Punjabi Literature
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Punjabi Literature
Punjabi literature, specifically literary works written in the Punjabi language, is characteristic of the historical Punjab region of India and Pakistan and the Punjabi diaspora. The Punjabi language is written in several scripts, of which the Shahmukhi and Gurmukhī scripts are the most commonly used in Pakistan and India, respectively. History Early history Hindu Nath Yogis were the first poets to use Punjabi language in praise of God. They referred to God with various names such as "Alakh Nirajan" which are still prevalent in Punjabi vernacular. Medieval The Punjabi literary tradition is popularly seen to commence with Fariduddin Ganjshakar (1173–1266). whose Sufi poetry was compiled after his death in the ''Adi Granth''. Early modern period The ''Janamsakhis'', stories on the life and legend of Guru Nanak (1469–1539), are early examples of Punjabi prose literature. Guru Nanak himself composed Punjabi verse incorporating vocabulary from Sanskrit, Arabic, Persian, ...
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Punjabi Language
Punjabi (; ; , ), sometimes spelled Panjabi, is an Indo-Aryan language of the Punjab region of Pakistan and India. It has approximately 113 million native speakers. Punjabi is the most widely-spoken first language in Pakistan, with 80.5 million native speakers as per the 2017 census, and the 11th most widely-spoken in India, with 31.1 million native speakers, as per the 2011 census. The language is spoken among a significant overseas diaspora, particularly in Canada, the United States, and the United Kingdom. In Pakistan, Punjabi is written using the Shahmukhi alphabet, based on the Perso-Arabic script; in India, it is written using the Gurmukhi alphabet, based on the Indic scripts. Punjabi is unusual among the Indo-Aryan languages and the broader Indo-European language family in its usage of lexical tone. History Etymology The word ''Punjabi'' (sometimes spelled ''Panjabi'') has been derived from the word ''Panj-āb'', Persian for 'Five Waters', referring to the ...
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Shah Hussain
Shah Hussain ( pa, ; ; 1538–1599), also known as Madhoo Lal Hussain, was a 16th-century Punjabi Muslim Sufi poet who is regarded as a pioneer of the Kafi form of Punjabi poetry. He lived during the ruling periods of Mughal emperors Akbar and his son Jahangir. Name Shah Hussain is also often known as Shah Hussain Faqir - ''Faqir'' meaning ''Dervish'' (mendicant) and ''Shah'' means ''King''. So due to his extremely humble Sufi personality, people called him ''The Dervish King'', a person who was a King and a Dervish at the same time. He was born in 945 AH (1538) within the Walled City of Lahore in what is now Punjab, Pakistan. His father was Sheikh Usman, he was a Dhudhi Rajput (a clan of Rajput), and by occupation, he was a weaver (in some of Shah Hussain poetic rhymes he used his pen name as Faqir Hussain Julaha which means "Saint Hussain the weaver"), his father, in his early age, enrolled him in a local school where he started to memorize the Quran. His teacher was Haf ...
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Vaar
The var, in Punjabi poetry, is a heroic ode or ballad which generally narrates legend such as stories of Punjabi folk heroes or a historical event.''The Encyclopaedia of Indian Literature (Volume One - A to Devo)''. Amaresh Datta, ed. Sahitya Akademi: 2006, 352. Examples of the former including ballads narrating the feats of Dulla Bhatti Raja Rasalu, whereas examples of the latter might include Amir Khusrau's Var for Ghiyath Al Din Tughlaq who took the throne of Delhi in 1320 and Najabat's ''Nadar Shah Di Var'' which describes the invasion of India by Nadir Shah in 1739. The Var has also been used to evoke the mood of devotion or sacrifice, as in Guru Gobind Singh's '' Chandi di Var'', or to narrate the mystical experience of a Pir, Bhagat or Guru. See also * Dhadi (music) * Raga * Asa di Var * Chandi di Var * Varan Bhai Gurdas Varan Bhai Gurdas (Gurmukhi: ਵਾਰਾਂ ਭਾਈ ਗੁਰਦਾਸ ''vārāṁ bhā'ī guradāsa'') is the name given to the 40 vars (a form ...
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Qadaryar
Qadir Yar (1802–1892), born Qadar Baksh, was a Muslim Sandhu Jatt and a poet of the Punjabi language. Born in Gujranwala, he wrote Punjabi Qissa like ''Qissa Purana Bhagat'', ''Raja Rasal''. Life Qadir Yar was born in the village Machhike, in Gujranwala District in Punjab (now in Pakistan) during the rule of the Sikh Empire. He belonged to an agriculturalist family and was Sandhu by caste. The details of his life are not available, except that he received his education at the village mosque. He was the court poet of the Lahore Sikh Darbar, during the reign of Ranjit Singh, Maharaja Ranjit Singh. Works Qadir Yar started his literary career with ''Mehraj Nama'' (1832), the longest poem composed by him and containing 1014 couplets. The poem gives a fictional account of Muhammad's journey through the seven skies. It tells the story of Puran Bhagat. His other significant works include ''Qissa Sohni Mahinwal'', ''Hari Singh Nalwa Di Var'', and ''Var Rani Kokilan''. Further re ...
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Sassi Punnun
Sassi Punnuh or Sassui Punhun ( sd, سَسُئيِ پُنهوُن) is a love story from Punjabi, Sindhi, and Balochi folklore. The story is about a faithful lover who will endure any difficulty while seeking her beloved husband who was separated from her by rivals. The story also appears in Shah Jo Risalo and forms part of seven popular tragic romances from Sindh, Pakistan. The other six tales are ''Umar Marvi'', '' Sohni Mehar'', '' Lilan Chanesar'', ''Noori Jam Tamachi'', ''Sorath Rai Diyach'', and ''Momal Rano'' commonly known as the Seven Queens of Sindh, or the Seven heroines of Shah Abdul Latif Bhittai. Punnu Mir Punnhun Khan (Mir Dostein) was the son of Mir Aalii or Ari, a baloch king of Kech, Balochistan. Sassi Sassi was the daughter of the Raja of Bhambore in Sindh (now in Pakistan). Upon Sassi's birth, astrologers predicted that she was a bane on the royal family's honour. The Raja ordered that the child be put in a wooden box and thrown in the Sindhu. A washerm ...
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Mirza Sahiba
''Mirza Sahiban'' ( pa, ਮਿਰਜ਼ਾ ਸਾਹਿਬਾਂ, , ') is one of the four popular tragic romances of the Punjab. The other three are ''Heer Ranjha'', ''Sohni Mahiwal'' and ''Sassi Punnun''. There are five other popular folklore stories in Punjab: ''Momal Rano'', ''Umar Marvi'', ''LiLa Chanesar'', ''Noori Jam Tamachi'' and ''Sorath Rai Diyach''. These nine tragic romances are popular in Punjab. The popular story was written by Pilu. Mirza and Sahiban were lovers who lived in Khewa ( Kheiwa), a town in Sial Territory in the Jhang District, which was Sahiban's ancestral village. They loved each other and ran away together to live with each other and marry against Sahiban's parents wishes. While eloping Mirza stopped under a jand tree and rested and fell asleep. Sahiban did not want to begin her new life with her brothers' bloodshed . She decided to break all the arrows of Mirza thinking she will beg her brothers for their acceptance so that nobody would get hur ...
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Sohni Mahiwal
Sohni Mahiwal or Suhni Mehar ( pa, , ਸੋਹਣੀ ਮਹੀਂਵਾਲ is one of the four popular tragic romances of Punjab including Sindh. In Sindh Sohni's shrine is in Shahdadpur Town of Sangar District. The others are Sassi Punnun, Mirza Sahiba, and Heer Ranjha. Sohni Mahiwal is a tragic love story which inverts the classical motif of Hero and Leander. The heroine Sohni, unhappily married to a man she despises, swims every night across the river using an earthenware pot to keep afloat in the water, to where her beloved Mehar herds buffaloes. One night her sister-in-law replaces the earthenware pot with a vessel of unbaked clay, which dissolves in water and she dies in the whirling waves of the river. The story also appears in Shah Jo Risalo and is one of seven popular tragic romances from Sindh. The other six tales are Umar Marui, Sassui Punhun, Lilan Chanesar, Noori Jam Tamachi, Sorath Rai Diyach and Momal Rano commonly known as ''Seven Heroines'' ( sd, ست سورم ...
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Waris Shah
Waris Shah ( pa, ; ; 1722–1798) was a Punjabi Sufi poet of the Chishti order, known for his contribution to Punjabi literature. He is primarily known as the author of ''Heer Ranjha'' . Background Waris Shah was born in Jandiala Sher Khan, Punjab, present-day Pakistan into a reputed Sayyid family and was a descendant of Sayyid Muhammad Al-Makki through his son Sayyid Badruddin. His father's name was Gulsher Shah and mother's name was Kamal Banu. Waris's parents are said to have died when he was young. Waris spent years in search of the perfect spiritual guide. Waris Shah acknowledged himself to be a disciple of an ustad from Kasur, namely Hafiz Ghulam Murtaza from whom he received his education. After completing his education, Waris moved to Malka Hans, a village twelve kilometres north of Pakpattan. Here he resided in a small room, adjacent to a historic mosque now called Masjid Waris Shah, until his death. Other poets later added their own verses in Qissa Waris Shah thr ...
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Heer Ranjha
''Heer Ranjha'' (or ''Heer and Ranjha'') ( pnb, , ਹੀਰ ਰਾਂਝਾ ) is one of several popular tragic romances of Punjab, other important ones being "Sohni Mahiwal", "Mirza Sahiban" and " Sassi Punnhun". There are several poetic narrations of the story, the most famous being ''Heer'' by Waris Shah written in 1766. It tells the story of the love between Heer Sial and Dheedo Ranjha.(Arif JamshaidThe epic of Heer Ranjha, research paper on epic poem written by Waris Shah in 1766 on Academy of the Punjab in North America websiteRetrieved 14 November 2020 History ''Heer Ranjha'' was written by many poets. Damodar Gulati, who also known as Damodar Das Arora, claims to be the eyewitness of this tale. His Qissa/story is deemed the oldest and the first Heer in Punjabi literature . He states in the poem that he is from Jhang—the home of Heer, one of the poem's two main characters. 16th century poet Shah Hussain also used story in his "Kafi" (poetry). Some historian said thi ...
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Punjabi Qissa
A Punjabi Qissa ( pa, (Shahmukhi), (Gurmukhi); plural: Qisse) is a tradition of Punjabi language oral story-telling that emerged in South Asia with the fusion of local Punjabi people and migrants from the Arabian peninsula and contemporary Iran. Where ''Qisse'' reflect an Islamic and/or Persian heritage of transmitting popular tales of love, valour, honour and moral integrity amongst Muslims, they matured out of the bounds of religion into a more secular form when it reached India and added the existing pre-Islamic Punjabi culture and folklore to its entity. Etymology The word ''Qissa'' (pronounced ) is an Arabic word meaning "epic legend" or a "folk tale". It occurs as a regular common noun in Indo-Aryan languages like Punjabi, Bengali, Gujarati, Urdu and Hindi. If used informally, the word means an ‘''interesting tale''’ or ‘''fable''’. Qisse and the Punjabi culture The Punjabi language has a rich literature of , most of which are about love, passion, betrayal, sa ...
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Kafi
Kafi ( pa, ਕਾਫ਼ੀ (Gurmukhi), (Shahmukhi), Hindi: काफ़ी, Urdu: کافی, Sindhi:ڪافي) is a classical form of Sufi music mostly in the Siraiki, Punjabi and Sindhi languages and originating from the Punjab, and Sindh regions in the Indian subcontinent. Some well-known Kafi poets are Baba Farid, Bulleh Shah, Shah Hussain, Shah Abdul Latif Bhittai, Sachal Sarmast and Khwaja Ghulam Farid. This poetry style has also lent itself to the Kafi genre of singing, popular throughout South Asia, especially Pakistan, Bangladesh and India. Over the years, both Kafi poetry and its rendition have experienced rapid growth phases as various poets and vocalists added their own influences to the form, Tribute: The legendary maestro
by Shaikh Aziz,

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Ghazal
The ''ghazal'' ( ar, غَزَل, bn, গজল, Hindi-Urdu: /, fa, غزل, az, qəzəl, tr, gazel, tm, gazal, uz, gʻazal, gu, ગઝલ) is a form of amatory poem or ode, originating in Arabic poetry. A ghazal may be understood as a poetic expression of both the pain of loss or separation and the beauty of love in spite of that pain. The ghazal form is ancient, tracing its origins to 7th-century Arabic poetry. The ghazal spread into South Asia in the 12th century due to the influence of Sufi mystics and the courts of the new Islamic Sultanate, and is now most prominently a form of poetry of many languages of the Indian subcontinent and Turkey. A ghazal commonly consists of five to fifteen couplets, which are independent, but are linked – abstractly, in their theme; and more strictly in their poetic form. The structural requirements of the ghazal are similar in stringency to those of the Petrarchan sonnet. In style and content, due to its highly allusive nature, ...
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