The rich tradition of classical poetry of Sindh largely revolves around the 18th century poet Shah Abdul Latif of Bhit.

There have been many manuscripts of his collected verse, originating from different sources; surprisingly these multiple efforts are not much different, showing that the classical poetry in Sindh has remained a combined and mostly sacred memory.

The efforts at producing a standardized version of Shah Jo Risalo have been spread well over a century, and some of the outstanding scholars have contributed to this effort.

As for as the translations are concerned Culture Department has been fortunate enough to publish multiple books on Shah Latif and also various versions of Risalo. The Department has contributed successfully to make translations available, of the universally applicable poetry of Shah Latif, in various languages i.e. English, Arabic, German, Urdu, Punjabi etc. Efforts for more translation are underway.

Almost all of these translations are out of print since long. It is a timely thinking to publish an English translation on the occasion of Poet’s anniversary.

While making a selection out of the English translations it was not an easy job. But on account of the focus and clarity of thought in the translation done by Agha Muhammad Yaqoob, the selection was easy to make. 

Shah jo Risalo Alias Ganj-e-Latif, the present work is of high quality, where in poetry of Shah has been rendered in befitting language. Agha Sahib was an intellectual having genuine understanding of Shah’s expression; he made extraordinary efforts to have comparative study of mystic expression of Rumi, Hafiz, Attar and others.

The commitment of the people of Sindh as reflected through the efforts of the government is to bring more works relevant to the culture of province, these shall continue to enrich the literary world, and the readers shall find it increasingly satisfying.