PUNE: Sindhi language expert, translator, encyclopedist and researcher of literature of saints Prof Lachhman Hardwani (81) passed away in Pune due to old age. The last rites took place at the Yerwada crematorium.
Prof Hardwani was a Sindhi, Marathi and Hindi writer and translator, encyclopedist and linguist. His 90 books have been published and Sindhi Haiku, a type of literature, was made famous by him.
Prof Hardwani, who was born in Sindh province, came to India with his parents after partition. After doing MA from Pune, he was a Hindi professor in a college in Ahmednagar. Apart from teaching Sindhi, which was his mother tongue, he also taught Hindi. Prof Hardwani translated literary works like Dnyaneshwari and Dasbodh into Hindi. He was the founder member of Nagar Sindhi Education Society.
Ninety books written by Prof Hardwani in Sindhi, Marathi and Hindi have been published. According to him, Sindhi language, which is a branch of Sanskrit, has its origin in the Devnagari script. During British rule, its script was made into Arabic in an artificial manner. Hardwani had published most of his books in Devnagari script in the last 40 years and published them at his own expense.
