WARIS SHAH
I implore Waris Shah, to speak from his
grave and add a new page to his book of love
Arise, O friend of the afflicted; arise and
see the state of Punjab,
Corpses strewn on fields and the Chenab
flowing with blood
I implore Waris Shah, to speak from his grave
and add a new page to his book of love
The flute that was turned to love is lost
and all have forgotten the ways of love
and humanity
I implore Waris Shah, to speak from his grave
and add a new page to his book of love
Blood has rained on the soil; the graves ooze
with blood, he princesses’ of love now weep
in graveyards.
Today all have become Quaidos*
thieves of love and beauty
Where can we find another one like Waris Shah
to write about this calamity?
Waris Shah! I implore you. Speak from your
grave and add a new page to your book of love
[*Quaido, a maternal uncle of Heer in "Heer Ranjha" the love epic written by Waris Shah, is the villain who betrays the lovers]
Amrita Pritam (1919-2005) was an Indian writer and poet, considered the first prominent Punjabi woman, poet, novelist, essayist, and the leading 20th- century poet of the Punjabi language with over 100 books to her name.
Her poignant poem, Aj Aakhaan Waris Shah Nu (Today I invoke Waris Shah)- is an elegy addressed to the 18th- century Punjabi poet, capturing her anguish over massacres during the Partition of India (1947). Waris Shah (1722-1798) was a Pubjabi Sufi poet, born in what is now Pakistani Pubjab.
He is best- known for his work Heer Ranjha, based on the traditional and tragic folk tale of Heer and her lover Ranjha, considered one of the quintessentia works of classical Punjabi literature.
He was a consummate artiste, deeply learned in Sufi and local cultural lore. His verse is a treasure- trove of Pubjabi phrases, idioms and imagery.
-–—————————————
|
