Lovers of Gujarati poems and ghazals have a reason to be pleased – a new book with the complete collection of poems by well-known ghazalkar and artiste Saif Palanpuri, was published by the Gujarat Sahitya Academy to mark World Book Day on April 23, 2020. The publication has been compiled and edited by Prof Rishikesh Raval of Palanpur. 
 

The book, entitled ‘Jharukhothi Hinchko Suddhi : Complete Collection of Poems by Ghazalkar Saif Palanpuri’ is ready for release, but no formal function could be held due to the lockdown, nor can it be distributed and sold as long as restrictions related to the coronavirus pandemic are in place.
 

Speaking to Palanpur Online, Prof Raval, who has also earlier published the classic ‘Palanpur Ghazal Gharana’ said that there was a lot of demand for one single publication containing the collected works of Saif Palanpuri. “People would often contact me for such a book of his works when I spoke about the rich cultural traditions of Palanpur especially its ghazals, but unfortunately the only books he had published nearly 35-40 years ago were out of print and no longer available,” Raval said.
 

Recently Raval came across the original books published by Saif, ‘Jharukho’ and ‘Hinchko’ after meeting Padma Shri Dr Prakash Kothari in Mumbai. “With support from Dr Kothari, we got the collection ready and the book was published by Gujarat Sahitya Academy to mark World Book Day this year.”
 

A formal release function will be organised later this year.