''Heer Ranjha'' (or ''Heer and Ranjha''; pnb, , ਹੀਰ ਰਾਂਝਾ ) is one of the four popular tragic romances of the Punjab. The other three are '' Mirza Sahiban'', '' Sohni Mahiwal'' and ''

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 ...

''. 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 Jamshaid
The epic of Heer Ranjha, research paper on epic poem written by Waris Shah in 1766 on Academy of the Punjab in North America website
Retrieved 14 November 2020

History

''Heer Ranjha'' was written by many poets.

Damodar Gulati Damodar Gulati ( Punjabi: ਦਮੋਦਰ ਦਾਸ ਅਰੋੜਾ, ) also known as Damodar Das Arora (1605-1656), was a Punjabi poet. He hailed from Jhang. He lived during the reign of Mughal king Akbar. He wrote the '' qissa'' '' Heer and Ranjh ...

, 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 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 ...

also used story in his "

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 ...

" (poetry). Some historian say this story came from Persia and others claimed the word Heer was inspired by Greek goddess

Hera In ancient Greek religion, Hera (; grc-gre, Ἥρα, Hḗrā; grc, Ἥρη, Hḗrē, label=none in Ionic and Homeric Greek) is the goddess of marriage, women and family, and the protector of women during childbirth. In Greek mythology, she ...

. Some historians say that the story was the original work of Waris Shah, others say that Heer and Ranjha were real personalities who lived under the Lodi dynasty of the 15th and 16th century and that Waris Shah later utilized these personalities for his novel that he wrote in 1766. Waris Shah states that the story has a deeper meaning, referring to the unrelenting quest that man has towards God.

Plot

Heer (Izzat Bibi) was an extremely beautiful woman, born into a wealthy

Muslim Muslims ( ar, المسلمون, , ) are people who adhere to Islam, a monotheistic religion belonging to the Abrahamic tradition. They consider the Quran, the foundational religious text of Islam, to be the verbatim word of the God of Abrah ...

family of

Jats The Jat people ((), ()) are a traditionally agricultural community in Northern India and Pakistan. Originally pastoralists in the lower Indus river-valley of Sindh, Jats migrated north into the Punjab region in late medieval times, and subse ...

from the

Sial tribe The Sial tribe (also written as Siyal, Syal, Sayal, Seyal) is a Rajput resistance to Muslim conquests, Rajput tribe in the Punjab region of the Indian subcontinent. There is also branch of Jatt originating predominantly from the Jhang District o ...

and Dheedo Ranjha of the Ranjha tribe of

Jatts The Jat people ((), ()) are a traditionally agricultural community in Northern India and Pakistan. Originally pastoralism, pastoralists in the lower Indus river-valley of Sindh, Jats migrated north into the Punjab region in late medieval time ...

, is the youngest of four brothers and lives in the village of

Takht Hazara Takhat Hazara (Old Name Khajjiyan Wala) is a town (Village) Near River Chanab. (Distance 2 km) in the Sargodha District of Punjab, Pakistan. When the Mughal King came to this place, he liked to stay here. His throne was set here. This place h ...

by the river Chenab in Punjab. Being his father's favourite son, unlike his brothers who had to toil in the lands, he led a life of ease, playing the flute ('Wanjhli'/'

Bansuri A bansuri is an ancient side blown flute originating from the Indian subcontinent. It is an aerophone produced from bamboo and metal like material used in Hindustani classical music. It is referred to as ''nadi'' and ''tunava'' in the ''Ri ...

'). After the death of Ranjha's father, Mauju Chaudhry, Ranjha has a quarrel with his brothers over land, and leaves home. In Waris Shah's version of the epic, Ranjha leaves home because his brothers' wives refused to give and serve him food. Eventually he arrives in Heer's village and falls in love with her. Heer's father offers Ranjha a job herding his cattle. Heer becomes mesmerized by the way Ranjha plays his flute and eventually falls in love with him. They meet each other secretly for many years until they are caught by Heer's jealous uncle, Kaido, and her parents Chuchak and Malki. Heer is forced by her family and the local priest or ' Maulvi' to marry another man named Saida Khera. Ranjha is left heartbroken. He wanders the countryside alone, until eventually he meets a Shaiva Jogi (ascetic). After meeting

Gorakhnath Gorakhnath (also known as Goraksanath, c. early 11th century) was a Hindu yogi, saint who was the influential founder of the Nath Hindu monastic movement in India He is considered one of the two notable disciples of Matsyendranath. His follower ...

, the founder of the "Kanphata" (pierced ear) sect of jogis at Tilla Jogian (the 'Hill of Ascetics', located 80 kilometres north of the historic town of Bhera,

Sargodha District Sargodha District ( Punjabi and ur, ), is a district of Punjab, Pakistan. The capital of the district is Sargodha. It is an agricultural district, wheat, rice, and sugarcane along with Kinno being its main crops. The Sargodha district and re ...

, Punjab), Ranjha becomes a jogi himself, piercing his ears and renouncing the material world. While reciting the name of the Lord, he wanders all over Punjab, eventually finding the village where Heer now lives. The two return to Heer's village, where Heer's parents agree to their marriage - though some versions of the story state that the parents' agreement is only a deception. On the wedding day, Kaido poisons her food so that the wedding will not take place, in order to punish the girl for her behaviour. Hearing this news, Ranjha rushes to aid Heer, but is too late, as she has already eaten the poison and has died. Brokenhearted once again, Ranjha eats the remaining poisoned food and dies by her side. Heer and Ranjha are buried in Heer's hometown, Jhang. Love-smitten couples and others often pay visits to their mausoleum.

Legacy and influence

''Heer Ranjha'' is part of the '' Qissa'' genre of tragic love stories, along with tales such as ''

Laila Majnu ''Layla & Majnun'' ( ar, مجنون ليلى ; Layla's Mad Lover) is an old story of Arab origin, about the 7th-century Bedouin poet Qays ibn al-Mulawwah and his ladylove Layla bint Mahdi (later known as Layla al-Aamiriya). "The Layla ...

'' and '' Sassui Punnhun''. Because its plot involves a romance opposed by family members and ends with the two lovers dying, the story is often compared to the Shakespeare play ''

Romeo and Juliet ''Romeo and Juliet'' is a Shakespearean tragedy, tragedy written by William Shakespeare early in his career about the romance between two Italian youths from feuding families. It was among Shakespeare's most popular plays during his lifetim ...

''.

In popular culture

The epic poem has been made into several feature films between 1928 and 2013. Sulochana and Dinshaw Billimoria in the movie Heer Ranjha

In 2013, the television serial '' Heer Ranjha'', directed by Shahid Zahoor and produced by

Yousuf Salahuddin Yusuf ( ar, يوسف ') is a male name of Arabic origin meaning "God increases" (in piety, power and influence).From the Hebrew יהוה להוסיף ''YHWH Lhosif'' meaning "YHWH will increase/add". It is the Arabic equivalent of the Hebrew name ...

, aired on PTV Home. ''Heer Ranjha'' is a 2020 Indian

Punjabi Punjabi, or Panjabi, most often refers to: * Something of, from, or related to Punjab, a region in India and Pakistan * Punjabi language * Punjabi people * Punjabi dialects and languages Punjabi may also refer to: * Punjabi (horse), a British Th ...

-language period drama television series starring Amaninder Pal Singh and Sara Gurpal in the lead roles. It aired on Zee Punjabi and is based on the folktale of Heer and Ranjha.

In music

Bally Jagpal British musician has a song dedicated to their story. ‘RANJHA’ (sad love song). The British musician Panjabi MC references the tale of Heer and Ranjha in his 2003 song '' Jogi''. It has been sung by various Pakistani singers, including the classical/traditional artist Ghulam Ali. The tale is mentioned in popular Bollywood songs such as "Ranjha" by Rupesh Kumar Ram from the movie '' Queen'' ,"Ranjha Ranjha" by Rekha Bhardwaj and Javed Ali from the movie ''

Raavan Ravan, or Ravana(n), is the prime antagonist in the ancient Hindu epic ''Ramayana.'' Ravan, Raavan or Ravanan, may also refer to: Film and TV * ''Raavan'' (2022 film), Bengali action film * Ra.One, a 2011 Hindi-language film * Two Indian films si ...

'' and "Dariya" from the movie ''Baar Baar Dekho''. The names of Heer and Ranjha have been referred in the song lyrics of "One Love: The Taj Anthem" by

A.R. Rahman Allah Rakha Rahman (; born A. S. Dileep Kumar; 6 January 1967) is an Indian music composer, record producer, singer and songwriter, popular for his works in Indian cinema; predominantly in Tamil and Hindi films, with occasional forays in int ...

. Alam Lohar is renowned for reciting Heer in various styles and one of the first international folk singers to bring this story in a song format. The song ''Khaireyan De Naal'' from Shafqat Amanat Ali's debut solo album, '' Tabeer'' (2008), tells the tale of Heer Ranjha. One of the songs of 2012 Hindi film ''

Jab Tak Hai Jaan ''Jab Tak Hai Jaan'' (), also simply known as ''JTHJ'', is a 2012 Cinema of India, Indian Bollywood, Hindi-Hindi, language romantic drama film directed by Yash Chopra and written and produced by his son Aditya Chopra under their banner Yash Ra ...

'' has been named "Heer". Also, the 2018 Hindi film ''

Race 3 ''Race 3 ''is a 2018 Indian Hindi-language action crime film directed by Remo D'Souza and Written by Kiran Kotrial and Shiraz Ahmed, produced under Tips Industries and Salman Khan Films. The film features Salman Khan, Anil Kapoor, Bobby Deol, ...

'' has a song named "Heeriye" which refers to Heer and Ranjha. In 2020, popular Indian YouTuber Bhuvan Bam wrote and sang "Heer Ranjha". The song depicts the brutal customs of society in the Indian subcontinent and has garnered more than 10 million views.

Gallery

File:Marriage procession of Heer by a Lahori artist.jpg, Marriage procession of Heer by a Lahori artist File:Heer Ranjha and Qaido. Gujjar Singh Saudagar Kutubfrosh. Amritsar. c 1875.jpg, Heer Ranjha and Qaido. Gujjar Singh Saudagar Kutubfrosh. Amritsar. ca.1875 File:Heer Ranjha- Two Women, Jodhpur school, watercolor, Tokyo National Museum.JPG, Heer Ranjha - Two Women, Jodhpur school, watercolor, Tokyo National Museum.

References

External links

Documentary on Heer Ranjha Kamran Saqi
Documentary Film on Heer Ranjha Produced by Kamran Saqi - Royal News
Read Online Heer Waris Shah By Peeran Dita Targarh
in Urdu language.
Complete Heer Waris Shah
in Shahmukhi language.
Qissa Heer Waris Shah
in Unicode Punjabi language.
Heer Ranjha Story by Bilal Zuberi Late
{{DEFAULTSORT:Heer Ranjha Punjabi culture Punjabi folklore Punjabi literature Sufi literature 1766 novels Literary duos Tragedies (dramas) Indian folklore Indian literature Love stories Pakistani folklore Pakistani literature