I went back to Sindhology, and was requested to pick out the tapes I would like to hear from the register. I was asked if I can read the register in Urdu and at times Sindhi. I could, even the Sindhi enough to pick out names of artists. I had been looking at tape covers to figure out which had female singers, but these tapes are a treasure and impossible to purchase these days. People have been known to lift selections and so you are not allowed to directly access the collection. Instead, you pick out tapes from the register and go from there.I went through the register and picked out every female sounding name I could find from the remaining collection as well as a few that were specifically tapes on Shah Latif’s poetry. I was struck by how few tapes there were with his poetry.It was a bit tiring to listen to portions of each of these tapes I selected, but I felt I needed to hear as much of what has been done before as I can, to properly play with the material. Most of these singers had long passed on or were probably far too aged to perform at this point, so I really could not look to this collection for contemporary artists. However, the music of that era, when the public better supported their artists was also something I could not find today, and in it a richer variety of Sindhi music than could be seen in current CDs.I finished up, then head back to the hostel. I called Mehboob Ali Shah sahib, whom Zulfikar Ali Gopang sahib had recommended I speak to regarding Shah Latif’s poetry from a Sufi perspective. He agreed to meet me. I called Abdullah, one of the circle members who had been gracious enough to give me time. He too was interested in going, so he picked me up on his motorcycle and away we went.We arrived at Mehboob sahib’s home. The gate was open. On motorcycle, we stood outside and a man invited us to enter. Inside was an open sitting area. The sun was setting. Mehboob Ali Shah sahib came out to greet us and we sat and spoke. With each meeting, though there is a task to be finished which has brought me there, I do not want the interaction to be just focused on getting things done. I would lose a great deal if I did not take the time to share a bit of what I am there for, but then listen to whatever is being offered.I decided that we could focus on sur Sorath, the story of Bijal the musician and Raja Rai Diyach, the king who had everything monetary but no peace or happiness. This way, with each expert I met, we could try and tackle different sections of the material, in the hopes that it could be pieced together with all of this generous support.Mehboob Ali Shah sahib is the son of another revered local poet and scholar named Sardar Ahmed Shah Lakyari, who has a tomb in Saeedabad. He too was devoted to the verse of Shah Latif. He studied it and shared its vast richness while also writing his own poetry. His son, now older as well carried on that tradition. Such was their devotion, not to some mythical figure of what Shah Latif might be, but to the true essence of the words that have brought many to revere him.Before discussing sur Sorath, Mehboob sahib shared an introduction of Shah Latif’s poetry, to sort of set the stage and context of what it was that we were discussing. He shared a beautiful quote regarding Shah’s own thoughts on his verse which mentioned that this was not poetry, but ayats (scripture) to bring your heart closer to the beloved.He also spoke of how the verses themselves were written by Latif according to his own spiritual needs. They were there for any who found value in them and were given freely for those who wished to apply them for themselves, or discard them to keep seeking whatever it was that they needed. The point being, that there was no ego regarding the necessity of everyone to follow what Shah Latif needed for his life. These verses were needed by him to navigate his life and but there was no compulsion or expectation that others need follow him.I also heard views on the selection of folk stories as a vehicle to sharing Shah Latif’s thoughts. Mehboob sahib said that he selected stories based on various criteria. Partly based on where he had travelled and also based on how that story contained the elements needed to convey his thoughts. Sorath, he shared was about asking or begging for that which one needs. This became a perfect vehicle for Shah Latif to express that dynamic between asker and receiver and how the roles are often reversed.He went on to share some beautiful chosen verses, which he read in Sindhi, then graciously translated into Urdu for my benefit. It turned out that several of those verses were among ones I had chosen and so I was able to find the original verses to several that I had chosen for my script.The whole time, there was a peace about the whole discussion. Mehboob sahib has a rich voice and he has a way of conveying the depth of what he is sharing through stories and examples that become easy to understand. This is how he deconstructs Shah Latif’s verses, to offer even a non Sindhi speaker such as myself, a taste of the beauty therein.I was struck by his sagacity. His adorable grandson was there with us. He was probably almost a year old, walking about and starting to speak in his own baby language. Mehboob sahib woud be in the middle of discussing a deep point, when the little one would stumble into his lap or ask a question. It was heartwarming to see how Mehboob sahib turned to the child with such love, to answer his question or acknowledge his presence and give him some love before going right back to sharing the depths of philosophy and poetry. To me, this seemed to exemplify the application of what was contained in Shah Latif’s verses.He shared such a wealth of knowledge with Abdullah and I. It was dark and we had been pouring over books with flashlights for most of the session. After several hours of sharing, we said thanks and goodbye as we head out.We rode back to Javaid Solangi and some of his friends. I was kind of floating on the appreciation of both Shafqat Qadri sahib and Mehboob Ali Shah sahib’s sharing of their wealth of knowledge with me on Shah Latif and his poetry. These moments help keep me pushing to get this project made.After some time hanging out with Javaid, Abdullah and some other friends of theirs, they insisted on making sure I had some food before they dropped me off. We grabbed some food, then I was dropped to my hostel.