Egale Eye

Tuesday, January 26, 2010

PUNJABI LITERATURE

Punjabi literature refers to literary works written in the Punjabi language particularly by peoples from the historical Punjab region of India and Pakistan including the Punjabi diaspora. The Punjabi language is written in several different scripts, of which the Shahmukhi, the Gurmukhī scripts are the most commonly used.
Early Punjabi Literature (c. 11-13th century)
Whereas the oldest Punjabi literature can be found in the fragments of writings of the 11th Nath yogis Gorakshanath and Charpatnahthe Punjabi literary tradition is generally conceived to commence with Fariduddin Ganjshakar (1173-1266).Farid's mostly spiritual and devotional verse were compiled after his death in the Adi Grant The Mughal and Sikh Periods (c. 16th century - 1849)
The Janamsakhis, stories on the the life and legend of Guru Nanak (1469-1539), are early examples of Punjabi prose literature. Nanak himself composed Punjabi verse incorporating vocabulary from Sanskrit, Arabic, Persian, and other Indic languages as characteristic of the Gurbani tradition. Sufi poetry developed under Shah Hussain (1538-1599), Sultan Bahu (1628-1691), Shah Sharaf (1640-1724), Ali Haider (1690-1785), and Bulleh Shah (1680-1757). In contrast to Persian poets who had preferred the ghazal for poetic expression, Punjabi Sufi poets tended to compose in the Kafi.
Punjabi Sufi poetry also influenced other Punjabi literary traditions particularly the Punjabi Qissa, a genre of romantic tragedy which also derived inspiration from Indic, Persian and Quranic sources. The Qissa of Heer Ranjha by Waris Shah (1706-1798) is among the most popular of Punjabi qisse. Other popular stories include Sohni Mahiwal by Fazal Shah, Mirza Sahiba by Hafiz Barkhudar (1658-1707), Sassi Punnun by Hashim Shah (1735?-1843?), and Qissa Puran Bhagat by Qadaryar (1802-1892).
Heroic ballads known as Vaar enjoy a rich oral tradition in Punjabi. Prominent examples of heroic or epic poetry include Guru Gobind Singh's in Chandi di Var (1666-1708). The semi-historical Nadir Shah Di Vaar by Najabat describes the invasion of India by Nadir Shah in 1739. The Jangnama of Shah Mohammad (1780-1862) recounts the First Anglo-Sikh War of 1854-56.
Modern Punjabi Literature (c. 1860-1947)
The Victorian novel, Elizabethean drama, free verse and Modernism entered Punjabi literature through the introduction of British education during colonial rule. The Punjabi novel developed through Nanak Singh (1897-1971) and Vir Singh. The novels, short stories and poetry of Amrita Pritam (1919-2005) highlighted, among other themes, the experience of women, and the Partition of India. Poetry began to explore more the experiences of the common man and the poor through the work of Puran Singh (1881-1931) whereas Dhani Ram Chatrik (1876-1957), Diwan Singh (1897-1944) and Ustad Daman (1911-1984) composed nationalist poetry during and after the Indian freedom movement. The Punjabi diaspora also produced poetry whose theme was revolt against British rule in Ghadar di Gunj ('Echoes of Mutiny'). Modernism was meanwhile introduced into Punjabi poetry through Prof. Mohan Singh (1905-78) and Shareef Kunjahi.
Post-Independence Literature (since 1947)
Among the more prominent Punjabi poets since 1947 are included Amrita Pritam, Shiv Kumar Batalvi (1936 –1973), Munir Niazi (1928–2006), Surjit Paatar (1944 - ) and Pash (1950-1988). Punjabi fiction and drama has continued to explore modernist and post-modernist themes including sexuality, gender dynamics and the experience of the common man through the works of Balwant Gargi (1916-2003), Kartar Duggal (1917- ), Ajit Cour (1934- ) and Dalip Kaur Tiwana (1935 - ). The rediscovery of Punjabi identity in Pakistan has been explored in the novels of Fakhar Zaman and Afzal Ahsan Randhawa. Literary criticism in Punjabi has also emerged through the writings of Shafqat Tanvir Mirza (b. 1932), Ahmad Salim, and Najm Hosain Syed (b. 1936).
Punjabi Diaspora literature has developed through writers in the United Kingdom, Canada, Australia, the United States as well as writers in Africa such as Ajaib Kamal (b. 1932) in Kenya. Some of the themes explored by diaspora writers include the cross-cultural experience of Punjabi migrants, racial discrimination, exclusion, and assimilation, the experience of women in the diaspora, and spirituality in the modern world. Second generation writers of Punjabi ancestry such as Rupinderpal Singh Dhillon (b. 1969) have explored the relationship between British Punjabis and their immigrant parents as well as experiment with surrealism, science-fiction and crime-fiction.

बाबा बुल्लेह शाह

Bulleh Shah is believed to have been born in 1680, in the small village of Uch, Bahawalpur, Punjab, now in Pakistan. [2]
When he was six months old, his parents relocated to Malakwal. There his father, Shah Muhammad Darwaish, was a preacher in the village mosque and a teacher. His father later got a job in Pandoke, about 50 miles southeast of Kasur. Bulleh Shah received his early schooling in Pandoke, and moved to Kasur for higher education. He also received education from Maulana Mohiyuddin. His spiritual teacher was the eminent Sufi saint, Shah Inayat Qadiri.
Little is known about Bulleh Shah's direct ancestors, except that they were migrants from Uzbekistan.[3] However, Bulleh Shah's family was directly descended from the Prophet Muhammad.[1]
[edit] Career
A large amount of what is known about Bulleh Shah comes through legends, and is subjective; to the point that there isn’t even agreement among historians concerning his precise date and place of birth. Some "facts" about his life have been pieced together from his own writings. Other "facts" seem to have been passed down through oral traditions.
Bulleh Shah practiced the Sufi tradition of Punjabi poetry established by poets like Shah Hussain (1538 – 1599), Sultan Bahu (1629 – 1691), and Shah Sharaf (1640 – 1724).
Bulleh Shah lived in the same period as the famous Sindhi Sufi poet , Shah Abdul Latif Bhatai (1689 – 1752). His lifespan also overlapped with the legendary Punjabi poet Waris Shah (1722 – 1798), of Heer Ranjha fame, and the famous Sindhi Sufi poet Abdul Wahad (1739 – 1829), better known by his pen-name, Sachal Sarmast (“truth seeking leader of the intoxicated ones”). Amongst Urdu poets, Bulleh Shah lived 400 miles away from Mir Taqi Mir (1723 – 1810) of Agra.
[edit] Poetry Style
The verse form Bulleh Shah primarily employed is called the Kafi, a style of Punjabi, Sindhi and Siraiki poetry used not only by the Sufis of Sindh and Punjab, but also by Sikh gurus.
Bulleh Shah’s poetry and philosophy strongly criticizes Islamic religious orthodoxy of his day.
[edit] A Beacon of Peace
Bulleh Shah's time was marked with communal strife between Muslims and Sikhs. But in that age Baba Bulleh Shah was a beacon of hope and peace for the citizens of Punjab. While Bulleh Shah was in Pandoke, Muslims killed a young Sikh man who was riding through their village in retaliation for murder of some Muslims by Sikhs. Baba Bulleh Shah denounced the murder of an innocent Sikh and was censured by the mullas and muftis of Pandoke. Bulleh Shah maintained that violence was not the answer to violence.Bulleh Shah also hailed Guru Tegh Bahadur as a ghazi (Islamic term for a religious warrior) and incurred the wrath of the fanatic muslims at the time.
[edit] Humanist
Bulleh Shah’s writings represent him as a humanist, someone providing solutions to the sociological problems of the world around him as he lives through it, describing the turbulence his motherland of Punjab is passing through, while concurrently searching for God. His poetry highlights his mystical spiritual voyage through the four stages of Sufism: Shariat (Path), Tariqat (Observance), Haqiqat (Truth) and Marfat (Union). The simplicity with which Bulleh Shah has been able to address the complex fundamental issues of life and humanity is a large part of his appeal. Thus, many people have put his kafis to music, from humble street-singers to renowned Sufi singers like the Waddali Brothers, Abida Parveen and Pathanay Khan, from the synthesized techno qawwali remixes of UK-based Asian artists to the rock band Junoon.
Bulleh Shah’s popularity stretches uniformly across Hindus, Sikhs and Muslims, to the point that much of the written material about this philosopher is from Hindu and Sikh authors.
[edit] Modern Renditions
In the 1990s Junoon, Asia's biggest rock band from Pakistan, rendered such poems as Aleph (Ilmon Bas Kareen O Yaar) and Bullah Ki Jaana. In 2004, Rabbi Shergill successfully performed the unlikely feat of turning the abstruse metaphysical poem Bullah Ki Jaana into a Rock/Fusion song, which became hugely popular in India and Pakistan.[4][5] The Wadali Bandhu, a Punjabi Sufi group from India, also released a version of Bullah Ki Jaana on their album Aa Mil Yaar...Call of the Beloved. Another version was performed by Lakhwinder Wadali titled simply Bullah. Bulleh Shah's verses have also been adapted and used in Bollywood film songs. Examples include the songs "Chaiyya Chaiyya" and Thayya Thayya in the 1998 film Dil Se. The 2007 Pakistani movie Khuda Kay Liye includes Bulleh Shah's poetry in the song Bandeya Ho. A 2008 film, 'A wednesday', had a song, "Bulle Shah, O yaar mere" in its soundtrack. In 2009, Episode One of Pakistan's Coke Studio Season 2 featured a collaboration between Sain Zahoor and Noori, "Aik Alif".
[edit] Death