Heer Ranjha[a] (Punjabi:[ɦiɾɾaːnd͡ʒ(ʱ)aː]) is a classical Punjabi folktragedy with many historic poetic narrations;[2] with the first one penned by Damodar Gulati in 1600s, on the preexisting oral legend; and the most famous one, Heer, written by Waris Shah in 1766, in the form of an epic. Set in Takht Hazara and Tilla Jogian, it follows the story of love, forced separation, and eventual simultaneous demise of two youths in the Punjabi countryside.[3]
Heer Ranjha has been written by a number of poets. The earliest known Punjabi version was composed by Damodar Gulati in the early 17th century during the reign of Akbar. According to Radha Kapuria, Gulati penned his version of the tale in 1605.[9] He claimed to be its eyewitness, likely as a poetic trope. However, the tale itself had been well known in Punjab for centuries and Damodar was not the first one to narrate it. His contemporaries Shah Hussain (1538 – 1599) and Bhai Gurdas (1551 – 1636) both have alluded to it in their kafis and vars, respectively. The most well-known version is that of Waris Shah, re-narrated in 1766, in which he stated that the story has a deeper meaning, referring to the unrelenting quest that man has towards God.[10] Mansaram Munshi produced a version of Heer Ranjha in the form of an illustrated manuscript in 1744.[9] Damodar himself dates the events narrated to 1472 CE.[1]
The earliest known Persian version of Hīr was written between 1575 and 1579 by a Tajik poet Hayat Jan Baqi Kolabi. By the time of Waris Shah there were nine versions of Hīr extant in Persian, including among others, that of Mita Chenabi (1698) and Afarin Lahori (1730).[11] About twenty renditions of Hīr in Persian are known.[12] Earliest versions in Hindi (Braj) were narrated by Hari Das Haria (c. 1520s–50s), a member of Sikh Panth community, and Gang Bhatt (c. 1580s–90s), who was associated with the court of Akbar, and wrote a verse samvād in 1565.[13] There are over fifty renditions in Punjabi itself, other than that of Damodar and Waris Shah, from Hafiz Barkhurdar Ranjha, Fazal Shah Sayyad and Ahmad Yar.
Heer (Izzat Bibi) is an extremely beautiful woman, born into a wealthy family belonging to the Sial clan of Jats,[14] while Dheedo Ranjha, who is from the Ranjha clan of Jats,[15] is the youngest of four brothers and lives in the village of Takht Hazara by the Chenab river in rural Punjab.[16][17] Being his father's favourite son, unlike his brothers who have to toil in the lands, he leads a life of ease, playing the flute ('Wanjhli'/'Bansuri'). After the death of Ranjha's father, Mauju Chaudhry, Ranjha has a quarrel with his brothers over land, and leaves his home. In Waris Shah's version of the epic, Ranjha leaves home because his brothers' wives refused to serve him food.
Eventually he arrives in Heer's village and falls in love with her. Heer's father offers Ranjha a job of herding his cattle. Ranjha, routinely, plays his flute in the fields after work and Heer becomes mesmerized by it and eventually falls in love with him. They meet each other secretly for several years until they are caught by Heer's envious uncle, Kaido, and her parents Chuchak and Malki. Heer is forced by her family and the local priest (Maulvi) to marry another man named Saida Khera, belonging to the Khera clan.[3]
Ranjha is left heartbroken. He wanders the countryside alone, until he eventually meets a Jogi (ascetic). After meeting Gorakhnath, the legendary founder of the Kanphata (pierced ear) sect of Jogis at Tilla Jogian ("Hill of Ascetics"), 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 tale state that the parents' agreement is only a deception. On the wedding day, Kaido, Heer's uncle, poisons her food 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-laced food and has died. Brokenhearted once again, Ranjha eats the remaining poisoned food and dies by her side.
Ranjha holding Heer after she died, scene from the Heer Ranjha folktale, detail from 'Lovers and beloveds', painting by Chitarman II, ca.1735
Heer and Ranjha are buried in Heer's hometown, Jhang. Love-smitten couples and others often pay visit to their mausoleum.[3][18][19]
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.[21][22]
In popular culture
The epic poem has been made into several feature films and television adaptations since 1928:[23]
"Ranjha"[26] (2001) by British musician Bally Jagpal from his album "Untruly Yours" is a retelling of the Heer Ranjha story.
"Jogi"[27] (2003) by British musician Panjabi MC, featuring vocals by various Pakistani singers, including the classical/traditional artist Ghulam Ali, references the tale of Heer and Ranjha.
Ustadh Nusrat Fateh Ali Khan mentions Heer in his Qawwali Khooni Akhiyan alongside Sassui(-Punnhun), and Sohni (-Mahiwal); the folk lovers become parables for the seeker’s relationship with God — showing that true love is total, dangerous, and often fatal, but also the only path to union.
"Ranjha"[28] by Rupesh Kumar Ram from the movie Queen references the story.
↑Akhund, Abdul Hamid (1993). Bhitai, the Message of the Master: An Anthology of Commentaries on the Poetry of Shah Abdul Latif. Shah Abdul Latif Bhitshah Cultural Centre Committee. p.91. ISBN9789698100117. Numerous variants of Hir Ranjha exist not only in Panjabi, but also in Sindhi, Persian, and Balochi...
↑Ikram, Sheikh Mohamad (1955). The cultural heritage of Pakistan. [Karachi; New York]: Oxford University Press. p.151. There are five major folk romances [in Punjabi literature], Heer Ranjha, Sassi Punnu, Sohni Mahinwal, Mirza Sahiban, Puran Bhagat. Of these Heer Ranjha is the most popular romance...
↑Re-Thinking Punjab: The Construction of Siraiki Identity. Lahore: Research and Publication Centre: Hussain Ahmed Khan. 2004. p.130. ISBN978-9-69862-309-8.
↑Transition and Transformation in Varis Shah's Hir. Snell, Rupert (eds.). The Indian Narrative: Perspectives and Patterns. Otto Harrassowitz Verlag.: Shackle, Christopher. 1992. p.253. ISBN978-3-44703-241-4.
↑Ikram, Sheikh Mohamad (1955). The cultural heritage of Pakistan. [Karachi; New York]: Oxford University Press. pp.151–152.
↑Moretti, Franco (2006). The Novel: History, geography, and culture. Princeton University Press. p.603. ISBN978-0-691-04947-2. Retrieved 20 April 2022. Qissa in Arabic merely means "story," but in the Indian subcontinent it came to mean specifically a "verse-narrative telling the tragic story of two young people who love each other beyond discretion." Well-known examples of this genre are Laila-Majnu, Heer-Ranjha, Sassi-Punno, Soni-Mahiwal, and Yusuf-Zulekha (written roughly between the sixteenth and the eighteenth centuries)
Swynnerton, Charles (1903). "The Love Story of Hîr and Rânjha". Romantic Tales From Punjab. Westminster: Archibald Constable & Co. Ltd. pp.1–69.
Gill, Harjeet Singh (2003). Heer Ranjha and other legends of the Punjab. New Delhi: Harman Publishing House. pp.1–36. ISBN81-86622-60-8.
Further reading
Mir, Farina (2006). "Genre and Devotion in Punjabi Popular Narratives: Rethinking Cultural and Religious Syncretism". Comparative Studies in Society and History. 48 (3): 727–58. doi:10.1017/S0010417506000284.
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