Jan Khaskheli (23 April, 1956 – 20 March, 2022)

 Renowned writer, poet, and journalist Jan Muhammad Khaskheli was born on April 23, 1956, in the politically prominent village of Karam Khan Nizamani, located in Hala Taluka. He was born into the household of Haji Khan, a hardworking peasant.

Jan received his primary education in his native village, completed his matriculation at M.G. Government High School, Hala, and went on to pursue his Intermediate studies at Sarwari Islamia College, Hala. He later earned a Master’s degree in Sociology from the University of Sindh.

During his college years, he became actively involved in student politics and later aligned himself with national movements. Around the same time, he developed a deep passion for literature and began composing poetry.

When he was unable to secure a government job, Jan initially opened a shop in his village, but the venture was unsuccessful. In the early 1980s, he left for Karachi in search of better opportunities. According to his unpublished and incomplete memoirs, during his early days in Karachi, he slept on the footpath near the under-construction Taj Complex, where some of his fellow villagers were working as laborers. He soon moved to Soomar Kandani village in Malir, and after a few months, shifted to Lyari, where he lived for nearly fifteen years before eventually settling in Hyderabad.

His first job in Karachi was with Mr. Umer Bedar, editor and publisher of the Sindhi monthly Adyoon. His responsibility was to write the addresses of subscribers for magazine deliveries sent via VPP (Value Payable Post). Finding the work monotonous, he eventually left the job. After a few months of unemployment, he joined Hyderi Public School as a Sindhi language teacher, a position he held for six years. During this period, he also began working part-time in Sindhi newspapers in the afternoons.

Jan actively participated in the literary gatherings of Sindhi Adabi Sangat—first in Malir, and later in the central Karachi branch. At that time, the Karachi chapter of Sindhi Adabi Sangat was among the most vibrant, hosting weekly sessions that lasted for hours. These gatherings featured critical discussions of short stories and poetry, attended by some of the stalwarts of Sindhi literature, including Anwar Peerzado, Rauf Nizamani, Faqeer Mohammad Lashari, Badar Abro, Abdul Rehman Naqash, Shah Mohammad Peerzo, Attia Daud, and others. The intellectually rich environment deeply nurtured Jan's literary abilities, and he emerged as a notable poet and short story writer.

In an interview with Kawish Dunya magazine, he later admitted that his literary engagement—especially with poetry and fiction—provided him both inspiration and the strength to endure life’s challenges.

After spending several years working with Sindhi newspapers, Jan Muhammad Khaskheli transitioned to English-language journalism. In the later decades of his life, he was associated with The News Karachi, where he not only covered regular news stories but also contributed a wealth of insightful articles on subjects that were often overlooked in mainstream journalism. His writings explored themes such as climate change, flora and fauna, the environment, agriculture, forestry, and other innovative and socially relevant issues, bringing much-needed attention to these vital topics.

Books

His first book, Gum Thiyal Manoo jo Safarnamoo (Travelogue of a Disappeared Person), was published in May 1996. It was a collection of 25 short stories. In the preface, renowned Sindhi writer Qamar Shahbaz remarked: “This very simple, reticent, and shy young man, while carrying forward the literary tradition shaped by Jamal Abro and adopting the narrative style of Ali Baba and Mushtaq Shoro, has carved out a distinct place for himself in Sindhi short fiction. Among the few contemporary writers who consistently produce short stories, Jan stands out. At times, I feel as if Manik has returned… Jan has played a vital role in making the Sindhi short story more concise and impactful.”Noted writer and translator Manoj Kumar was of the view that “Jan Khaskheli in his stories has unveiled hypocrisy and filth behind the façade of religion, politics, journalism and other beautiful slogans, and has composed the history of great quandary of society.”

After a long hiatus, his second book—and his first poetry collection—Khawaben je Mosam jo Hik Geet (A Song from the Season of Dreams) was published in 2017. This anthology comprised 62 prose poems, most of which were written during the 1980s and 1990s while he was living in Karachi. As a result, the city of Karachi became a central backdrop in much of his poetry—a notable and bold departure in Sindhi literature, where no poet before him had captured the spirit of Karachi in quite the same way. The poems varied in length, some brief and poignant, others more expansive, but the recurring focus was not on personal sorrows or romantic yearnings. Instead, his work was deeply rooted in the socio-political and economic realities of the time. In the preface, writer Manoj Kumar described him as “a poet-historian of pain.”

His third and final book published during his lifetime was Khawaban jo Ajaab Ghar (Museum of Dreams), a collection of 22 short stories released in 2018. Reflecting on his creative process, he wrote at the end of the preface: “Then I realized there was a silent storm surging through society—one so devastating that few could even recognize its destruction. Fear had driven the birds to remain in their nests. Nightingales and sparrows sang in hushed tones, hidden away. Perhaps that is why, whenever I try to form a word, the letters and punctuation marks morph into haunting images. And in that dread, I find myself surrounded by these pages. Only my breath lends me the strength to allow this silent storm to speak. I would paint it too. Let me go as far as to say that in each of my stories, I’ve tried to arrange the things I gathered over time: a pen, a brush, colors, rose petals, raindrops on the sands of Thar, and the golden blossoms of moonlight. That story gave meaning to my sleep and urged me to awaken. Threading together each breath, I tried to unveil the devastation left by that silent storm.”

Unpublished Works

From his interview with Kawish magazine, it can be inferred that one more anthology of short stories in Sindhi, another collection of translated stories in Urdu, and two books of memoirs and profiles were yet to be published. In addition to his literary work in Sindhi, he wrote hundreds of articles and essays in English on innovative and underexplored themes.

His longtime friend, the renowned writer and editor Anwar Abro, shared that in 1993, Jan Khaskheli wrote a long opera titled Chand Wann je Oat Me (The Moon Behind the Trees), which was published in serialized form in Sindh Sujag magazine. He also translated the poetry of renowned Urdu poet Azra Abbas into Sindhi.

Jan Khaskheli passed away on 20 March 2022 due to cardiac arrest. He was laid to rest in his ancestral graveyard in Karam Khan Nizamani.

To end this tribute, let us take a quiet look into a few fragments of his poetic world.

Rose blooming season

Today, in our motherland,
Bullets roam freely through the streets...
At the city’s heart,
Alongside the heroes of our stories, our history,
Our songs and our poems—
Even our dreams are set ablaze.

 

Relations
All the dogs of the city
Have turned into guardians of hate,
Yet, in the desire to dream,
Today, they have once again
Forged friendships with the stars. 

Story of a city

A hundred kissable damsels,
And branches of roses,
Fell, wounded,
Trampled beneath cruel feet—
For the crime of loving life 

Last Moment of the Ceremony
This year,
The season of bullets spraying has lingered.
You and I,
Hiding hunger deep in our hearts,
Let us sing wedding songs,
Even as the season of bullets stretches on.

Corpse of Honour

The judge declared her free —
But every path still shackled her feet.
A baby slipped from her breast…
She was hacked into pieces.
Blood ties ran dry.

The sun watched.

O Sindh,
Tell us —
Where shall we bury
This corpse of honour?