Ghani Kashmiri

DIVAN OF GHANI KASHMIRI A GREAT PERSIAN SUFI POET Translation & Introduction Paul Smith Ghani Kashmiri (1610-1668) is Kashmir's greatest Sufi poet of the Persian language. His teacher & spiritual master was another great Sufi & poet Mushin Fani. Ghani was visited in Kashmir by Sa'ib, Kalim & Qudsi, along with Ghani some of the most influential poets of the new style of Indian Persian poetry (Sabk-e-Hindi). He led a simple life often in seclusion and never wrote for royalty or the rich. He exposed corruption and sang of truth, love and beauty in ghazals, ruba'is, masnavis, qit'as & dohas that are unique. Both Ghalib and Iqbal were influenced by him and sang his praises. He was popular as a Sufi Perfect Master in Kashmir in his lifetime and there is a revival today there and in the west for his poetry. This is one of the largest versions of his poems in English and the only one keeping the correct rhyme structure of the originals. Introduction: Life & Times & Poetry of Ghani Kashmiri, Some of the Forms in Persian in which he somposed poems, Sufis & Dervishes: Their Art and Use of Poetry. Selected Bibliography. APPENDIX: Three Poets of the 'Indian Style' (Sabk-e Hindi) in Persian Poetry who went to Kashmir & Influenced Ghani Kashmiri. Large Format Paperback 7" x 10" 254 pages. COMMENTS ON PAUL SMITH'S TRANSLATION OF HAFIZ'S 'DIVAN'. "It is not a joke... the English version of ALL the ghazals of Hafiz is a great feat and of paramount importance. I am astonished." Dr. Mir Mohammad Taghavi (Dr. of Literature) Tehran. "Superb translations. 99% Hafiz 1% Paul Smith." Ali Akbar Shapurzman, translator and knower of Hafiz's Divan off by heart. Paul Smith (b. 1945) is a poet, author and translator of many books of Sufi poets of the Persian, Arabic, Urdu, Turkish, Pashtu and other languages including Hafiz, Sadi, Nizami, Rumi, 'Attar, Sana'i, Jahan Khatun, Obeyd Zakani, Mu'in, Amir Khusrau, Nesimi, Kabir, Anvari, Ansari, Jami, Khayyam, Rudaki, Yunus Emre, Lalla Ded, Bulleh Shah, Mahsati, Iqbal and others, and his own poetry, fiction, plays, biographies, children's books and a dozen screenplays. www.newhumanitybooks.com

THREE GREAT SUFI POETS OF KASHMIR Lalla Ded, Nund Rishi, Ghani Kashmiri Selected Poems Translation & Introduction Paul Smith Lalla Ded is the famous female poet/saint from Kashmir who lived at exactly the same time as Hafiz of Shiraz (1320-1392). Her vakhs (poems/sayings) are sung even today in Kashmir. She was married at a young age but the marriage was a failure and she walked out at the age of twenty-four. She became a disciple of Siddha Srikanth. It must have taken a lot of courage on her part to walk out of a marriage and to walk around unclothed as she did. She was treated with contempt by some and much reverence by others, seeing her as a saint and eventually as God-realized. Her two hundred vakhs are some of the oldest examples of Kashmiri written. She was a bridge between Hindu mysticism and Sufism. Nund Rishi ('Rishi' meaning Kashmiri Sufi) or Shaikh Nur ud-din, as he was afterwards named, was born at Kaimuh, a village two miles to the west of Bijbihara in Kashmir in 1377. He used his poetry as tool to spread the knowledge of the absolute and criticized the mullas and other pseudo-scholars and gave expression to the lives of the common people. He also composed many poems on the pitfalls of the spiritual path and on the love of the devotee for God. His poetry is called Shruks that are poems in the rhyme structure of A-B, A-B. The Rishi order is a Sufi tradition of religious harmony and it was founded by among others Nund Rishi. He was popular as a Sufi Perfect Master in Kashmir in his lifetime and still is. Ghani Kasmiri (1610-1668) is Kashmir's greatest Sufi poet of the Persian language. His teacher & spiritual master was another great Sufi & poet Mushin Fani. Ghani was visited in Kashmir by Sa'ib, Kalim & Qudsi, along with Ghani some of the most influential poets of the new style of Indian Persian poetry (Sabk-e-Hindi). Ghani led a simple life often in seclusion and never wrote for royalty or the rich. He exposed corruption and sang of truth, love and beauty in ghazals and ruba'is that are unique. Both Ghalib and Iqbal were influenced by him and sang his praises. These are the largest version of their poems in English keeping the correct rhyme structure of the originals. Introduction on htheir Life & Times & Poetry and on the forms of Poetry. Selected Bibliographies. Large Format Paperback 7" x 10" 434 pages. Paul Smith is a poet, author and translator of many books of Sufi poets from the Persian, Arabic, Urdu, Turkish, Pashtu and other languages including Hafiz, Sadi, Nizami, Rumi, 'Attar, Sana'i, Jahan Khatun, Obeyd Zakani, Mu'in, Amir Khusrau, Nesimi, Kabir, Anvari, Ansari, Jami, Khayyam, Rudaki, Yunus Emre. Lalla Ded, Mahsati and others, and his own poetry, fiction, plays, biographies, children's books, screenplays. amazon.com/author/smithpa Published by New Humanity Books

GHANI KASHMIRI: LIFE & POEMS Translation & Introduction by Paul Smith Ghani Kasmiri (1610-1668) is Kashmir's greatest Sufi poet of the Persian language. His teacher & spiritual master was another great Sufi & poet Mushin Fani. Ghani was visited in Kashmir by Sa'ib, Kalim & Qudsi, along with Ghani some of the most influential poets of the new style of Indian Persian poetry (Sabk-e-Hindi). Ghani led a simple life often in seclusion and never wrote for royalty or the rich. He exposed corruption and sang of truth, love and beauty in ghazals and ruba'is that are unique. Both Ghalib and Iqbal were influenced by him and sang his praises. He was popular as a Sufi Perfect Master in Kashmir in his lifetime and there is a revival today there and in the west for his poetry. This is one of the largest version of his poems in English and the only one keeping the correct rhyme structure of the originals. Introduction on his Life & Times & Poetry and on the forms of his Poetry. Selected Bibliography. 120 pages. Introduction to Sufi Poets Series 'AISHAH Al-BA'UNIYAH, AMIR KHUSRAU, ANSARI, ANVARI, AL-MA'ARRI, 'ARIFI, 'ATTAR, ABU SA'ID, AUHAD UD-DIN, BABA FARID, BABA AZFAL, BABA TAHIR, BEDIL, BULLEH SHAH, DARA SHIKOH, GHALIB, GHANI KASHMIRI, HAFIZ, HASAN DEHLAVI, IBN 'ARABI, IBN YAMIN, IBN AL-FARID, IQBAL, INAYAT KHAN, 'IRAQI, JAHAN KHATUN, JAMI, KAMAL AD-DIN, KABIR, KHAQANI, KHAYYAM, LALLA DED, MAKHFI, MANSUR HALLAJ, MIR, MU'IN UD-DIN CHISHTI, NAZIR, NESIMI, NIZAMI, OBEYD ZAKANI, RAHMAN BABA, RUMI, SADI, SA'IB, SANA'I, SARMAD, SHABISTARI, SHAH LATIF, SHAH NI'MAT'ULLAH, SULTAN BAHU, YUNUS EMRE, EARLY ARABIC SUFI POETS, EARLY PERSIAN SUFI POETS, URDU SUFI POETS, TURKISH SUFI POETS, AFGHAN SUFI POETS 90-120 pages each. Paul Smith is a poet, author and translator of many books of Sufi poets from the Persian, Arabic, Urdu, Turkish, Pashtu and other languages including Hafiz, Sadi, Nizami, Rumi, 'Attar, Sana'i, Jahan Khatun, Obeyd Zakani, Mu'in, Amir Khusrau, Nesimi, Kabir, Anvari, Ansari, Jami, Khayyam, Rudaki, Yunus Emre. Lalla Ded, Mahsati, Ibn 'Arabi and others, and his own poetry, fiction, plays, biographies, children's books, screenplays. amazon.com/author/smithpa Published by New Humanity Books