Our Sindh is prosperous with the eminent poets of all ages. They gave wonderful progress to the Ghazal by creating novelty in its diction, form and expression. The great Ghazal poets were Mir Abdul Hussain Sangi, Ghulam Muhammad Shag Gadda, Murtaza Thatvi, Akhund Qasim and Mirza Qaleech Baig. They made this form the most eminent and splendid, and as a result it got a great place in poetry with an immortal reputation. Shamas-u-Din Bulbul’s name cannot be forgotten because he added more advances that surprised the readers.
To briefly say about the history of Ghazal, it is the product of Persian poetry, and under its effect, it attained perfection. Sindhi poets refashioned this form and dressed it in local and conventional Sindh customs. One can easily feel that the scent of this land prevailed. They enhanced it with delicate points of mysticism and expressed aesthetic aspects with great enthusiasm and charm. Actually, aestheticism emphasizes aesthetic values more than sociopolitical themes for literature, fine art, decorative arts, and interior design. In other words, this doctrine shows that beauty is the basic principle from which all other principles, especially moral ones, are derived.
Bulbul truly holds an enviable place in literature. His manner of expression is filled with the echo of the bravery and immortality of his eminence. Maulana Ghulam Muhammad Grami called him the son of Sindhi literature. He relies on his diction and charming ideas from him. His penchant for mysticism and aestheticism stimulates him to utter the praise of beauty. As he describes a mole on the cheek of the beloved, her scarlet cheeks and long hair mischievous and murderous. He shows that poetry is basically a rich and colorful way of speaking. It is not only a choice of words, but also a way to inspire the heart and warm the mind, it is considered the royal and noble spirit of it. Without it, poetry is futile and sterile. In fact, the direct approach of poetry is to the heart and soul. William Wordsworth calls it the spontaneous flow of ideas. The greatest effort of a poet is to compose his idea in an inspiring way and his diction must be representative of beauty. The beauty in his poetry is like a stream that flows endlessly to amaze the readers. As Joyo says, the main quality of art is to play the role of actuality where spiritual perfection must be maintained.
Bulbul’s poetry represents all qualities. He pays the beauty of his beloved an unparalleled value. Before the beauty of his beloved, the fairies, the sun and the moon, all are trivial and defeated. Figures of speech are regarded by men of letters as the source of beauty, and through them hidden things are widely revealed. It is the best expression of art. In his verse, he compares the drops of juice on the cheek of the beloved with the drops of dew on the petals. He uses figures of speech in a natural way that really represents his aestheticism. The other example of him, like the lover who emerges on the roof, having blocked his mischievous and playful long hair, makes the lover a slave at a glance. Bulbul gives a very unusual touch to the beauty of the beloved. Also, ordinary poets give a limited circle to the loved ones because their loved ones capture only men, but Bulbul gives a different and enviable place to his loved one. The fact that his beloved emerges on the ceiling after attaching her playful long hair not only sickens the lovers but also the aroma.
Bulbul is excellent at explaining the aesthetic aspect of poetry. The powerful cause is to give proper place to words and lovely expression to language. We find his mastery over diction and language. In his work, he has artistically used Persian and Arabic words with Sindhi together. It reveals his grand and lofty style. In addition, such an amalgamation of diction, language and references of aesthetic aspects elevates his personality. By reciting his poetry, readers can’t help but applaud him for his gift and ability. In his poetry we look for patience. When the lover’s heart is captured, restoration of it is absolutely impossible. Bulbul follows the same tradition. Her beloved possesses unique qualities because she knows how to capture the heart, but not return it. This unjust condition makes the lover helpless and desperate. The remedy for such sorrows and despair is patience.
Most poets compare the fragrance and scarlet of the flower to the long hair and lips of the beloved. Bulbul emphasizes on novelty which is the main need of poetry, and forms the personality of the poet. He possesses novelty and individuality in his work. New observations of him increase interest among readers.
It is a matter of perception that how you have represented the lively and pleasant landscape of the imagination. This royalty is addressed solely to the artistic qualities of the poet. He describes everything in such a way that even the reader who doesn’t want it accepts it as his own. Actually, religion has spiritualism, and its canons must be followed by the people; but the responsibility of love is different from religion. For Bulbul, the value of love is not less than that of religion. He feels equally responsible for both love and religion, and apart from love not only life seems incomplete but also religion. It is the love by which one can distinguish between truth and lies and reality and fantasy.