, with a popul ...

. Subsequently, he held the position of Chairman of the Sindhi Department at the same college. In 1949, he relocated to

India India, officially the Republic of India, is a country in South Asia. It is the List of countries and dependencies by area, seventh-largest country by area; the List of countries by population (United Nations), most populous country since ...

and resided in

Pune Pune ( ; , ISO 15919, ISO: ), previously spelled in English as Poona (List of renamed Indian cities and states#Maharashtra, the official name until 1978), is a city in the state of Maharashtra in the Deccan Plateau, Deccan plateau in Western ...

until his passing on July 7, 1950. Renowned Indian writer Hiro Thakur has authored a book detailing his life, achievements, and contributions.

Contributions

He has authored more than 40 books. Some of his most popular books are listed below. A complete list can be found elsewhere.

Dramas/stories

Some of his drama and stories include: * ( Ali Baba and Forty Thieves), drama, 1903 * , novel, 1910 * , translated novel * (Drama of cloth venders), drama, 1921 * (Sick Nightingale), drama, 1902 * , translated novel, 1926 * , novel * (Greedy), translation of

Shakespeare William Shakespeare ( 23 April 1564 – 23 April 1616) was an English playwright, poet and actor. He is widely regarded as the greatest writer in the English language and the world's pre-eminent dramatist. He is often called England's natio ...

's King John, 1916 * , novel * , drama, 1925 * , translated novel, 1927 * (Varial and Naimat), novel, 1910 * (Great Social Trial), drama 1925

History

His most popular books on history include: * ''Amilan jo Ahwal'' (A History of the

Amils The Amils () are a Sindhi Hindu sub-group of Lohana. The word "Amil" has its origin in the Persian word ''"amal"'' (as "administer"). Amils used to work in Administration in Government services. Amils and Bhaibands were the communities that wer ...

) * ''Hindustan Ji Tareekh'' (A History of India), 1909 * ''Qadeem Sindh'' (Ancient Sindh), 1944 * ''Sindh jay Hinduan ji Tareekh'' (History of

Sindhi Hindus Sindhi Hindus are ethnic Sindhis who practice Hinduism and are native to the Sindh region of the Indian subcontinent. They are spread across modern-day Sindh, Pakistan and India. After the partition of India in 1947, many Sindhi Hindus were am ...

), Part I & II 1946 & 1947 * ''Sodhan ji Sahibi or Ranan Jo Raj'' (Rule of Sodhas and Reign of Ranas), 1924

Linguistic

He was a lover of

Sindhi language Sindhi ( ; or , ) is an Indo-Aryan language spoken by more than 30 million people in the Pakistani province of Sindh, where it has official status, as well as by 1.7 million people in India, where it is a Scheduled languages of India, schedu ...

, grammar and social sciences. He was also well versed in

Arabic Arabic (, , or , ) is a Central Semitic languages, Central Semitic language of the Afroasiatic languages, Afroasiatic language family spoken primarily in the Arab world. The International Organization for Standardization (ISO) assigns lang ...

and

Persian Persian may refer to: * People and things from Iran, historically called ''Persia'' in the English language ** Persians, the majority ethnic group in Iran, not to be conflated with the Iranic peoples ** Persian language, an Iranian language of the ...

. As a language expert and grammarian, he authored many books including the following: * ''Alif Bay Keenan Thahi'' (How did alphabet come into being), 1925 * ''Ghareeb-ul-Lughat'' (Dictionary of Sindhi), 1907 * ''Gulqand'' - Part I & II 1940 & 1945 * ''Pahakan Ji Peerih'' * ''Rītun ain Rasman jo buniyādu'' (Origin of Rituals and Customs) * ''Sindhi Boli'' (Sindhi Language), 1925 * ''Sindhi Bolia Ji Tareekh'' (History of Sindhi Language) * ''Wado Sindhi Waya Karan'' (Advanced Sindhi Grammar), 1925

Poetry

He adopted the name "Gharib" (Humble) in his poetry. His poetic works can be classified into two categories: those intended for children and those for adults. In 1926, he published a poetry collection titled "''Gulzar-e-Nazem''" (Garden of Poetry), specifically aimed at children.

Latifiyat

He was a master of the poetry of

, the greatest

Sufi poet Sufi literature consists of works in various languages that express and advocate the ideas of Sufism. Sufism had an important influence on medieval literature, especially poetry, that was written in Arabic, Persian, Punjabi, Turkic, Sindhi a ...

. One of his masterpieces is the book titled "Latifi Sair" (Latif's Travel, 1929), in which he vividly depicted Shah Latif's journey to Hinglaj,

Girnar Girnar is an ancient hill in Junagadh, Gujarat, India. It is one of the holiest pilgrimages of Jains, where the 22nd Tirthankara, Tirthaṅkar, Lord Neminath attained omniscience, and later nirvana at its highest peak (''Neminath Shikhar''), ...

, and Thar. Additionally, he has authored other books on the poetry of

, including: *''Bhitai Ghot'' *''Gurbukshania varo Shah jo Risalo'' *'' Sur Sorath''

Other books

Advani authored and compiled a number of other books which include the following: * ''Bahar-e-Naser'' *''Chund Kalam: Shah, Sami, Sachal, Dilpat, Bedil, Bekus, Ruhal ain Deewan-i Gulaman Cunda'' *''Dey ain Wath'' *''Gulzar-e-Naser'': Selection from modern prose * '' Mahan-jo-Daro'', one of the most ancient sites of the East which has aroused world-wide interest *''Sindh ain Sindhi'' *''Sindh Jo Sailani''

References

{{Authority control 1870s births Year of birth uncertain 1950 deaths 20th-century Indian male writers 20th-century Indian scholars Indian Sindhi people People from Hyderabad, Sindh Scholars from Sindh Sindhi-language writers Writers from Pune Writers from Sindh Sindhi Hindus Sindhi-language poets