WARIS SHAH’S BATTLE AGAINST MULLAH SHAHI

If I were the US ambassador I would have certainly made it to Waris Shah’s 212th anniversary because he is the most adored Punjabi poet and was the most articulate ideologue against ‘mullah shahi’.

‘human love’ is not based on good looks but on being humble and serving

by Dr. Manzur Ejaz

In his first encounter with Heer, Ranjha teaches the arrogant and pampered daughter of the feudal chief that ‘human love’ is not based on good looks but on being humble and serving the needy.


If I were the US ambassador I would have certainly made it to Waris Shah’s 212th anniversary because he is the most adored Punjabi poet and was the most articulate ideologue against ‘mullah shahi’. He used the epic story of Heer Ranjha to critique the entire system of the feudal era in which mullah shahi played a key role. Waris had an ideological edge over his competitors like Damodar Das who, being the pioneer of the poetic version of Heer Ranjha, was much more skilful in dramatic depiction.
If Waris Shah could look at the world today, he would be smiling to see that in many countries women can wed the person of her choice irrespective of caste, creed or economic status. However, he would weep at the sight of contemporary Punjab, where he might be killed for criticising mullah shahi within hours of the critique. He would also be howling to witness honour killings and all other kinds of tortures meted out to women in his beloved Punjab. He would be astonished to see that in most areas of his land the Heer of today does not enjoy the freedom that his Heer of the medieval period was granted. 
Though Waris Shah wove his story around a disaffected artistic-minded Ranjha, a flutist, and Heer, a strong-willed daughter of a feudal chieftain, he critiqued the key institutions of society that do not respect individual choice. Waris Shah expanded the horizon of the folktale of Heer Ranjha by explaining the core issue: that a woman cannot marry a person of her choice because of a system plagued by tribalism, caste discrimination, religion, corruption and other prevailing regressive forces. Therefore, Waris Shah makes it clear in the beginning that he is creating a new version of Heer (Qissa Heer da nawañ bañrhaaiye ji). 
Unlike his predecessors who started the tale on idealistic notions, Waris Shah concentrated on the role of property in society. After the death of his father, Ranjha’s brothers are jealous of him because of the deceased’s affection for him, manoeuvre the system of justice and give him barren land. The Qazi, who used to have control over the revenue and system of justice along with the village Panchs — headmen — were bribed by Ranjha’s brothers. 
Wadhi day kay bhoaiñ day bañrhay waris banjar zamin Ranjaithe nooñ aai hae (They became the owner of the cultivable land through bribery while Ranjha was given the barren land).
Throughout the story, Waris Shah depicts the qazis as the most corrupt persons who always collaborate with the feudal lords against the common people. In fact, Waris was harshly criticising the Mughal era system of justice that was based on a network of qazis, appointed on the basis of religious education.
After criticising the corruption-ridden society of Takht Hazara, Ranjha’s native village, Waris Shah takes him to a mosque, which sheltered travellers. Ranjha plays the flute in the mosque to attract everyone in the village but the mullah. A very few historians mention that the mosque was a contested place between mullah shahi and sufis from Baba Farid to Khawaja Farid. The Qazi of Pakpattan had lodged a complaint against Baba Farid alleging that he listens to music and dances in the mosque. Most probably Waris Shah was an affectionate follower of Baba Farid and must have had him in mind through Ranjha debating the mullah. Waris Shah, through describing the long detail of curriculum taught to the mullahs makes it certain that he is debating not only a village mullah but also the entire system of mullah shahi. He concludes that mullahs are evil forces clinging to the house of God.

“Waris Shah, Khuda diañ khaniañ noon eeh mullah bhi chambray hain blaiñ” (Waris Shah, mullahs are evil forces clinging to God’s place).

Waris Shah does not spare the greedy business class that worships money. 

Through Ranjha’s encounter with the boat owner, who declares that “we give a damn about God and we only work for money”, Waris Shah shows how the mullah and the mallaah (boatman) say the same thing about common people, though one uses God’s name and the other negates it. For Waris Shah, the mullah was a parasite and the mallaah was a vulture, playing a similar role in society. 
In his first encounter with Heer, Ranjha teaches the arrogant and pampered daughter of the feudal chief that ‘human love’ is not based on good looks but on being humble and serving the needy. In the opening dialogues between Heer and Ranjha, Waris Shah defines what real human love is and how to achieve it. 
Through Ranjha’s servitude to Heer’s father, the chief of the tribe, Waris Shah exposes the contradictions of the feudal system. For example, Heer’s father dismisses Ranjha when her daughter’s love story starts making the rounds but when his herd of buffaloes cannot be managed he tells his wife that they have to overlook the affair till Heer is married. Depiction of the villain, Kaidoo, is also used by Waris Shah to taunt the hypocritical feudal boasting about honour but ignoring it when his self-interest is at stake. 

While criticising the system, Waris Shah rejects the institution of joag as well, which teaches the abandonment of the world. When the head jogi, Balnath, asks Ranjha to go beg and consider every woman as his mother or sister, Ranjha rebuts: “I have adopted joag for the love of a woman, how can I consider every woman as my sister or mother?” For Waris Shah the individual has to fight the system and giving up is not the solution. In this backdrop, through a debate between Ranjha and Sehti, Heer’s sister-in-law, Waris Shah criticises the theories of social science, clichés and commonly held beliefs. 

Waris Shah’s tomb has been upgraded from a neglected grave where the anniversaries were celebrated by busloads of activists from Lahore. Now, the Waris Mela has become very huge but his message has been ignored: there are even fewer people in the rural areas that read Waris Shah’s Heer. Waris Shah has been embraced as a ‘pir’ but not as a thinker. But Amrita Pritam’s wailing is still haunting:

“Aj aakhaañ Waris Shah nooñ, kitoñ qabrañ wichooñ bol” (Today I would beseech Waris Shah to speak from the grave).

The writer can be reached at manzurejaz@yahoo.com

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Source: Wichaar  

Title Image: Pakistaniat 

Disclaimer: The views expressed in this article are the sole responsibility of the author and do not necessarily reflect those of the ‘Wonders of Pakistan’. The contents of this article too are the sole responsibility of the author(s). WoP will not be responsible or liable for any inaccurate or incorrect statements contained in this post.

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A SOULFUL EVENING AT ALHAMRA

Heer Recitals In Different Ragas

by Nayyar Hashmey

Every year in the last week of July the Urs of Baba Waris Shah is celebrated at Jandiala Sher Khan near Sheikhupura in Pakistan. WOP Contributing Editor Umair Ghani is a frequent visitor to this event. In two previous posts Umair portrayed the life and times of this doyen of Punjabi Sufi poets Syed Waris Shah titled as Waris Shah, Ishq da Waris, and the Legend of Heer and Ranjha.

Although I vey much wished to attend this event but during the days of Urs, I had to be in Islamabad, so was keen to learn the proceedings of the Urs specially the details of homage paid by the people of Pakistan and all those sons of Punjab who love this saintly poet irrespective of their national, religious or regional affiliations.

I thought of meeting Prof. Ghulam Rasool Azad who happens to live near Gurdawara Janam Asthan in Nankana Sahib in a house over which the shadows of the holy Gurdawara are cast as a shade. Prof Azad is a great lover of Punjabi and Syed Waris Shah and, as I was told he regularly attends the Urs of Baba Ji in Jandiala. But then Umair told me that there is an evening at Alhamra Cultural Complex where winners of Heer Recitals in JSK are giving a live rendition of Heer. So on we go and find there some very gifted singers who recited Heer in their unique and lovely style. But the peak performance was of course given by Mme Samina Najam Hassan and Risham Syed, respectively the wife and daughter of great living Sufi, Najam Hassan Syed, (A poet, writer and critic of Punjabi literature).

The beauty lies in unique rendition of Heer in different ragas by Syed’s family. Hitherto Heer has been sung only in bhairween style, a style which almost is an icon for the recital of Heer by different singers. It goes, to the credit of Najam Hassan Syed’s family that they have innovatively cast Heer into different ragas. Mme Samina Hassan has a voice which does not sound like the voice of a typical Heer singer, yet the mastery she has, the perfection she exhibits in her art, a style of singing that you wish she may go on singing and we go on listening. Her daughter Risham Syed, and Shafqat Hussain gave her a perfect ‘sangat’ and that makes rendition of Heer almost immortal. The mesmeric singing by the trio kept the audience spellbound.

Waris Shah is My Murshid and being a man of God, he has blessed me with every thing, says Baba Muhammad Sadiq

The evening is celebrated with great gusto by Lahore Art Forum. There at the Forum I met Baba Sadiq who is a staunch devotee of Syed Waris Shah and the principal organizer of the event. An ex banker, Baba Sadiq left his promising career in banking because of his love for the Guru, his mentor, his Pir and his Murshad Hz Syed Waris Shah. He is now full time devoted to propagate the thought of Waris Shah. Baba Sadiq relates the history of the event in following words.

I was serving as a manager of the Habib Bank Ltd. Railway Station Brach when somebody told me there was a Heer recital at Free Mason’s Hall on the Mall. I went there and it was my first listening to a Heer recital. I was so enthralled by the melody that I fell in love with the world of Heer poetry and its creator Baba Syed Waris Shah.

Baba Sadiq on doorsteps of Hujra where his Murshid comiled the classical love legend of Punjab

To find my Murshid I visited Jandiala Sher Khan (JSK) for the first time in 1975. I saw the mazar of Baba Ji in a pathetic condition. There were hardly 200 or so persons attending the Urs, the mazar had just a dilapidated boundary wall and the unmarked graves of Baba Ji, his brother and father. At that moment I wished and prayed that mausoleum befitting the persona of this great bard of the Punjabi poetry be built, so I contacted the then Chief Secretary Punjab late B.A. Qureshi. Mr. Qureshi himself was a man of great literary taste; he assured me his full support. A committee was formed of which I too was a member. The Chief Minister Punjab Mr. Hanif Ramay a superb writer of Urdu himself and a lover of Punjabi poetry too rendered his full support to us but the main conduit to get funds for our project was Mr. B.A. Qureshi.

Mr. Hanif Ramay then allocated funds for the mausoleum. Thus construction of the final abode of Baba Ji was started and it was completed in 1978. It was at this time that the idea struck my mind that a true image of Baba Ji be traced and this should be available to lovers of Punjabi poetry. There was a painted image of Baba Ji which was in a highly worn out condition. I took this image to photographer S.M. Khalid who is an expert in preparing true replication of old images.

I asked Baba Sadiq what was the source of this sketch and how much authentic it could be.

Bab Sadiq replied:

In 1970 one Malik Afzal, a publisher of Lahore issued special edition of a local magazine. This mag had three sketches of Baba Syed Waris Shah, namely:-

1. Syed Waris Shah in the eyes of Western Punjab
2. Waris Shah as seen in the Eastern Punjab
3. Waris Shah as seen by the common man

I shared the 3 pics of Syed Waris Shah with S.M. Khalid and one that we thought could truly represent the person of Waris Shah was taken as a standard after a further probing had been made on its veracity and its similarity or exactness to how the great Punjabi poet looked like in his actual life.

To proceed further with my endeavor to find a verified description of Baba Waris Shah’s real life like image, I visited Malka Hans (It was here in Malka Hans where in a hujra of a mosque Waris had compiled his Heer Waris Shah), where one Baba Chiragh Din who was then 114 years old and was one time Imam of the mosque where Waris Shah had completed his epic poem. Baba Chiragh told me that his grand grand father was a contemporary of Syed Waris Shah and whatever he had learnt from his father (as was trnsferred from generation to generation) was most authentic and therefore reliable. The description of the life like image of Syed Waris Shah was then compared with one of the three images we got from Malik Afzal’s publication and the one which we found most similar to Baba Chiragh’s description was selected by me and the photographer Khalid, as final and authentic photo of Hz Syed Waris Shah. This very image is now taken as an officially recognized and undisputed image of Hz Syed Waris Shah.

Later, said Baba Sadiq: I set up a cultural centre “Jehan-e-Waris". This Centre was initially started to organize Heer reciting competitions. The first one of its type was held in 1978 which was won by one Nazeer Maseeh (a Christian by faith but a superb singer of Bhairween style of Heer recital). Now his son Suhail Maseeh, too is a good singer of Heer. Another member of Christian community who also has won the competition of Heer singing, is Liaquat Maseeh who recites Heer simultaneously on harmonium. (Liaquat Maseeh also sang Heer on Waris Shah Evening at Alhamra Cultural Complex).

In 1999, continued Baba Sadiq, I started the Centre of Spiritual Science, at the same place (Babu Sabu Estate near Sabza-zar, Lahore). Adjacent to the Centre, is a small beautiful Library, a free dispensary and a mosque. Every year, a competition is held in the last week of July and winners are awarded prizes by Baba Sadiq. And all these activities are but an humble tribute to my mentor, my Murshid, with whose blessings am rendering these services to humanity as much as I can. Baba Sadiq ended his coverage with a piece of his mentor:-

Chalo waastay Rabb de nal meray

Qadam ghatyan Faqar de houn khaireen

Waris Shah Mian tera Ilm hoya

Mash-hoor wich Jinn te Inss Taireen

In the Name of thy Lord,

Step along with me

For these steps of noble Thought

will lead all Good to thee,

Waris's knowkedge going get famous

Among Men, Bird and Genie

* Though I very much wished to put up recordings of Heer recitals at Alhamra Cultural Complex but I regret none was done at all. Instead I have  uploaded a Youtube video from a gathering in Faisalabad. If you like Heer in Bhairween, it's a good recital. Listen and you will like it.

* Want to offer comments on this post, click Comments tab following this line.

Heer of Waris Shah: The Musical Renderings

HEER OF WARIS SHAH: THE MUSICAL RENDERINGS

by Nayyar Hashmey

The influence of the Heer Ranjha, the love story in pre-modern Punjabi secular literature is unrivalled. Even in contemporary Punjab the story continues to enjoy enormous popularity.

Waris Shah’s Heer is most brilliant rendering of Punjab’s love legend. It’s a classical poem which puts Punjab’s poetry at par with that of world’s most read literature. Heer has been transliterated into many languages and the legend has thus reached almost every corner of the world.

A strong ethos of love has made this legend as much famous as Laila Majnoon, Shirin Farhad and Romeo Juliet, however, one aspect which distinguishes Heer Ranjha from other love stories is that it goes much deeper into the soul of Punjab. Its not only a love story, its poetical rendition by Waris Shah has made the book a sort of bible for the bulk of Punjabi folk. No Englishman will sing Romeo Juliet in their cultural forums; neither would they quote words of wisdom from the legend. From Heer Waris Shah, on the other hand one can find so many quotations in form of verses and these are not just piece of verses, these are pieces of wisdom, wisdom which has got universal validity because these are based on the very psyche of human being.

To the population in Punjab the special appeal of Heer’s rendition, its folkish style is the mellowness, the pitch in the melody, so that people listen to the lilting melody of Heer for hours and still their urge to continue listening remains unabated.

This influence of this particular rendition of Heer’s story by Waris has been so tremendous that even after so many centuries, the particular style of singing Heer persists today. I have been listening to Waris Shah’s Heer since my childhood. Many singers excelled in singing Heer, but some Pakistani singers like Ghulam Ali and some other who are quite unknown have given such a colour to Heer’s traditional rendition that they appeal to me like none else.

While talking of masterpieces in literature like Homer’s Odyssey, Shakespeare’s Romeo and Juliet or say the Ruba’iyat of Omer Khayyam, every piece in itself carries the resonance, the typical charm of writer’s country, his language and the very specific cultural milieu in which the writer finds the theme around which he then weaves his work. When such masterpieces are transliterated in other languages, it turns the previous local stint of the writer and his work to acquire international dimensions; it becomes a piece of world literature, a recognition which brings fame to country, the language and above all to writer himself.

Seen in this context, Heer Waris Shah in Punjab can easily be counted as masterpiece in world literature. In 1977 a subsidiary company of New York Times chain of newspapers published anew some stories and legends from world literature. The collection did not reproduce the complete legend but made a reference to ‘The Legend of the Punjab’ by Sir Richard Temple. The reference and the commentary over this love legend aroused so much interest in world literary circles, that it was put at par with world’s great love stories.

Simultaneously much interest arose about the writer too. Who was this writer? In a previous post, Umair Ghani of WOP sent us his piece Ishq da Waris, Waris Shah and as a sequel to that post, this piece is being inserted here as a tribute to genius of Punjab’s soul, the great and most loved, most sung poet of Punjab.

While rediscovering the life and times of Waris Shah, Umair Ghani went to the birth place of that bard of Punjabi Poetry and filed:

About 34 KM from Lahore while driving on Lahore Faisalabad (formerly Lyallpur) Road comes the district headquarter Sheikhupura, known for its fort and Hiran Minar, both described to have been constructed on orders of the Mughal Emperor Jehangir. From Sheikhupura, we take a turn to Hafizabad. Hardly at a distance of 14 KM is the town of Jandiala Sher Khan. This small town was destined to be blessed by Allah Almighty to become the birthplace of Waris Shah. Its here at Jandiala Sher Khan that the great Bard of Punjabi poetry was born in 1706 (the date is approximate as no definite record on his birth record exists). From 23rd to 25th of July three days’ celebrations are held at Jandiala. This year too the 210th anniversary of the great poet of Punjab was observed with full solemnity and devotion. Waris’s fans, devotees and Heer singers not only from Jandiala, but from whole of Punjab, Punjab that starts from Obaro town in Sindh to Attock bridge on the NWFP border, from Rakhni in Balochistan to Kohala in Kashmir and then beyond the border at Wahga, from Amritsar to Delhi, from all over the world, thronged the mausoleum - a testimony that wherever does a Punjabi live, lives Waris Shah in his heart and soul.

Waris a bulwark of Punjabi poetry, expressed his lif, his past and present, whatever ups and downs did he face, did he experience, his own personal analysis of human mind, its weaknesses, its strengths, its good and bad deeds, jealousy, treachery, pride and prejudice all what he experienced on his persona, he beautifully transferred all this into his masterpiece. The force of Waris Shah’s rendition is such that he starts his poem with love and ends also with love.

The poetry of Heer is full of ethos, more than any other poet. If one reads Waris by going deep into his poetry, one gets choked with emotions as the reader finds himself in the same mood, same feeling and same remorse which Waris Shah felt during his own life time, a legacy that abounds and persists in mind of every Punjabi even today.

(In 1974 Govt. of Punjab constituted Waris Memorial Committee and in 1983 a complex was raised to pay homage to this great Doyen of Punjabi poet. The complex is spread over an area of 8 acres & is being run by Information and Cultural Deptt. The annual Urs is celebrated under the aegis of the Punjab Art Council, the City Distt. Govt. Sheikhupura and the Town administration of Jandiala Sher Khan)

Nota bene:


I have added three videos on rendition of Heer by different artists.The first one is by Ghulam Ali, the maestro sings Heer in this video in his peculiar mellifluous voice and appears to have done full justice to the art of Heer recital.


- The second is rendition of Heer Waris Shah by a Saien (wandering mystic, dervish or devotee of a saint). The masterly singing by this unknown saien is so perfect one would hardly believe it has been sung by a non professional.


- The third one is an old documentary (encore) on brief recording of Heer recital by different Pakistani artists.


(In case of weak net signals, videos may take a good time to load. Please don’t blame me for that. In such a case first run the video as a load up test and then replay. In second effort the video will continue running without a jerk or break).
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Folk Tales of Pakistan - Heer Ranjha

Hz Syed Waris Shah

STRINGING THE PEARLS IN A TWINE OF “MUNJ”

by Mast Qalandar

Dear readers, here is another post on that great folk tale of Punjab. It already appeared in Adil Najam’s blog. Even then I reproduce this for you, as I think Mast Qalandar is a guy who has done full justice to this leading Sufi poet of Punjab, when he details this ever living legend in a very lucid, very absorbing style, especially as a writer who is not a native of Punjab. I myself would never have cast an iota of a doubt over his being not a native of Punjab until he divulged it himself in this very write up.