Lilan Chanesarr ( sd, ليلا چنيسر) is a traditional story which dates back to the time of Jam Chanesar, one of the
Soomra rulers in the 14th century
Thatta
Thatta ( sd, ٺٽو; ) is a city in the Pakistani province of Sindh. Thatta was the medieval capital of Sindh, and served as the seat of power for three successive dynasties. Thatta's historic significance has yielded several monuments in and ...
,
Sindh
Sindh (; ; ur, , ; historically romanized as Sind) is one of the four provinces of Pakistan. Located in the southeastern region of the country, Sindh is the third-largest province of Pakistan by land area and the second-largest province ...
,
Pakistan
Pakistan ( ur, ), officially the Islamic Republic of Pakistan ( ur, , label=none), is a country in South Asia. It is the world's List of countries and dependencies by population, fifth-most populous country, with a population of almost 24 ...
. It has often been retold in
Sindhi and
Persian
Persian may refer to:
* People and things from Iran, historically called ''Persia'' in the English language
** Persians, the majority ethnic group in Iran, not to be conflated with the Iranic peoples
** Persian language, an Iranian language of the ...
.
Chanesar's wife, spoiled and pleasure loving Lilan, is enticed by another woman's necklace worth 900,000 rupees to allow former owner of necklace to spend one night with her husband. Furious that he had been 'sold' Chanesar divorces Lilan, who has to undergo a long process of purification until she is once more acceptable in her husband's presence.
The story also appears in
Shah Jo Risalo
''Shah Jo Risalo'' ( sd, شاھ جو رسالو) is a poetic compendium of famous Sindhi Sufi poet Shah Abdul Latif Bhittai. In fact, it is many compendia, for Shah Abdul Latif's poetry in various forms of bayt and wai was compiled by many of hi ...
and forms part of seven popular tragic romances from
Sindh
Sindh (; ; ur, , ; historically romanized as Sind) is one of the four provinces of Pakistan. Located in the southeastern region of the country, Sindh is the third-largest province of Pakistan by land area and the second-largest province ...
,
Pakistan
Pakistan ( ur, ), officially the Islamic Republic of Pakistan ( ur, , label=none), is a country in South Asia. It is the world's List of countries and dependencies by population, fifth-most populous country, with a population of almost 24 ...
, commonly known as "
the Seven Queens of Sindh
Seven Queens (Sindhi:ست سورميون, pronunciation (sat-a soor-myoon); meaning ''Seven heroic women'') is a name commonly referred to the seven female characters that appear in the poetry of the Sindhi poet Shah Abdul Latif Bhittai in his boo ...
", or "the Seven heroines of
Shah Abdul Latif Bhittai
Shah Abdul Latif Bhittai ( sd, شاھ عبداللطيف ڀٽائي, ur, ; 1689/1690 – 21 December 1752), commonly known by the honorifics ''Lakhino Latif'', ''Latif Ghot'', ''Bhittai'', and ''Bhit Jo Shah'', was a Sindhi Sufi mystic, an ...
". The other six tales are ''
Umar Marvi
Umar Marvi or Marui ( sd, عمر مارئي, ur, ), is a folktale from Sindh, Pakistan about a village girl Marvi Maraich, who resists the overtures of a powerful King and the temptation to live in the palace as a queen, preferring to be in simpl ...
'', ''
Sassui Punnhun
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 ...
'', ''
Sohni Mehar
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 ...
'', ''
Noori Jam Tamachi
''Noori Jam Tamachi'' ( sd, نوري ڄام تماچي) is a famous tale of Prince Jam Tamachi's falling in love with the charming fisherwoman Noori. Noori makes Jam happy with her perfect surrender and obedience which causes him to raise her abo ...
'', ''
Sorath Rai Diyach
Sorath Rai Diyach ( sd, سورٺ راءِ ڏياچ) is one of the historical romantic tales from Sindh, Pakistan. The story also appears in Shah Jo Risalo and forms part of seven popular tragic romances from Sindh, Pakistan. The other six tales are ...
'' and ''
Momal Rano''.
Story
Raja Chanesar was a well known ruler of the
Soomra dynasty
The Soomra (or Soomro) dynasty (, '' lit.'' the family/dynasty of the Soomras) was a late medieval dynasty of Sindh, and at times adjacent regions, located in what is now Pakistan.
Sources
The only contemporary literary source remains the ' ...
, who ruled Deval Kot, an ancient city of
Sindh
Sindh (; ; ur, , ; historically romanized as Sind) is one of the four provinces of Pakistan. Located in the southeastern region of the country, Sindh is the third-largest province of Pakistan by land area and the second-largest province ...
near
Thatta
Thatta ( sd, ٺٽو; ) is a city in the Pakistani province of Sindh. Thatta was the medieval capital of Sindh, and served as the seat of power for three successive dynasties. Thatta's historic significance has yielded several monuments in and ...
,
Pakistan
Pakistan ( ur, ), officially the Islamic Republic of Pakistan ( ur, , label=none), is a country in South Asia. It is the world's List of countries and dependencies by population, fifth-most populous country, with a population of almost 24 ...
. He had a beautiful Queen Lilan, who was very fond of
diamonds
Diamond is a solid form of the element carbon with its atoms arranged in a crystal structure called diamond cubic. Another solid form of carbon known as graphite is the chemically stable form of carbon at room temperature and pressure, b ...
and
jewellery
Jewellery ( UK) or jewelry (U.S.) consists of decorative items worn for personal adornment, such as brooches, rings, necklaces, earrings, pendants, bracelets, and cufflinks. Jewellery may be attached to the body or the clothes. From a wester ...
.
Contemporary to him was Rao Khengar, who ruled
Lakhpat
Lakhpat is a sparsely populated town and sub-district in the Kachchh district in the Indian state of Gujarat located at the mouth of the Kori Creek. The town is enclosed by 7km-long, 18th-century fort walls.
Etymology
The town is named after ...
in
Kutchh, in
India
India, officially the Republic of India (Hindi: ), is a country in South Asia. It is the seventh-largest country by area, the second-most populous country, and the most populous democracy in the world. Bounded by the Indian Ocean on the so ...
. He had an only daughter Kaunru, who was very beautiful and engaged to her cousin Utmadi. Being the only daughter of Rana Khanghar and Mirkhi, too much love had spoiled her. She was proud of her beauty and was always worried about her looks.
One day her friend Jamni (Utmadi's sister) teased Kaunru about her attitude, saying she was behaving as if she would be the queen of Chanesar. Kaunru was hurt and told her mother that either she would have to marry Chanesar, or she would commit suicide. Her parents were alarmed, but they were aware that Chanaesar was married and loved his Queen Lila very much.
After consulting her husband, Mirkhi and Kaunru disguised themselves as
traders and left for Dewal. There they managed to consult Jakhiro, the king’s minister, and asked him to help them. He promised he would persuade Chanesar to marry Kaunru.
When Jakhiro spoke to Chanesar about Kaunru, the king lost his temper and told him that he should not talk like that in future. In Lila’s presence, he could not even think about any other woman. Jakhiro offered his apologies to Mirkhi and Kaunru and told them that there was no hope, and that it was therefore useless for them to try.
Kaunru and her mother put on ordinary dresses to disguise themselves and went to Lila’s palace. There they asked Lila to employ them in her service, as they had abandoned their country because of poverty. Lila felt sorry for them and employed them as personal servants. Kaunru was asked to arrange Chanesar’s bed every day. Time passed without any hope of success.
One day as Kaunru was preparing the bed for Chanesar, tears dropped from her eyes. Lila, who had entered the room unnoticed, saw Kaunru’s tears. She asked the reason for the tears. Kaunru told her that at one time she had also been a princess and had lived a luxurious life like her. She told her that instead of using lanterns and lamps she used to light her palace with ‘Naulakha Har’ (a necklace worth 900,000 rupees).
At first, Lila was hesitant to believe her but she soon became anxious to see that necklace. When Kaunru showed her, Lila asked her for what price she was prepared to part with it. Kanuru told Lila that she would give her necklace free to her but on one condition. Lila became impatient and asked for the condition. Kaunru told her that the necklace would be hers if she would just let her spend one night with Chanesar.
When Lila spoke to Chanesar he did not approve of her idea. One day, Chanesar came home after a party and was heavily drunk. Lila considered it her best opportunity and she allowed Kaunru into her bedroom.
In the morning when Chanesar woke up, he was shocked to see Kaunru instead of Lila sharing his bed. He was very angry and was about to leave the room, when Mirkhi (Kaunru’s mother) told him that Lila had sold him to Kaunru in return for the ‘Naulakha Har’. Chanesar considered it an insult and humiliation to be exchanged for a mere necklace.
As his revenge, he deserted Lila and married Kaunru who had given so much sacrifice for him. Lila tried to apologize, cried and begged but Chanesar refused to listen to her, saying that she had preferred jewelry to him and that he did not love her any more. Lila after giving up all hope left his house and went to her parents. There she spent her days in misery, solitude and repentance.
Jakhiro who was the minister of Chanesar was engaged to one of the girls from Lila's family. But they refused to give her hand to him after the fate of Lila. The minister approached Lila who intervened but asked him to bring Chanesar on his wedding, to which he happily agreed.
On the occasion of Jakhiro's wedding Chanesar came along with the bridegroom party. Lila with other girls welcomed the party with dancing and singing but her face was
veil
A veil is an article of clothing or hanging cloth that is intended to cover some part of the head or face, or an object of some significance. Veiling has a long history in European, Asian, and African societies. The practice has been prominent ...
ed. Chanesar was pleased at their performance and he was especially fascinated at the dancing and the voice of the one whose face was veiled. Chanesar begged the girl to unveil her face as he could not tolerate the situation any more. As soon as Lila opened her veil Chanesar fell down on the floor and died. When Lila saw this she also died.
Adaptation
The story of ''Lilan Chanesar'' was loosely adapted into a television series named ''
Mohabbat Tujhe Alvida
''Mohabbat Tujhe Alvida'' () is a Pakistani melodrama television series produced by Barkat Siddiqi and Zayed Sheikh. It stars Zahid Ahmed, Sonya Hussain, and Mansha Pasha in lead roles. The show is loosely based on the folk tale of Lila C ...
'' which premiered on
Hum TV in June 2019. It stars
Sonya Hussain
Sonya Hussyn Bukharee (born 15 July 1991) is a Pakistani actress and model. She made her acting debut with a supporting role in 2011 series ''Dareecha''. She has then appeared as main lead in several serials like '' Marasim'' (2014), ''Nikah' ...
,
Zahid Ahmed and
Mansha Pasha
Mansha Pasha (Urdu: منشاء پاشا; born October 19, 1987) is a Pakistani actress and television presenter. She is known for her supporting roles in several critically and commercially successful television series, including ''Shehr-e-Zaat'' ...
in lead roles. Earlier, it was said that the show is a copy of Bollywood movie
Judaai but Pasha denied and said that it is based on the folk tale of ''Lilan Chanesar''.
References
External links
Lila ChanesarSur LiLa Chanesar in Risalo{{portal, Novels
Love stories
Sindhi folklore
Pakistani literature
Pakistani folklore
Sindhi people
Literary duos
Shah Jo Risalo