If we say that Bal Nigwar is a fertile land for literary activities, then it will not be wrong. It is covered with literary people. Someone passed away and someone is still alive to serve his native language, culture literature which is the main source of identification of a nation. There have been well-known personalities (poets) who struggled for the Balochi language as Ghulam Hussein Shohaz, Eid Muhammad Eid, Baki Baloch, Murad Sahir, and other legends who jotted down their pain for their mother language. On the other side, some famous Balochi singers are struggling with their mother language with their charming voices like Adnan Baloch, Barkath Bal Wala, Rafeeq Oman, Jamal Baloch, Khalil Makurani, and others.

Additionally, Sharaf Shad is one of the prominent writers and poets of the Balochi language. He was born in Bal Nigwar on February 1979 in the house of late  Eid Muhammad Eid, ( was a great poet) and started his elementary education at Government High School of Bal Nigwar after doing his matriculation, he took admission at Atta Shad Degree College Turbat where he has done his graduation in 1999. In 2002, he cleared his M.A from Balochistan University at Balochi department. From 2004 till 2008, he went to the United Arab Emirates to work and to get some money to push his days and nights.

In other sense, since 2012, he has been showing the Balochi program on the Vsh News channel. He has also done his M.Phl from the University of Turbat at Baloch department from 2015 to 2016.

Being the son of the poet, Shad started writing poetry, short stories, and other literary materials to preserve the Baloch language. According to him, his initial poetry, and prose got published in different Balochi magazine as  Mahtak Balochi ( monthly magazine),  Labzank ( Literature), Tapthan, and other sources.

Further, he mentions that while he was writing, firstly, he wrote poetry after that his interest shifted into prose writing. He also translated countless materials from one language to another to promote his native language. It is said that translation is a source of communication to transfer messages within the same language or to a second language.

His first translation is a novel known as "Dramad " (Stranger) initially written by  Albert Camus, it was published by Balochistan Academy, Quetta in 12012. The Second translation book is “Bandeeg e Pushaak" it contains countless international short stories from writers like Chekove, Mupasa, Najeeb Mehfuz, and other translated works and it was published in 2015. Similarly, in 2015, two other translation books “The thief and dog" by Gabriel Garcia Marquez and " Pish Gepthag en Wahdapthar " both got published by Balochi Academy.

In 2016, his three translated books got published. One short story of Checkove as “Ward Number Six" by Checkove, published from Sangat Academy,  Albert Camus' s novel The Waste, published by  Sichkan Publication Gwader and collection of Urdu short stories book translation " Sadi Un Lambi Rat", published from Sichkan Publication Gwader. In addition, " Labzank, Darkesahi Labzank o Shair ", is another book that contains research and criticism-related articles that are published by Balochi Academy. On the other hand, Sharaf also translated Gabriel Garcia Marquez" Marquis Azmaank" a collection of 18 short stories and an interview with Marquez. It is said that many short story books are translated into the Balochi language and still the process is being used but it is the only book that contains about 18 short stories by Gabriel Garcia Marquez translated into Baloch by Sharaf Shad.

Sharaf also wrote a book Chirag Tahna enth " ( the light is alone),  regarding Mubarik Qazi's personality and art it was published in 2019 by the Institute Of Balochi. Instead of translating and writing articles, Sharaf is also famous for short story writing. His many write-ups got published in various Balochi magazines and still getting places. His first short storybook is " Safara Damburtg en Rahahn" published in 2020 and it is a big source in the sense of Balochi short stories.

Apart from this, he has been an editor of a Balochi magazine called “Drangaaz" for many years but it is not being published and he wishes to continue again the magazine to promote and preserve Balochi literature and educate the Baloch society as well.

Being a literary person, Sharaf loves his mother language and always stands to read and write Balochi to promote the local language. He encourages his surrounding children to make friends with the mother language and spread awareness about it as well. He constantly helps every individual if they want to read Balochi. Besides, he has been connected with the Vsh News channel to translate and edit news from Urdu, and English into the Balochi language.  He is also performing as a supervisor of the Balochi certificate course at Karachi University and Liyari University.

Additionally, he has been selected as a member of Balochi Academy Quetta, the secretary of Syed Reference Kitab Jah, the chairman of the Institute of Balochi, and the member of Elm o Adab Publishers Editorial Board, the member of the Sichkan publication board.

He is always busy with books and wishes to spend the time in the surrounding reading materials. He reads constantly and loves literature. He points out that reading literature gives relaxation to you. He added that literature is the main source of life that fulfills mankind's wishes. Literature gives us pleasure and it compelled us to imagine something new. It is said that sometimes we want to fulfill our wishes, but we can not reach those areas through literature we can fulfill our dreams.

He suggests us to read the literature and spread awareness about it. He is a studious personality. He is interested to be connected with literary activities. In other statements, he expresses that he mostly writes in the morning time and reads for one or two hours at night time.

He mentions that he is most ambitious to read prose materials and desires to write prose as well. He explains that reading a book is too important and whatever the readers read, they must discuss the materials. In another way, he advised people must write more and more because writing helps the readers and writers that how manage the sentences and how organize the sentences in the form of writing.

        Shad also narrates that reading the Balochi language plays a vital role for the Baloch nation. Because it is too important to read and write one's language to preserve and promote it. “Literature is the name of expression," he said. If you read more, you become more creative.

 

 

By: Nawaz Nigwari

Turbat Kech Balochistan