I got your note on the book and will be very much interested in looking into it when time permits. I gather the publishers are in UK, if I am not mistaken. Any excerpts or links to their publication? If yes, please feel free to forward me.

Take Care.

Dear Javed, i only have a link to the article i read on 'Bol Punjab De' which is below:
http://www.tribuneindia.com/2003/20030308/ldh1.htm#9

Sadly, i dont have anymore information on it.

I agree with 'she jatt' that we need to 'live and let live'. Look all around the world and you can clearly see that religion is not the identity and culture of the masses, their ethnicity, language and historical background is.

As Punjabi's our identity IS PUNJABI before anything else. It is complete rubbish to suggest that Sikhs, Muslims, Hindus, etc cannot live together, share the same culture/identity or coexist with eachother. Is it really necessary to discuss religion as if that is all there is in regard to Punjab and Punjabiyat?

Religon is something you voluntarily commit yourself to and have faith in, being Punjabi is something we were born as and cannot change. So tell me how one can believe Punjabi's cannot coexist, given that we are of the same kind, and why a Mosque, Mandir, and Gurdwara cannot stand side-by-side? Yeah, Punjab has seen periods of major religious strife, but surely Punjabiyat is above that and is a much stronger uniting force than religion can be used as a dividing one. If this was not the case then there would have been nothing left of Punjabiyat after the rioting, mass exodus, and Punjab's partition in 1947.

I have no problem with athiests - but you have proved my point - you cannot co-exist with the non-athiests! I basically agree with Karl Marx when he states that religion is the opiate of the masses. But that is how the people chose to package and market it. Then the very people who followed his (Marx's)theory turned around and depended on the gun for solutions - inadvertantly defeating the need to throw the baby out with the water.

Like I said before, if people did not fight then the buildings will not, not will the scriptures, because they essentially agree. It is humans who chose to make laws and dogmas out of simple straightforward directions for living, according to their idiosyncracies. The guns or swords are harmless symbols until our egos and tempers run amuck. So looking at history it is all about ego and urge to control not about religion - even though people hide behind religion or the non-religion - the result is still the same - destruction until the time we recognise the need to live and let live.

I fully agree with you that these akhaan can do a lot to fill the gap between torned out punjabis. First I worked on Waris Shah and Mian MOhammad Bakhsh. It is very successful path which I discoved silently and it worked quite well. As two editions of each, Great Sufi Wisdom - Waris Shah and Great Sufi Wisdom - Mian Mohammad Bakhsh are sold out and now I am arranging to print their third editions. These books are in Punjabi and English and people liked them very much. Presently, I am working on the third book in this series of wisdom and this work is on our great folk akhans ( common proverbs. After the study on this subject I found one thing very interesting that our akhans are full of wisdom and that wisdom which has been lost in the rola gola of religious and sectarian voilence. We need to revive it.

Were there ever times when Punjabis were "sacrilegious"? Because, if you consider the archeological fact that Harrapan governors were priestly kings, the fact that Rig Vedas were compiled in Punjab, the fact that Taxila of all the places became a seat of Buddhism, and the fact that even an unmarked grave in far-flung corners of Punjab can draw large crowds of adherents point to deeply rooted culture of reverence. Or maybe we have different versions of history here.

Personally, I don’t believe the culture of reverence of commoners of Punjab is a problem here, but rather opportunism of the elites. This is the same clique who has always been quick at changing garbs. They exchanged their Pagg and Dhoti with Arabian Chugha and Headdress (whatever that's called) when the Arabs (and Muslims in general) were on the upswing and now are scrambling for ideologies of conveniences when Islam seems to be under fire.

Teray baHjoN barey dukh mahia
SanoN burfaN toN Chithi likh mahia
TuN Toronto da gubHroo Sikh mahia

Otahy vekh kay goriaN maimaN nooN
JudoN vajdey teray baraN neiN
Sadi kali raat da vujjay ik mahia

Kar ash tay sukh mahia
Pee bottle whisky de
Kha bukrey de mikh mahia

AveiN phitda e janna aeiN
Niri jan e na banaya kar
Thori koshti vee sikh mahia

2.0 Where Khushwant Singh’s logic fails is this. All languages evolve over time and as part of the natural process absorb words of other cultures, adapt words and invent words. In English for example the name Wendy was total invention of an author ( from Peter Pan), and has become part of the English lexicon. Shakespeare was always doing this, and Dr Samuel Johnson compiled the world’s first English dictionary mixing up the words of all regional influences to standard it. So on that basis Fasklas from English is natural from meeting Westerners, Piaz from meeting Persians and Mez from Urdu. These words filled a need. Invention of words also come from the imagination of the educated too. Latin and Greek have been married so many times to construct new words. So Punjabi is no different, absorbing the lexicon of all invading cultures. As for dealing with species, quite simply it is up to us to use traditional Punjabi or other languages that comfortably fit within the Punjabi tongue , to devise these words. Perhaps I am vain, but I have made this my task. I have no right to dictate new words merely suggest, and therefore hope to trigger off a debate where all of us between us deal with the classification of Species and other words.

3.0 Of course we can be defensive also. France has gone out of its way to protect its culture and lexicon, by making it illegal to use English words where French ones have not existed. It simply has invented its own. A famous example is that France refuses the word ‘Software’ and has created it’s own version to be used in written documents and books. We certainly must not forget the importance of ‘pure Punjabi’. Day by day Hindi, Urdu and English are replacing old Punjabi words. This is not acceptable. Adaptation of new words mean an alternative or an addition, not obliteration of perfectly functional Punjabi words. What must never change is the common Punjabi and basics. That would kill the language. The problem Punjabi has faced is that from Ranjit Singh onwards foreign languages have curried favour with the influential and powerful. So Punjabi words were lost to Urdu ones. Most of us Punjabis ( me included) can only speak the common tongue and are uneducated people. Only a handful, such as (Guru) Nanak and Shah Bullah have maintained high level literati status. Only since the introduction of the printing press and its political communicative needs in the last century have most of us began to learn to read and write. I speak brilliant basic Punjabi. But like many can not read or write and certainly have a small volcabury ( perhaps 600 Punjabi words). These are the basics. Every language has that much. In English it is a fact that the majority common population only have 400-600 words in their personal use ( mostly sentence constructing words at that). The highly educated have 2,000 words. And that is where Punjabi has fell, as only a few know the more rarer and high level words. Nouns are Punjabi’s biggest weakness, as any known high level nouns go out of use by the common man.

To challenge Khushwant Singh I first needed to learn to read and write so I could create my Species Book. The positive side has been I now can read Punjabi and write it. The negative side has been I have realised when reading Punjabi written by the Literati and press that us common Punjabis have extremely limited volcaburies. So I invested in a Punjabi dictionary which has been brilliant. But coming back to my project it lacks many words as well. So although in this section I have argued that we have to prevent our language from being overtaken by foreign influence, there is an argument to say that it can be positive too. English has become richer by adopting certain words. The idea is to adopt without losing the ‘ bread and butter’ of one’s mother language. As common Punjabis have enough words for this ( and those in Punjab itself definitely do) and Singers are helping keeping our language alive, there will never be a danger here.

4.0 Some languages offer alternatives to using the forcibly invasive ones such as English and naturally fit the phonetics of Punjabi. Others provide alternatives to prevent the balakbad problem. Spanish is the first category, and native American and other languages are in the second category. It has been argued why Punjabi must be defensive and why Species definition is a good project. Now the argument is why it is good to adopt words from other languages and the discussion of samples form my proposals.

5.0 Just because due to Hindi, Urdu and Persian ( Punjabi the word is actually Persian) have altered Punjabi does not make it unnatural or bad. For example Middle English is nothing like modern English. ( Forget Old English, that is to modern English what Sanskrit is to Urdu). Chaucer’s sentence “ When April shovers coombe asoote” was middle English. In modern English that would be "“When April showers arrive.” So it can be seen languages do change. Fact After Chauser French , and Latin and Anglo altered English. Fact Urdu, Hindi and English have done the same to some Punjabi. Being influenced or useful to add words is not ruining a language. It is enriching it. As argued above, the fundamentals of a language must never be changed.

6.0 Many of us common Punjabis would be hard pressed to name actual existing animal names beyond bhed, Ooth and Sher. This is strictly not true in Punjab. But the influence of names and words is important. Like American English developed separately from British English, it is a fact that Diaspora Punjabi has become its own Version of traditional Punjabi. It is Diaspora Punjabi that I am concerned with. Traditional Punjabi itself is changing. For example in India, Punjabi schools are now teaching the words Cheetera for Tiger. Punjabis from the old days who had immigrated to the west, remember Sher as being Tiger, and Babar Sher as Lion. In Modern day Punjab Sher has become Lion. Taxila Punjabi is challenging the regional variation like Dr Johnson did. Standardisation is good, but as has been seen Punjabi in the Diaspora will use different words. That is why a classification that is specific is required. It is not enough to call a big cat just Sher anymore. to add to the confusion older Punjabis in India call a Tiger a Cheetah. So below I discuss the animal names I propose.

7.0 Well known animals are Tiger ( Cheetah) citw, Peacock ( More) mOr, Butterfly ( Titlee) IqqlI, Crow ( kaan) kW and Frog (dadoo) f`dU. Note so well known animals include Crab ( kekrha) kykV, Flamingo ( baglaa) bglw, Cockroach ( tilchataa) iqlctw, Gorilla ( banmaanas) bnmwns and star fish( Tara Mucchee) qwrw m`CI. New to the lexicon , by my research ( and by this read it to mean I have adapted these ones) is Hummingbird ( Valeo) v`lya, Lobster ( Langosta{Jeenga}) lw\gOsqw, Comodo Dragon ( Comodo Draache) komodo fRwCy and Meercat ( meerkat) mIrkq.

The above are a small sample. others I have adopted include Lanav Kaan , which is Cheerokee for Raven. Draache is the German word for Dragon and Langosta the Spanish for Lobster. Jeenga does exist in Punjabi for is used to describe all of them from Prawns to Lobsters, and I feel the adopted word should pretext it. Incidentally Ghambass is Spanish for Prawns , so Ghambass Jeenga sounds more Punjabi then using the word Prawn. I have also invented a handful of words such as lal Banmanhs for Orangu tan. The Banmanhs being a use of the word for Gorilla adapted. In the same way I suggest a Polor Bear Should be called Chittah Ricchch and a Koala bear Koala Balloo. Please use Anmollipi to view the Punjabi spellings suggested. I hope this has got you thinking. If there is any interest in this subject matter. please contact me on Rupe@panindia.com or go to www.5abi where the Gian Rattan section will lead you too me. And please if you are a westerner like me who wants to learn Punjabi, use it to teach yourself. You will need someone who knows Punjabi to decipher the site. Otherwise e-mail for a link . I would like to hear what you the Punjabi people think of the above and whether any of you who have ideas are willing to participate. To this end my next article will be a detailed analysis of specie names and the logic behind them. This is an introductory article in to why it is being done.

Thanks for the true version of Puran's story. It is very interesting that this morning I was reading the beautiful lines of the Saif-ul-Malook of Mian Mohammad Bakhsh on Puran's Ishq. Mian Sahib was saying that Ishq is merciless butcher and it does not spare or forgive anyone even he is a prince or king or she is a queen or princess.

It is the main object of this forum ie to enrich the readers with any knowledge related to Punjab, Punjabi and Punjabiat. Bravo!

Thanks for the true version of Puran's story. It is very interesting that this morning I was reading the beautiful lines of the Saif-ul-Malook of Mian Mohammad Bakhsh on Puran's Ishq. Mian Sahib was saying that Ishq is merciless butcher and it does not spare anyone even he is a prince or king.

It is the main object of this forum ie to enrich the readers with any knowledge related to Punjab, Punjabi and Punjabiat. Bravo!

By Salman Rashid

(The Dawn-Karachi, March 9, 2003)

Salman Rashid narrates the true version of Puran's story. While going through a fortnight old issue of Dawn, by chance I came upon a story filed from Sialkot. Quoting a work entitled Tareekh-e-Sialkot, the correspondent tells the story of Puran, the son of Raja Salvahan of Sialkot. This correspondent's story is unfortunately replete with mindless misrepresentations. It is therefore necessary that the legend be told as it has been for over two thousand years.

The myth of Puran was preserved in the minds of men, until it was first committed to writing by a poet of Gujranwala named Qadir Yar. And as he tells it, Puran was the first-born child of Raja Salvahan and his wife Ichhran. On his birth, the royal astrologers decreed that the new-born prince be separated from his parents for twelve years. Great misfortune would befall the house of Salvahan, it was said, if the decree of the stars was not executed.

And so Puran was sequestered in a portion of the royal palace. There he was provided for by wet nurses, and later as he grew older by the best scholars and trainers; so that he would be ready for life as a prince, at the end of his twelve years of seclusion. And so when the prescribed period of time was over, the young prince was brought into the presence of his father, the king. The reunion was one of ecstacy.

Now, meanwhile Providence had denied Salvahan and Ichhran a second child. Therefore, the king had taken another bride, a woman called Luna. But even this woman, that tradition makes either a tanner's daughter or the princess of a neighbouring state, had failed to bear Salvahan a child. Be that as it may, young Puran having visited his own mother subsequently went to Luna's chamber to pay respect as bid by the king.

Seeing the handsome Puran, Luna was overcome with libidinous desire and attempted to draw the prince into her bed. But Puran, of a philosophic mind, was revolted and breaking free he escaped from Luna's chamber. That evening when Salvahan came to his wife he found a light burning in Luna's quarter of the palace. As for Luna, she was sprawled out on the bed, dishevelled and distraught.

That 'young race-horse of a son of yours,' she told Salvahan had tried to have his way with her. In a paroxysm of rage, the king ordered his son to be brought in chains at once. And then roundly rebuking the prince and refusing to hear his pleas of innocence, he ordered Puran's hands and feet to be amputated and for him to be dumped in a well outside the city.

The king's orders having been carried out, the hapless Puran lay in that abandoned well. Almost dead, but not quite, Puran lay in the well for twelve years until the great Guru Goraknath, founder of the jogi monastery at Tilla Jogian, happened to come by. The Guru had the moribund prince drawn out of the well, and moved by his sorry tale ran his hands over the mutilated body. Miraculously Puran was restored to fullness. Brushing aside the Guru's advice to return to his father's palace and let the truth be known, Puran joined the Guru's train. Remaining in his tutelage the prince rose to be a Bhagat Jogi of the Kanphatta sect. And so forever after he was called Puran Bhagat.

Only as a Bhagat Jogi did Puran return to Sialkot. There he saw that joy and fortune had abandoned his father's palace. The gardens of Sialkot were wretched, the citizenry sad and devoid of cheer. Over the palace hung a pall of dark gloom. Puran Bhagat sang through the town and the gardens burst into splendour. As he passed by the palace his mother, Ichhran, now blind from years of weeping for her son, recognized his voice. On her request he entered the palace where he told his ruing father what had actually transpired on that evening long ago. Salvahan asked his son to take the crown for even in all these years he had not been blessed by another child.

Puran refused, but not before he had given the tidings of a son to be born to Luna. This was the prince who was to become Raja Rasalu - the Slayer of Demons, the Hercules of Punjabi legend and mythology. Restoring his own mother Ichhran's eyes Puran left Sialkot once again. Since he had foretold the birth of his half-brother Rasalu, Puran was revered as a prophet of fertility, and the well that had housed him for twelve long years became blessed. Its water healed barren women, if they bathed in it, it was believed. To this day childless women regardless of caste or creed, resort to Puran's well just outside Sialkot by the village of Karol or Gulbahar.

The poetry of Puran's ballad is moving, but what is even more interesting is its parallel with Greek mythology. Puran's counterpart in ancient Greece is Hippolytus the son of Theseus the king of Attica and his Amazon wife Antiope. Sworn to celibacy, the young Hippolytus was fancied by his step-mother Phaedra, whose libidinous advances he spurned just as Puran did Luna's. Like Luna, Phaedra was guilty of calumny and Hippolytus was killed by Poseidon, as he attempted to flee his father's wrath.

The academic question which arises out of the story of Puran, is whether the Greeks brought their legend to the subcontinent, or whether it was already prevalent there and they took it back with them. Interestingly, the same story is related in Taxila about Kunala, the son of Raja Asoka. A third version features Suddheran, a nephew of Neru the king of Nerunkot in Sindh.

Now history tells us that Alexander was in all the places connected with the story. He was in Taxila, Sialkot (Sangala of his time) and Hyderabad called Pattala in his time, and believed to be the Nerunkot of the Middle Ages. In Taxila Punjabi and Macedonian soldiers came together not as adversaries in war but as allies. Surely in those evenings long ago when the fleshpots bubbled over the fires and Punjabis and Macedonians reposed after the day's exercises, they regaled each other with stories.

One of the stories that tugged at the heart was the poignant tale of a philosophic prince sworn to celibacy, calumniated against by his step-mother and punished by a heedless father. One wonders if the hero of the tale swapped long ago was called Hippolytus or Puran. Whoever it was, the story had enough appeal to become widely prevalent. If the Greeks took it home with them they celebrated Hippolytus. But if they brought it here in the first place, the people of the land of the Sindhu River so loved it as to graft it upon three different sites.

people have been on the go - and three thousand plus years of known and previous unknown history is a long time - and changes do occur due to climate, living, intermingling.

Pechhay muR kay waikhoo na Jee
Pathhar day ho jaao gay
Aaj da wayla bhul kay sajnoo
Maazi wich kho jaao gay

Thanks for your nice words - Regards

There is one very good news for all of you that two very beautiful books have been published by Dost Publications, Islamabad. I never saw such beautiful books on Punjabi before. The writer is one of the known intellectuals ie Seyd Afzal Haider, ex law minister of Punjab, well known advocate, writer of many good books.

The first book is on four great saints Farid, Nanak, Bulha, Waris". The hard bound title is decorated with beautiful pictures of these great four saints with a bunch of flowers and it shows a complete obedience of the designer to these great poets (actually four pillars of Punjab, Punjabiat or humanity). The total number of pages of the book are 440, the price is Rs. 325/ and Syed Afzal Haider introduced these poets with their selective works and his own detailed views in Urdu. The book is in Punjabi and Urdu and I feel it will be the big push to present Punjabi movement in Pakistan.

The other book Zindginama Baba Farid Ganj Shakar is also by the same auther and it has 328 pages. The price is Rs.230/ and it is very reasonable price. I think Bhaee Safir Rammah Jee can review these books more beautifully. Best wishes. there.

Punjabi literary magazine released Our Correspondent http://www.tribuneindia.com/2003/20030308/ldh1.htm#9

Ludhiana, March 7 “Bol Punjab De”, a literary magazine, was released by the PAU Vice-Chancellor, Dr K.S. Aulakh, here last evening. Speaking on the occasion, Dr Aulakh said the media had a big role to play in social change and progress. “Although the electronic media has cast a considerable influence on society, the print media is still a force to reckon with,” he said.

He said Punjabi literary magazines had always been held in high esteem by the people. “Every Punjabi author takes great pride in getting his writings published in Punjabi magazines. These magazines are easy to launch but difficult to continue. I hope ‘Bol Punjab De’ will maintain a high standard,” he said.

Dr Surjit Patar, president of the Punjabi Sahitya Akademi, said “Bol Punjab De” included literary pieces, articles related to education and culture, and even information regarding agriculture. “It is a complete magazine and will have a long innings,” he said.
-----------------------------------------------------

I read recently that a new Punjabi literary magazine has been released in East Punjab called 'Bol Punjab De', anyone else know more about this?

Tohada Bada Dhanwad ke Neem di yaad kara chadi e. saade punjabi sabhiyachaar vich saade kai Lok-Rukh han jihna piche kai cheezaan mashoor han. jiven ke Pipal,Bohd,Taahli,ShaToot,Lasoodi,Dhrek te hor kai. Jadon v koi gal rukh te chaldi hai te injh lagda hai ke jive aapne pind di jooh vich phir reha haan. Loi paatdi te Daatan labhan da chaara kar reeha haan. Thanks MTM Ji puraniyaan yaadaan tajiyaan karvaan da

MuR na aakhhee ki aay ji
Gal way dahdi hikmat di
Ratt di hiddat maaran lai
Nim day pattay ka'aR kay pi

Muk da asar chhapaki da
TtaphaR souj tay paaki da
KhurkaaN day we kaaran lai
Nim day pattay ka'aR kay pi

Nim chhawaiN tay bahna we
Kayhnday jind da gahna we
androuN KouR ukhhaaRan lai
Nim day pattay ka'aR kay pi

As we have noticed media is a biggest propaganda tool. If it has so far worked against punjabi, it can work in its favor too. Since most are hooked to the visual media - then perhaps work in this field might of greater importance than we have given credence to. Looking at the loud yelling in dramas/movies, and poor characterisation, even poor effort is not helping. Recently we invested in the punjabi channel and it was a shocker. The content was absolutely substandard, and atrocious - all in the name of comedy.

Partition was just a historical fact - but now we have lived past it half a century. I think political aspirations should not be confused with love for the common heritage.

Of course we need more than just song and dance - but song and dance does give us a starting point. Socio-economically punjabis are not lagging in any way shape or form. It is our low self-esteem that needed to be taken care of - and the young artists have done just that - by starting on shoe-string budgets, and the cultural capsules of england, they went on to get attention all around - and exhibiting to us that we are dealing with a giant who will not be felled that easily. Even the detractors who thought bhangra was a vulgar dance just a few years back are now dancing to the not just the beat - but the words as well. I can speak for Canadian punjabi diaspora, the love for punjabi has translated into political clout, so we cannot be that pessimistic

Looking at all of the ethnic/sectarian/azadi problems and conflicts in both India and Pakistan, and even other former British colonies/mandates like Nigeria, Israel even, its hard to see the legitimacy of these British creations.

Just my opinion, hope that doesnt offend anyone.

I guess some people’s idea of zenith of a culture is confined to bhangRa dance in Bollywood flicks. Never mind the fact that rest of the world judges zenith of a culture from its contribution in spheres such as socio-economic, scientific, and philosophic thought. Some of the comments here regarding partition, which had its legitimate political, socio-economic, and philosophical reasons for at least Muslims goes only to show callousness of so-called “culturalists” toward aspirations of a Punjabi speaking majority - Muslims of Pakistan.

In Pakistan the population is 150 Million of which two thirds is Punjabi, so thats 100 Million. I'm not sure how many ppl there are in Indian Punjab and Haryana and how many Punjabi ppl there are outside of Punjab. But how can you say that the language of at least 100 Million is a niche language.

I'm sure if you added both Punjabs that would be atleast haf of the EU or North America.

We must stop looking at our language as a niche language, as Punjab and Punjabi ppl (especially those outside) prosper so will the Punjabi language, it will become an important language, but we must think of it as one first.

in terms of power of Panjab region, Panjab's zenith during Harrapa and Indus valley civilization and Rig-Veda time was lost for a very long period until somewhere during the late 18th century. During this low period, Panjabi culture sustained Panjabis. They fought against every invader but always lost. During Muslim period, not a single Panjabi made a mark in the power corridor. Panjab was always under the control of non-Panjabis. Sufism helped Panjabis to convert, but did nto change anything in practical terms of power or prosperity.

Sometime during the Guru Gobind Singh period, Panjabis finally coalesced a distinct identity that included desire to be the master of their own destiny. The short-lived Maharaja Ranjit Singh period gave tremendous boost to the new Panjabi paradigm and Panjabis kept kept improving on all fronts during British colonial period.

Both Indian nationalism and Two-nation theory were temporary setbacks to Panjabi graph with positive slope. [Panjabi graph was flat or with negative slope for almost 2000 years prior to late 18th century]. The setback stemmed from the third position of number game of Panjabis behind Hindi and Bengali speaking public [currently 450 million Hindi, 200+ million Bengalis and 120 million Panjabis]. The dominance of those two groups was the natural outcome of democracy withi the limits of Indian nationalism as well as TNT. Both One-nation and Two-nation theories dealt severe blow to any nationalism of culture based identities. What we have is two countries and more than ten nations within them.

Under current circumstances both countries are better than independent nations. But history, politics and circumstances keep evolving and changing. The situation can and perhaps will change over time due to the fissures caused by dominating religion-based identities and the unfair treatment of others by the mjority cultures. For example, two days ago, Indian Parliament exhibited a rowdy scene because Tamils were very unhappy with central government introducing Hindi for something in Tamil Nadu. Because fo the number game, Hindi will always have upperhand in India, no matter ruled by Congress or BJP. In Pakistan, under similar circumstances, it would have been Panjabi but Urdu is tied to TNT and religion and gets free ride on this Bandwagon modeled after the ideals of independece movement by Muslim League.

In part, due to diasporic Panjabis, the setback due to the ideals and models of independece movement, has started to ease or reverse. The graph is again turned to positive slope. Nothing is irreversible. Whatever Muslim and Hindu Panjabis have done vis-a-vis Panjabi language under various kind of influences are not etched in stone. People do change their mind and opinions, and so will Hindu and Muslim Panjabis in time. It will be very stupid of either community to left out on the upward ride of the graph. Soon, if not already, not listening to Panjabi music means restricting yourself to stupid movie music in Hindi with a total of less than 10 singers. Same is going to be true in economic sphere. The per capita punjabi worth is relatively more and improving faster than the two major (Hindi and Bengali) politically powerful groups.

So, folks! no point in keep blaming each other about what one group did in the past. Worry about the future. The future of Panjabiat looks good and that is bound to bring back previously doubtful communities into the fold. Only a blind will not see the rise of Panjab after 2000 years of suppression. A south Asian tiger is in the making. We all wish to taste the fruit of our efforts in our lifetimes. That is why, we are eager to promote Panjbiat and contribute towards our ideals.

We can make emotional appeal for Panjabiat, but the superior quality of the product is going to tilt the momentum in Panjabi favor as I mentioned the case of music and the rise of Panjabi economic power in Panjab on either side of the border between two countries.

More power Panjab/ Panjabis gain, easier it becomes to sort out minor issues, forgiving the past mistakes and becoming a force to bring about peace and progress in the region. Without political and economic power, the efficiency for promotion of Panjabiat will be very poor, particularly when all major groups, all the way to Bengal dislike Panjab for variety of reasons.

Folks the main gist of this discussion is that sometimes we loose our sense of reason to petty politics. Punjab has been a very culturally cohesive land until the so called "nationalistic" politics, which inadvertantly held us hostage to the very ethics it was a protest against in the first place - domination of outsiders.

The bengali has no problem with bengali, the gujerati has no problem iwth gujerati, or marathi or tamil or kashmiri just name a few, but this punjabi indiosyncracy is just plain petty and self-destructive. The most ridiculous part is we all come alive in that atmosphere - but God forbid we let our "civilised" neighbours discern that we speak fluent Punjabi. I know we grew up waiting to listen to Punajbi darbar broadcast from Pakistan, or the dramas from PTV, to fill the void left by our own overzealous jullunder crowd who had decided to implement the central agenda of limiting punjabi to a few songs by Surinder Kaur from the pre-partiton era. Until the advent of youngsters like Gurdas Mann, Hansraj Hans and the super phenomena, Ustad Nuzrat Fateh Ali Khan (who single-handedly put punjab on the world stage)- the punjabi music and culture in the gutter - a fact lamented by all, but never addressed. It is never too late to wake up and smell the coffee, in our case the fragrance of our rose - the punjabi language. Being a language of the free, it has the capacity so far exhibited by english to be as expressive, polite, sweet, and poetic, with a rich literature to back it up, not to mention milleniums of cultural wealth accumulated, and being the mother of most north Indian languages. In Canada in the province of British Colunbia it is the second language, in Ontario it is the fourth. It is also the fastest growing language in Canada after Chinese.

It is the depth and expression of the language that keeps it going, despite all the assasination attempts by its own children. Let us save this wealth for our future generations. Our elderly still gravitiate to the sounds of chaste punjabi spoken by the lahorias. Just a word sends them into land of nostalgia - when they did not have to apologise for being what they are!

I think it is the politicians' doings, who run around religious places with a view on the vote bank who have promoted this tendency, trying to be whatever suits their ambitions. Secularism is about respect and tolerance about each other. Why else would Nanakshahi calender be viewed as a threat? Now probably they would have to make more trips and cannot make their pitch in one swoop? I am not suggesting you or anyone else cannot celebrate whatever you like - it is not my business. In context of your objections, we do have certain priorites as a religious group that take precedence over mere revleries and having fun on diwali or gurpurab. We all love patakas and lights but all of us do not believe in Lakhsmi, so how and when the that is celebrated is not up to us. Now if we were to say diwali should be celebrated only according to our whims and fancies it would be presumptous and outright confrontational. We celebrate with our neighbours all the time, that has nothing to do with the calender. But Gurpurbs cannot be held hostage to whims and fancies or people with outdated calenders. Already we are celebrating Guru Nanak Sahib's gurpurab from anywhere between early november to late december. This has been an issue of ongoing concern, that we may go completely out of sync with the seasons.

Yes it is about respect - and it is time the majority in India woke up to the fact. Flexibility does not entail disrepect to ones own faith either. As I pointed out before, we live in a multi-faith world, and we celebrate with our neighbours, everything from Eid to Christmas to Diwali to - you name it. But it would not be polite to impose our views on how their religious affairs are run. Other than that I have no monpoly over the Guru Sahiban, I am just a follower - like anyone else - but for me it also a matter of faith.

I am ready to accept what Nehru family, RSS, Arya Samaj must have done misdeeds. Political conspiracies in the name of management of country, were instrumental. But still I do not accept that most of the people took or take guidance from them. Soico- religio-political conspiracies have already brought us to a stage where we see each other with an element of doubt. Don’t U think it is tearing our total social fabric? Do not U think we R again being used for some politics? I honour the need to enrich our mother tongue but the previous generations (over cautious of their identity after partition) over did the language politics. And resultant is that India having 18 fully developed languages, had to adopt English as contact language. In the tussles among various mother tongues, don’t U feel ke Sari de sariaan goli (daasi) hoke baitheaN Ne Te angreji baithe hai rani banke.

The three languages formula (English-Hindi-regional) was desirable for management reasons (though highly resisted) and that made the choice of language an individual’s agenda. But I agree here that we need to popularise our own language. Regarding Govt. displays/ forms/ notices etc. easily the same can be done in three languages, without being fanatic. For example on road, we can have all milestones in regional language but every five km, there could be one in Hindi and every ten km, there could be one in English. And that is practically needed.

Again look at recent election results, excessive Hinduism was shunned off by largely hindu State of Himachal Pradesh (BJP lost badly). That shows that Indian masses are being guided more by factors other than any –ISM. The need of the hour is to stay together and shun off any force, which creeps in differences.

She-jatt, I may tend to agree with U that Hindus have no business in celebrating Gurupurabs. But I am sorry U have come about 500 years late. Hindus (also Muslims) are party to respecting and celeberating Gurupurabs since Guru Nanak Dev ji’s time. It is now too late to pick your advise. Today there is a need for a bit more flexibility at individual level and higher respect to others at community level. That’s what I learnt from 1984, which was a political game played with religious cards. Do not just stop at 1984, whole of 1980s was full of chapters and lessons.

Khuda hafiz

I appreciate your comments on Punjabi but I don't agree with such ideas that why only Sikhs are the champions of Punjabi (Suman, it is not you but it was the post here by someone ). Let me clear a few things. I may be wrong but it has been my continuous study of this subject since my childhood. It includes my own experiences, observations, meeting with different people with different schools of thoughts as well as readings of material published in Punjabi, Urdu and English. IT is fact that only Sikhs of the Punjab (Real Punjab has been divided into many peices) were (and of course are) loyal with Punjabi otherwise we, Muslim Punjabis here in Pakistan and Hindu Punjabis in India went away from Punjabi language due to political and relgious reasons. There is one very abusive punjabi proverb that: Majh (cow) thaley bhejyaa see, kattey (jhotey or buffalo) thaley Tur gayey. So, we Punjabi muslims and Punjabi hindus went under kattey thaley or we were forced to go there due to our lacking in true leaderships. We could not understand that the pure and genuinc milk was somewhere else of course Majh thaley ie to stick with Punjabi as most of the nations have been sticking with their mother tongues. Here I admit that there are a few examples among the Sikh community too who could not understand this very easy phenomena and they also joined the lot of punjabies (over 80%) and rejected their mother tongue. They could not understand very basic phenomena as great French Scholar Sarter said, "A man is considered always an alien in other's language and his situation is not more than like living in a rented house." To understand the importance of mother tongue we must read Tagore's dialogue with Balraj Sahni please. Here is the link please:

http://www.sikh-history.com/literature/essays/mother.html

It is very interesting that Tagore was neither Muslim nor Sikh so what a wonderful ideas he had given on this subject which were unfortunately not understood by our many Tagores of this region and they remained partners in supressing and killing their mother tonguge Punjabi, even today they don't have shame. Our majority is illiterate and even the literate people have no awarness of their rights. The whole lot is being blackmailed religiously, politically and of course economically. Today, we muslim punjabis are identityless and in hell of troubles. See the present religio-political situation in Pakistan and in this whole region.

In short today, if Punjabi is alive, it is just because of Gurdwaras and the Sikh young Pop singers of UK or USA otherwise, Bollywoood's language Hindi (here Urdu) was sweeping the whole subcontinent. It was the only support given to Punjabi by the Sikhs. In Pakistan, folk singers are very popular and their such popularity is also because of the Sikhs who made popular Punjabi Bhangra (Desi dance which is the most powerful dance in subcontineent) and folk songs with modern music very popular in UK, Canada or USA. Our Pakistani singers are following them for their market needs. Urdu has no money for them but Punjabi brings them financial relief. Otherwise, our folk singer are pushed to sing in Urdu by the media mighty men here. They seem very funny when Arif Lohar, Reshman or Ibrar, Jawad sings in Urdu whereas their real style and field is to sing in Punjabi. They are pushed to sing in Urdu by media gods here. I don't want to compare Urdu and Punjabi here but there is one damn fact that when Punjabi songs are sung by the singers tey fer tharthallee (tharthallee da English word naheeN milya) mach jaaNdee ey. Even Punjabi is completely forbidden in Pakistani schools as it is forbidden to talk in schools as well as at Punjabi's homes in the cities and towns and even in the villages where PTV goes it is being washed out. Punjabi is alive here just upto music and I believe this credit goes to our Sikh young singers. At the end, I would like to aplaud the secular role of Punjabi language and specially great sufi thoughts who can play a very powerful role in this present global tense situation in this region. So let us focus our energies to strengthen the Punjabi language movement. So the Hindu Punjabis in India should come to their mother tongue which is of course Punjabi and the Muslim punjabies should stand for the survival of Punjabi which can ensure peace and harmoney in this region (Sub-continent). Best wishes, saeed

Bina Kafan de lai Chalo yaar MaiNu

Hai lUk ke gaeya aakhU saNsaar MaiNu

GawaaNdhi ne daBi haqeeqat hai merI

Ohde rUbarU kar lao ek waar MainU

NasHar jiss ne karana mere magroN MainU

Oh hun kyoN nahiN kehNda gunehgaar MainU

JinaN de piyaaraaN ne thaaN thaaN te bhaNdeya

BaRhe yaad ne mere oh yaar MainU

Main ajj khaalI hatheeN sajjan kol chaleyaaN

BaRha hona paina sharam-shaar Mainu

Somebody talked about the Punjabis in Punjab turning toward Hindi. Well, I lived outside of Punjab and that was my experiance as well. But I dont think it was due to any conviction that Hindi ought to be the language of the country. There are more than enough people in India who fight tooth and nail against what they percieve to be the centers' push toward Hindi. I think that Indian movies are the reason why people speak Hindi all around the country - including the south. Who could resist? I will agree tho that the Hindu Punjabis (like the Muslim Punjabis in Pakistan) have, on the whole, withdrawn from Punjabi and moved to Hindi/Urdu. But there have always been people who worked in, and continued to contribute to the regional languages in India. Thats what I see APNA doing. Punjabi is a niche language and to those to whom it is an important one falls the sweet task of helping it survive and remain vital.

there are no boundaries to creativity - and wherever one can project his/her own unique perspective is one's contribution to the society. Pretend creativity is like a massacre of the spirit.

Akhilesh, When a religious group decides to come up with solutions to its problems it is not anyone elses business - unless there is a specific injunction that ALL are required to follow that path - and there is none here. No one is stopping anyone from celebrating anything. It is precisely this kind of paranoia that is the basis of the punjab problem. We all celebrate baisakhi on April the thirteenth - so where is the problem. Hindus have no cause to celebrate gurpurabs. Diwali is hardly religious for the sikhs - I am sure all can see the patakas all around, there is no way that can be missed. We have no problem understanding when christmas occurs - we can make out the festivities all around. But if the problem is with the return day of Guru Hargobind - then the sikhs would like to celebrate it on the proper time of the year - when he did infact return - diwali or no diwali. Why the fuss? Nanakshahi calender is for the convenience of the sikhs period. Rest of the world can continue - nothing is coming to a stand still. Maybe it is time to loose the antiquated brahmin dictated celebration of festivals - ending up with pandit wars and duplication more often than not. Infact this calender has been very well researched and claculations are immaculate. Well we are very proud a canadian sikh came up with it. We love it - and that is all there is to it. "Main naa manoo" is not going to bulid bridges - it creates more hostility. Have we learnt nothing from 1984? Here no one is predicting the celebration of janamashtami or ramnoami, that being the turf of another religious group. Respecting each others rights is never a bad thing - it reflects the generosity of spirit and goodwill.

The punjabi suba agitation started right after partition - as soon as the aryasamajists spear-headed the movement by punjabi hindus to replace Punjabi with hindi in the census. I know for sure - I was there, there was a wholesale conversion to hindi by the hindus - in places where the people had migrated from pakistan and practically spoke not a sentence of hindi. Suddenly, punjabi in east punjab was the language of the sikhs. Lives were lost in the following agitations, and to punish the community Indira Gandhi came up with the cock-eyed division of punjab - deliberately giving away areas to haryana, on the basis of people (falsely)claiming to be hindi speaking. Karnal is one good example along with abohar-fazilka and ambala/sirsa. Even pahari language has suffered in the process. It being closer ot punjabi, has been effectively replaced with hindi.

perhaps we as punjabis should revisit our generous natures and stip meddlijng where it is not needed. One cannot expect a community ot remain in its infancy forever. We chose a different path when we became sikhs. That needs to be accepted. It does not mean we can't be friends or neighbours. We are doing quite well outside India, we co-exist with all relgions and cultures around us. Perhaps the thought process on the sub-continent needs an overhaul and lessons in co-existence.

Akhilesh - "Lastly, Punjab IS something with or without India or Pakistan.

touN pardes tay khabraaN aawon laam diyaaN
aay sunn layaaN akhhiaaN jhaRiaN shaam diyaaN
dil nouN fikraaN souch khayalaaN wallaya aay
mangdi baiTthee khayraaN Rabb day naam diyaaN

ki aakhaaN ek pal da chayn we paynda nai
dil tay chahRaya khouf we payhRa laynda nai
bataaN chhiR diyaaN jagaaN day qatlaaM diyaaN
mangdi baiTthee khayraaN Rabb day naam diyaaN

mukiaaN hunn pardes diyaaN sab moujaaN way
dil kamlay wich waRiaN teriaN khhojaaN way
sufna jaapan gallaaN sab aaraam diyaaN
mangdi baiTthee khayraaN Rabb day naam diyaaN

No, i am not trying to patronize anyone here, but im just going to remind everyone that APNA is an organization for the promotion of Punjabi language, literature, and culture. Issues like the ones you mentioned are things which the politicians/law enforcement are supposed to tackle. Whether the current politicians care to carry out their duties is another question though...

If you're ever planning to take an active role in helping to cure some of the problems Punjabi society is facing then you can always come to me for support. Ok, i am only young, but id gladly take an active role and give my time to try and help solve at least one of the issues you raised which affects the people of Punjab. You have my email address, keep in touch, or get me in touch with any valid organizations out there who are working for the betterment of Punjab.

Lastly, Punjab IS something with or without India or Pakistan.

I always assumed it was the Punjabi Hindus living in Haryana and Himachel who were the one's that chose Hindi over Punjabi as the language they identified themselves with, which is why Punjab was further broken and divided on the Indian side of the border.

Anyway, i dont think you can generalize on all Punjabi Hindus that they prefer Hindi over Punjabi just because your classmates did so. If you want to know why certain people 'shun' their mother tongue then you should direct the question to those individuals themselves.

As for the Bikrami calendar, i have read that it is around 4 centuries old, im not sure if it is used for any official purposes in Punjab, and i disagree with 'she-jatt' that the Nanakshahi calendar is only a matter for the Sikhs of Punjab, since there are festivals which are jointly celebrated among Punjabi Hindus and Sikhs, such as Vaisakhi and Diwali...

For anyone who is willing to answer, are there Muslims in West Punjab who do anything for Vaisakhi?

Creative impulses of humans - of which literature is one manifestation - have always found their expression with or without any patronization. Humans, from time immemorial, have managed to give expression to religious beliefs and cultural ideals surrounding them. Be it a pre-historic utilitarian object (considered today an artifact) or a masterpiece of contemporary art more often than not imbues reality surrounding the artist. Narrow focus on peripheral aspects of a culture like language, literature, music etc. only scuttles the debate on core issues like illiteracy, backwardness, poverty, female feoticide, honor killings, and so on, ailing the Punjabi culture, at least on home front, though these ailments often find their way in diaspora as well, unfortunately. Also both Punjabs should be viewed in the broader context of India and Pakistan, as they are merely a pipedream without the two countries.

I think the devotion of this forum to literature is commendable. I believe the literature and culture are intertwined, driven by the engine of Language. This is the best homage anyone can pay to the ancestral land.

JawabaaN layee sukreya. I guess people have given a good thought to my recent subject and they will go for a decision with more responsibility. Still I am open, learning and researching, as I have not concluded.

I guess this forum is a relevant place for another issue as many of the respondents are overseas and resourceful. All of us are observing so many things that are new, advanced, News, alarming or informative for people back home. Also, there are so many things happening in both parts of Punjab (and countries as well), which we want to rectify, comment, add our voice to, and some time guide or put up a recruitment / business advertisement. Should and could this site start a section on “Chhidi Pardesiyaan Di”, which local newspapers can use for informing people.

We should write on things other than music and literature also. At least one of us is working in agriculture, western kissan de muqabale sada kissan kithe hai. Acche acche business aaye din mitti vich rul de ja rahe ne. India di toy ate cold drink industry mar chuki hai. Baaki saari industries te chinese competition di talwaar latak rahi hai. Aan wale samay vich ay situation hor v mari ho jaygi. Kya sada kissan ya dudiyaa es competition age khalo sake ga. OnU te pata hi nahin ki ohdiyaan jadaN patan di puri tayaari ho chuki hai. Kya tusi us gareeb nu suicide de raste te jaan taun rokan vaaste kuj karna pasand karo ge. Sirf apne aas-paas de cheesaaN nu dekho ate gaur karo ki ohde vichon kehri cheese meri kaum laye madadgaar hoy gi. Hor us chees bare jankaari likh ke apne regional newspaper vich chapwaao. Tusi literary log ho koi na koi akhbaaraN waleyaan naal dosti V hoyegi. Socho kee kar sakde O.

I think there is a need for creating a link between the NET and print media. Both have their own advantages. To cash upon those, should we work for some platform or be busy discussing rooomani or inspirational literature. HUN DELHI BOHTI DOOOOR NAHIN – it is time for hard discussions, deliberations, decisions and deliveries. Khuda hafiz

"A Tribute to Peace Rallies

Kujh te ambar nikharya e
Kujh chaanan ho'ye.
Chaare joohaaN lao da haala
...hathhiN cha ke din chaRhya.
Loki apni nabhar soch de sooraj le ke
Apne sidh araade'yaaN de rathhaaN te beh ke
ThhaThhri, bhijji rutt da jussa sekan nikle.

With this posting, I am closing the discussion and comments on the previous allegedly questionable postings. Enough has been said, so let us move on.

I have very little knowledge about the new Calendar(and old one too for that matter:-))..The reason I have heard behind its creation is what Akhilekh mentioned. Frankly, I don't think it would have been a bad thing to discuss its origin and features as it will influence Punjabi society at least in deciding major festivals in East Punjab. There are many calendars around but 99% of the times what people around the globe use is only one. With the wide scope of our interactions and business on a daily bases with different coutnries and regions it is going to be impossible to enforce any new calendar in a meaningful way in day to day life. It is an inane issue at best. Yes if someone wants to enforce it accross the board then it becomes a very much political issue and deserves any and all criticism. Is the Bikrami calendar used in Punjab or India government for any official purposes?

Kindness and politeness should not be mistaken for weakness!

Mr Sharma in response to your comment "I also reject the myopic theory of throwing out non-sikhs out of the debate on Punjabi society."

I dont know of any short-sighted theory that only the Sikhs can speak for Punjab, i personally have never experienced that. I dont have the latest figures on the number of Punjabi's that belong to which religion, but from what i gather (If you take all Punjabi's world wide, 120,000,000+ or so) the majority are Muslims, who are around 60 - 70 million, followed by Hindu's, 30 something million, then Sikhs, 20+ million, with a smaller minority of Christians, Buddhists, etc...

East Punjab may have a majority of Sikh's living there, but West Punjab, Haryana, and Himachel Pradesh are just as much apart of Punjabi society, and so are the Punjabi's living outside of South Asia.

To suggest that any one religious community has some sort of monopoly on Punjab and Punjabi culture/history etc, is just plain foolish. (Not a direct comment towards you, bhai)

Correct me if i am wrong.

BTW, religion is obviously a touchy subject for many Punjabi's, as it seems to have been for centuries. I can talk openly about religion because i do not use it as an identity, but looking at some of the responses to Mr Sharma i would say that some do, in which case this message board is probably not the appropriate place to have discussions on religion, as this is an organization for Punjabi unity (In my eyes anyway)

Sat Sri Akaal.

Suman Ji

Sorry for not being able to respond to your query so far. I'm terribly tied up with my teaching schedule and have hardly any time to breathe. The work pressure should hopefully ease in about a fortnight. I shall get back whatever little information I could gather by then.

Rabb rakha

Sukhbir

But cooly think of the issue. Think of what is being introduced, what will be the additional service, what will be the impact and to where will we guide our community?

Long back I raised a question about what culture is, but was not responded. To me what our society collectively does in every walk of the life is culture. Say in 1970s the culture of Agra and Aligarh communities was Hindu-muslim RIOTs but now the culture of both towns is industrial & progressive. So sadi karni da fark te painda hai. Es layee karan tauN pehlaan soch lena hi samjhdaari hai.

There R a few compulsions on this end but I will try to be regular.

Ajay ji. You have raised interesting questions that many on this forum would like to discuss. But extreme words and narrow thoughts sun ke mood bigaD jaanda e.

I was away from town (computer) so could not come back earlier. Many thanks to Dhindsa ji for addressing my question. I was expecting an answer, a convincing argument, rather than a silence on the subject or a scolding to shut up. I still hope some body will convince me about the proposed calendar.

Continuing my argument being a man from COMMON Punjabi family (!?!?!?! – I will come to this issue later) I submit that calendar is a social item, which shows so many things besides telling dates for religious occasion. Naming it after a Guru does not make it religious. However, it makes a fit case for political jugglery. Similar to what many so-called great leaders have many times have done in last century, especially in and around Punjab. How many times Punjabis can allow this kind of politics to take its toll on Punjab, Punjabis and Punjabiyat.

Dhindsa ji, later part of your mail (including the grand last sentence) can be read in two ways. It either means Sikh are exclusive of Punjab (as physical place) or an issue related to Sikh but raised by non-sikh is worth sweeping under the carpet. Kindly correct me this. Being a member of a COMMONLY found Punjabi family living almost in every second house of Punjab (highlighted as non-sikh), I would like to remind that I have found both sikh and non-sikh equally important, vibrant, and contributing to my Punjabi community (I would invite any Punjabi to disprove me through evidence in their own society). And that is my culture.

The calendar product in question and its services are social. So I do not agree to sign off my right to a discussion on a product meant for my society in Punjab. I also reject the myopic theory of throwing out non-sikhs out of the debate on Punjabi society. Two of my elder cousins are married in traditional sikh families what inheritance do U recommend us to pass on to next generation? By the way, is Inheritance an issue under Punjabiyat?

Hope this subject now qualifies to be discussed on the forum. My sole submission behind raising the issue was to enforce that it is easy to find differences (differences can be spotted between twins also) but do not find them as differences could never be a sustainable plank for any society, community or State. Look for similarities, pamper them and build community around them. On this website, I find every body longing for the similarities spread across the border, in spite of sharp contrasts. If this website could not teach to be proud of the similarities and negate the differences, then either the website has to re-direct its efforts or one has to synchronise their concept of the State, Community and culture, with what the masses hold.

Guidance awaited

South Asian Literary talent of Bay Area celebrated

By Hina Wyne

Room 104 in Gates Building at Stanford University was the site this Saturday, February 22, of the first-of-its-kind evening of South Asian creative writing and poetry arranged by the Friends of South Asia (FOSA).

Twelve South Asian writers, poets, and songwriters read their work. Ramkumar Sridharah emceed the program, explaining at the onset how a literary evening bringing together Indians and Pakistanis of this area is in accordance with FOSA's mission statement. Linguistically speaking, Hindi, Urdu, and Punjabi are close to each other, but speaker of one may find it hard to understand the other when uncommon words are used. Considering this difficulty, the multi-lingual audience was given handouts of English translations of the poems and stories being read in the program.

The program started with Deepak Goel reading three of his Hindi poems; his poetry was based on simple observations of social inequality around him. Nofil Fawad read "Chhupkalyan" (lizards), a humorous essay in Urdu. Bukhshee Sindhu read her touching Punjabi and Urdu/Hindi poetry; her poems were titled "ik saval", "zindagi de pal", "ghar", and "ek vichar." Nilu Gupta's Hindi poem "Yahan aur wahan" compared the American and Indian lifestyles; she sang her second poem titled "Doston kay naam aik paigham." Sardar Piara Singh's Punjabi poem was an intricate thought on love and shared dreams. Usha Gupta's poem in Hindi saluted the people who died in September 2001 terrorist attacks. Ghulam Qadir Khan read a couple of his Urdu gazals. Bhashwati Sengupta's Urdu poem "Home sweet home" was about feeling the pain of the various suffering peoples of the world. Ali Hasan Cemendtaur read "Atom Bomb", an Urdu short story woven around an imagined nuclear exchange between India and Pakistan. Farook Taraz read three of his very witty Punjabi poems; he also read two of his Urdu gazals. Nikhil Krishnan sang two English songs highlighting the environmental problems of our age. Saqib Mausoof read "PECO", a humorous essay in English.

Thirty-five people attended Saturday's program. The event was considered a great success considering the limited time FOSA had for making the preparations and for publicizing the event.

Founded in the Silicon Valley/San Francisco Bay Area, FOSA is a group of people with roots in various parts of South Asia, as well as other well-wishers of the region. Its mission is to achieve a peaceful, prosperous, and hate-free South Asia. The group works towards a demilitarized, nuclear-free South Asia. FOSA brings together people.

Another aspect of FOSA's work is celebrating and promoting respect for the diversity and plurality of South Asia, promoting amity between countries and communities, and working towards a South Asia where the rights of all minorities are respected and protected, regardless of religious, ethnic, sexual or other differences. FOSA carries out its work through people-to-people contacts, dialog, and other non-violent, non-exclusionary means; working as a group and with other organizations that share similar aspirations.

Sohnaya way
Mai aap luwae
Ghar waihRay wich
Raat di raani
Rut Khawray
Aay saanjh di sahdi
WichhRayaaN ee langh jaani
Chhad pardes tay muR aa ghar nouN
Hor nai jind tarsaani
LoRaaN da tay unt na koe
Umer naiyouN hathh aowni

I don’t mean to cast aspersions on “good intentions” of the so-called culture minister. But patronage of a pacifist doctrine by the powers that be may not always be a desirable thing, as it might be driven by motives other than, say, sincere. Sufi’s message of peace and tolerance aside, what the Pakistanis in general and youth in particular really need is to develop political activism in order to influence domestic and foreign policies of the government in a positive manner. Otherwise, ill-conceived policies directed at doing bidding of the others, while making billionaires out of progenies of Pakistani generals (of which Haqs and Rehmans are notable examples!), will continue to exact a heavy price on society in shape of ringing of fire in mosques and bomb blasts in buses and crowded markets.

Two more poems by Harbhajan with translations by Madan Gopal Singh

Punjabi

Dobaara AawaN

Maanas janam dobaara paawaN
eiss hi des Punjab 'ch aawaN
waddi tukki dharti te wadday-tukkay ghar wich
waddi-tukki zaat da main akhwaawaN
birch nipatray te panchhi chandra
ohiyO geet vigochay de gaawaN
masseya dihaarhay Har-sar jaawaN
punneyaN ishaq jhanaaN wich naahvaN

English

That I may be reborn as a human
in Punjab,
to this very land I may return
To this hacked, chewed up earth,
in a modest home
Of a modest caste I may be known
On a leafless tree an unlucky bird
I may sing that very song of separation
On the moonless night I may visit His Pond of Nectar
On the full-moon night I may bathe in the river Chenab of love.

Punjabi

Dou khoohaN di guftgoo

jadoN pati patni toN pehlaN, asiN miley saaN
apnay shehar paraaye ghar wich dou sooraj mill ke
baiThey saaN.
ikk doojay de chaan'an de wich pighal gaye saaN
ubhall rahe dareyaawaN wangooN ikk doojay wich
uchhall gaye saaN
tere mere ikk maThay wich teeji akh udai hoi si
us din saada janam divas si.
phir ikk din tooN bhaij sunehaN maithoN mera sir
mangeya si
main ditta si
(iss sir nu tooN duniya saahweiN apnay dharh utte rakhna si)
Daali te dou sooraj baiThay, ikk nu aap uDaa ditta si
Iss sangam choN ikk dareya nu
LunjhNaN bucha putt liya si
Dareya sungaRh ke khooh hoye
Uss din kiss da marn divas si?
uss din toN ajj din takk doweiN siway waang turday phirday haaN
agan-birchh de taahnaN uppar kade koi panchhi na baiTha
agan-birch di chaan'an-chhaaweiN koi musafir
baiTh na sakkey..
ajj phir tera suneha mileya mainu, mainu kujh vi samjh na ayea
dou khoohaN di ikk doojay de
naal guftogoo keekan howe?

Conversation between Two Wells

Before being wife and husband, we had met
in our town like two suns we had sat together
in an alien home
We had melted in each other’s glow
into each other we had leapt
like the boisterous bubbling rivers
In your forehead and mine,
a third eye had opened up
That was the day of our birth
Then one morning you sent a message
Asking for my head
And I had given away
(the head you were to place atop your torso
amidst public gaze)
Two suns sat on a bough one of whom we had
shooed away in tow
From this confluence we had maimed,
bobbed and uprooted a river
the rivers recoiled as shrunken wells
that was the day of our death-knells.
From that day to this we move around
Like a burning pyre of the dead
On the branches of this burning tree
never once did a bird alight
In the glowing shadow of a burning tree
wayfarers no longer found respite
Today, once again, I’ve received your message
And I cannot understand
how would the two well
engage in a conversation?

Please read:
Aape raataaN dhoaaN
instead of
Aape raat dhoaaN
in Harbhajan's poem Shamsi

Sukhbir

A little more of Harbhajan's poetry

Ibn-e-Arabi in original Punjabi

Shamsi tera naam lavaaN taaN
phailaaN bann khushboaaN
JaaN mukh vekhaN teraa sooraj
chaanann chaanann choaaN
ZulfaaN kholeN taaN ambar vich
raat kaalkhi hoaaN
acharaj aape sooraj ho ke
aape raat dhoaaN

Ibn-e-Arabi in English translation

Shamsi I invoke your name
And spread out like fragrance
When I see your face – the sun
am drawn into moonlight, its abundance
As you unfurl your hair
The darkest night I become in the skies
Becoming the wondrous sun itself
I wash all the nights

Translation Dr Madan Gopal Singh

Aah lai nee dheeye kachch da glass
aihde ch bhar lai chulhe di laat,
rakhkh lai ghutt ke jindarhi de pass
kachch da glass

Sheeshe chon simme bhaaveN ais daa chaanannaa
aihdi karaayiN kise naal pehchaan na
sheesha na tirhke
teri chaal na thirhke
nakko nak bhareyaa kite chhalak na jaave
dull na jaave
teri pyaas
kachch da glass

Punjabi

Aah lai mee dheeye kachch da glass
aihde ch bhar lai chulhe di laat,br> rakhkh lai ghutt ke jindarhi de pass
kachch da glass

Sheeshe chon simme bhaaveN ais daa chaanannaa
aihdi karaayiN kise naal pehchaan na
sheesha na tirhke
teri chaal na thirhke
nakko nak bhareyaa kite chhalak na jaave
dull na jaave
teri pyaas
kachch da glass

English Translation

Take it my daughter
this tumbler of glass
fill it with the flame from the hearth
close to your being
in a tight clasp
Keep my daughter
this tumbler of glass

Even if its glow, tenderly
seeps out
let no one ever know what it was
the glass must’nt crack
your gait mustn’t flag
filled to the brim
don’t let it overflow
don’t let your thirst
spill across

Take it my daughter
this tumbler of glass

Harbhajan Singh

Ai Kaun

Ai kaunn
mere man aayaa
kaali raat nuN baNsi ne daNgeyaa
kise geet saanuN hatth laayaa
mere khoon ch sooraj charheyaa
jis man matthaa rushnaayaa
meri tehnni tehnni panchhi
jihnaN chuhar chuhar gunn gaayaa

English

Who is it
Who’s entered my heart
the flute’s bitten the dark night
we’ve been caressed by a song
and in my blood a sun has dawned
radiant my heart my mind aglow
the birds are chirping in all my boughs
twittering praises in delight

Translations by Dr Madan Gopal Singh

LAHORE (APP)-Provincial Minister for Culture & Youth affairs, Ch Shaukat Bhatti underlined the need to promote Punjabi culture through the poetry of mystic poets who reformed lives of lakhs of people through their message of love and tolerance. Speaking at the prize distribution ceremony of the 'All Punjab Singing Competition' held under the auspices of Lahore Arts Council and attended by a large number of people, the minister said that the works of our mystic poets are a great national asset, and the Culture Department would play its role in promotion of the same.Stating that Punjabi literature is very vast and all- encompassing, Shaukat Bhatti urged upon participants to develop the habit of studying literature.
Later, the minister distributed prizes to singers for their best rendition of 'Heer Waris Shah', 'Saiful Malook' and Bulleh Shah's poetry.

Beadabi laee maafi chana. Par eh literary discussions aage to aagaan hi tur di jaandi hai. MeinU V esda maaja aa rehya hai. But I wanted to know your views about - Nanakshahi calender - a recent major issue among Punjabis in India. How the literary, informed and knowledgable people view it? How important it is?

My personal opinion is negative about it. I do not see a need for it. Moreover, it offers advantages on the issues (or non-issues), which can be resolved easily by other means.

Kindly enlighten.

Mother tongues: ‘the homeland of our innermost thoughts’

By Wajid Syed

LAHORE: With half of the world’s 6,000 to 7,000 languages running the risk of dying out, February 21 is declared by the United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization (UNESCO) as “the International Mother Language Day”, which was marked across the world including Pakistan.

The World Punjabi Congress arranged a two-day special National Conference in Lahore to promote personal development and cultural diversity of humanity in the country. Talking to Daily Times on the occasion of the Day, the World Punjabi Council chairman, Fakhar Zaman, highlighted the importance of protecting languages. He pointed to the primordial and enduring importance of mother tongues: “The homeland of our innermost thoughts”.

He goes on to emphasizing that the inestimable cultural and intellectual values of languages: “Each in itself represents a conceptual universe, a dazzling and complex array of sounds and emotions, associations and symbols, representations of movement and time.

“The pattern of today’s linguistic map represents our motley, preciously diverse human heritage – tangible where scripts and books exist but intangible and vulnerable where other forms are preferred,” Mr Zaman said.

He said a number of delegations, intellectuals, writers, poets and thinkers participated in the Conference from all over the world and unanimously passed an eight-point declaration.

According to the declaration:

1. That the national and peoples languages should be declared as the medium of instruction at the primary level as well as the official language of all the four Provincial Assemblies. We recognize Urdu as the official language.

2. We condemn the decision of the governments of the NWFP and Baluchistan to regard Urdu as the official language. This is tantamount to encroachment of the languages of the toil.

3. This conference considers that fundamentalism is a great hurdle in the way of the recognition of mother tongues, and that we will begin our struggle against sectarianism, ethnicity, linguistic hegemony and extremism.

4. This meeting demands that the electronic media be given maximum coverage to the mother tongues.

5. We resolve that protagonists of the linguistic hegemony and imperialism in the nature of religion and Nazria-e-Pakistan are against the Ideology of Pakistan as envisaged by the founder of Pakistan.

6. This conference condemns the aggressive attitude of one superpower and appeal to the nations for international peace.

7. This conference demands that India and Pakistan resolve their differences through dialogue. The two neighbourly countries should allow the writers, poets, artists, intellectuals and sportsmen to visit each other’s countries and the exchange of cultural troupes be allowed so that people-to-people diplomacy come into operation. We feel that the two Punjabs, the East and the West Punjab, will suffer the worst in case of belligerence and diplomacy without the Punjabs involvement that will be simply an exercise in futility. We think that the World Punjabi Congress is the only organization, which can play a role in forming friendly relationships between the two countries, whereas all other forums have chauvinistic underpinnings.

8. This meeting vehemently supports the struggle in various parts of the world against obscurantism, fundamentalism, extremism, religious bigotry and terrorism and appeal for a new order for the enlightenment and progressivism.

Mr Zaman stresses the role of languages in building an intercultural dialogue, saying: “Encouraging the learning of languages, developing translation, creating familiarity among cultures through dialogue is an expression of peace-building measures.”

He said the government should also work for the progress of mother tongues. “Urdu may be used as the national and linking language but the need for Punjabi spoken and educated at the initial stages is a compulsory,” he added. He told the Times that in a recent meeting with the chief minister of Punjab he had been asked to prepare feasibility for setting up a Punjabi University here. He further said that the provincial government had taken a keen interest in supporting the language through translating the Sufi poets of the Punjabi language into English.

http://www.dailytimes.com.pk/default.asp?page=story_24-2-2003_pg7_18

Sukhbir

Dr. Zaki: Thank you for both your articles. Interestingly, I did include Succhal Sirmust in my intro just out of my childhood memory. I have read the story that you have quoted in your recent article. In fact, you quoted the article whereas the writer had given the reference to this story.

Personally, I found the following passage from one of the articles on APNA Library very pertinent and well thought out, removing the ambiguity. "The association of the words Sufi and Sufism with the English usage of the term mysticism often leaves the impression on those not too well acquainted with the Sufi way that it is some kind of a mysterious cult centred around enigmatic figures called Sufis. This impression may be reinforced if one approaches Sufism as a system of abstract ideas, but when encountered in real life the Sufi way turns out to be a body of practical wisdom or knowledge employed by people to live harmoniously with one another, with their natural environment and the world beyond."

Thanks for your article. As MTM said, this is a step in the right direction. Thanks to all those people you listed and your efforts along with other APNA friends our language/culture will survive. Great job.

ApnayaaN lai

saaray ral mil jao
ousay vad nouN layao
jiddi akhhiaN nai laya
dahda ishqay da ghao

kujh samajh na aai
aiNwaiN much gai duhai
dil niklaya hathhouN
lutti gai jay khudai

aina karam kamao
ousay vad nouN layao
jiddi akhhiaN nai laya
dahda ishqay da ghao

pehli nazraaN day teer
dil gaae maira cheer
gaya luttya jay mela
hunn kahdi taqdeer

gal aiNwaiN na gawao
ousay vad nouN layao
jiddi akhhiaN nai laya
dahda ishqay da ghao

karo kujh tay oo yaroo
koe kam tay saNwaroo
hathh phhaR la kissay da
kissay dubday nouN taroo

waikhoo ainj na rulaao
ousay vad nouN layao
jiddi akhhiaN nai laya
dahda ishqay da ghao

Bashir Moriani

Sachal Sarmast, whose Urs ceremony is held at Daraza Sharif in Khairpur district on every 14th of Ramazan, is regarded as one of the most prominent mystic poets of Sindh. He wrote poetry in seven languages. His poetry inspired many Sindhi poets. He is held in high esteem by Muslims and Hindus alike. He was a true Sufi. To be "in the world, but not of it" free from ambition, greed, intellectual pride, blind obedience to custom, or awe of persons higher in rank - that is the Sufi's ideal.
The real basis for looking into elements in the poetry of Sachal Sarmast is Sufism. When the holy Prophet of Islam (PBUH) said "Seek knowledge even if you were to travel to China," it opened new vistas and avenues for seeking knowledge from the East or the West. In fact, later on, Sufism became a bridge between the East and the West. Language as a vehicle of expression:
It is in the quest for this knowledge and "Haqq" or "Truth" that Sachal gave manifestation to his mystical thought in Sindhi, Siraiki, Urdu and Persian languages. In fact he has been rightly acclaimed as "Heft Zaban" - although it is another matter that his poetic expression in languages other than his mother tongue i.e. Sindhi is of conventional nature. He has expressed his feelings strongly in Sindhi or Siraiki.

A striking feature of Sachal's poetry is "openness" or as many of his admirers believe, his courage. However, his pen-name used in his Persion poetry, namely, "Aashkaar" or "Open" is ascribed to a story attributed to Shah Abdul Latif Bhitai who, upon seeing Sachal in his childhood, had immediately recognised that one day he would "Open the lid from many secrets" of mysticism. Indeed it is this very characteristic of his poetry which brackets him with personalities such as Mansur Halla, Sarmad, Shams Tabriz, Bilawal, Shah Inayat and Attar. Sachal Seems to have been inspired by Attar. In fact he has been called "The Attar of Sindh."

Attar has been acclaimed universally, among all mystical poets of Iran as the "Voice of Pain" the "Voice of longing" and the "Voice of Searching". It is this very sense of searching the inner recesses of the mystic's mind, that overpowers Sachal when he describes his feelings thus:

"I am what I am etc."

"How shall define what thing I am wholly existent, and non-existent, I am...Sometimes a mote in the disc of the sun, At others, a ripple of the water's surface. Now I fly about on the wind of association, Now I am a bird of the incorporeal world... I have enveloped myself in the four elements. I am the cloud on the face of the sky. In the lot of the devoted, I am the honey, In the soul of the Impious, the sting. I am with everyone, and in all things; without imperfection - immaculate I am. (Translation by: Annemarie Schimmel)

Element of love: 'Sarmast' is an inseparable adage to Sachal's name. As it literally means, Sarmast was an intoxicated Sufi. He was intoxicated with Love - love of Allah, because, verily, a true Sufi seeks Him - through love. If we consider Sufis as enlightened, then we must bear in mind that even enlightenment comes with love.

The love theme has been used since the days of Ibn El-Arabi (1165 - 1240 A.D.) whom the Sufis call their master poet. Ibn El-Arabi says of himself:

I follow the religion of love Now I am sometimes called A shepherd of gazelles (divine wisdom) And now a Christian monk And now a Persian sage My beloved is three - Three yet only one; Many things appear as three, which are no more than one.

Sufism has often been called the creed of love. Irrespective of their various schools, the theme of love has been of essential concern to them. What is the love of God? One could say that it is the unflinching faith in the Oneness of God. There is no God but one God. Only He is there. We may consider this translation from Maulana Jalaluddin Rumi:

One went to the door of the Beloved and knocked.
A voice asked, "who is there?"
He answered, "It is I"
The voice said, There is no room for Me and Thee"
The door was shut.
After a year of solitude and deprivation he returned and knocked. A voice from within asked, "Who is there?"
The man said, "It is Thee"
The door was opened for him.
The Sufis of Sindh, like those of the Punjab? India, Iran, Turkey, Spain and other countries, including Sachal Saeen have, besides love for God, preached love for mankind, which transcends ordinary human love. Love supersedes everything else. We may consider this translation from Anwari:

If to be a lover is to be a poet, I am a poet; If to be a poet is to be a magician, I am a magician; If to be a magician is to be thought evil, I can be thought evil; If to be thought evil is to be disliked by worldlings, I am content to be as such. Disliked by worldlings is to be a lover of the true reality, more often than not. I affirm that I am a Lover!

TRIBULATIONS: Himself being a mystic of a high order, Sachal went through the tradition of suffering for his love of God. He led a solitary life. He, in his spiritual experience, felt the tinge of afflictions suffered by his predecessors, brought about by love. He has included in his verses the names of a few of them:

"Welcome, welcome Thou art - to which place wilt thou bring me? Thou wilt again cut off a head! Giving a kick to Sarmad thou has killed him; Thou has brought Mansur on the gallows, cut off Shaikh Attar's head - Now thou art asking the way here! Thou hast split Zakariya with a saw, thrown Joseph into a well, Thou hast made Shams to be killed at the hand of the mullas, Thou usest to afflict the lover. Thou hast made San'an bind the brahmins thread, Thou hast made to be slaughtered Bullhe Shah, Ja'far to be drowned in the sea, In misfortune hast Thou pressed Bilawal, hastkilled Inayat in the fighting arena, hast sentenced Karmal..."

(Translation by: Annemarie Schimnel)

And now my question: Isn't there a problem in correctly representing the tonal sounds in Punjabi exactly like the aspirated sounds in Hindustani - both Hindi and Urdu? The bha in Hindustani, for instance, is a distinctly an aspirated sound whereas p'a (as in p'aaji or the honorofic 'brother') is a tonal sound. Will it be right to represent the two such distinct sounds with bh? Or do we need to add a diacritical mark - such as a single inverted comma as I have done - to underline the distinction? Otherwise, I am afraid, the diasporic community unused to spoken Punjabi on a day-to-day basis may loose some of the sounds uniquely distinct to Punjabi?

Waiting for your response

Sukhbir

Channa boliaaN baghaniaaN ch dil wali gal
Sunn pyar diyaN layhraN naiyuN mar diyaN chhal

Lakhh boliaaN baghaniaaN ch kahaniaN tou pawaiN
Lakhh gitt-mitt dil diyaaN galaaN tou sunnaawaiN

AynaaN harfaaN day naal sahday zaayaa jaanday pal
Channa boliaaN baghaniaaN ch dil wali gal
Sunn pyar diyaN layhraN naiyuN mar diyaN chhal

Boli apni ch mabtaaN di wajjdi udaari
Boli apni ch dil wali gal laggy pyari

Boli apni ch sikhh saaray ishqay day wal
Channa boliaaN baghaniaaN ch dil wali gal
Sunn pyar diyaN layhraN naiyuN mar diyaN chhal

Aae Aay Basant

JindRee day roulay
DoraaN bann kay udae ja
Aae aay basant
Gudi pyar di chaRhai ja

Jind wich rowna lamma
HasayaaN di TthoR aay
GudiaaN da paycha sahday
GhussayaaN da ToR aay

Haar Jit sayhn diyaaN
QuwataaN wadahe ja
JindRee day roulay
DoraaN bann kay udae ja

SarsooN day saag utay
makhhna da payRa aay
Mang-da makae roti
khhaown wala jehRa aay

Rall mill bayhn diyaaN
souchaaN dil lae ja
JindRee day roulay
DoraaN bann kay udae ja

KankaaN day waadi
Rajj phhaR day baTairay we
Chaskay basant rutt
Rajj rajj chheRay we

Udd gayaa paala
naweeN rutt nouN bulae ja
JindRee day roulay
DoraaN bann kay udae ja

Rupinder Ji, thanks for your email. Im very impressed with the Punjabi lesson you created, and am finding it very useful.

Just like to say that i can see you put alot of hard work into creating the Gurmukhi lesson and that i appreciate your efforts very much. Proud of you Bhai!

(P.S Hope you can find someone who can create an equally good lesson in Shahmukhi)

"Maqsood Saqib - February 12, 2003 Comments: Dear readers, What linguistic dictatorship is doing to us? The following lines demand your attention. Stephen Wurm sums up many of the arguments for the need of linguistic diversity: Each language reflects a unique world-view and culture complex, mirroring the manner in which a speech community has resolved its problems in dealing with the world, and has formulated its thinking, its system of philosophy and understanding of the world around it. In this, each language is the means of expression of the intangible cultural heritage of people, and it remains a reflection of this culture for some time even after the culture which underlies it decays and crumbles, often under the impact of an intrusive, powerful, usually metropolitan, different culture. However, with the death and disappearance of such a language, an irreplaceable unit in our knowledge and understanding of human thought and world-view is lost forever. (Wurm, ed. 2001: 13). yours comments are welcome

(Population in Millions)

Province..1981.........1998........Rural...Urban

Punjab....47.3(56%).....73.6(56%)..(69%)...(31%)

Sindh.....19.1(23%).....30.4(23%)..(51%)...(49%)

N.W.F.P...11.1(13%).....17.7(13%)..(83%)...(17%)

Baloch.....4.3(5%).......6.6(5%)...(76%)...(24%)

TOTAL.....84(100%).......132(100%).(67%)...(33%)

*Excludes Populations of Islamabad and FATA

*Population of Pakistan is around 145 millions in 2003

Source: Population Census Organization of Pakistan

"GEET"

SajnaaN!
Raat naaN laNghdi tere binaaN
Her pal buliyaaN tera naaN
...Kih karye, asi kih karye

TooN mann piyaar di joet jagaai
jiNdaRi mast, teri shedaai
Saari terey tooN ghhol ghhataaN
...SajnaaN! Raat naaN laNghdi tere binaaN
...Kih katye, asin kih karye

RatRa joRa pa ke beThhi
Joaban roop saja ke beThhi
TenooN ee jhok rajhaai naaN
...SajnaaN! Raat naaN laNghdi tere binaaN
...Kih karye, asi kih karye

Chhad ke Turr geyooN, saar bhulaai
NiyooN tatRe di samajh na aai
AkhiyooN vagda koi chanhaaN
...SajnaaN! Raat naaN laNghdi tere binaaN
...Kih karye, asi kih karye

GILANI KAMRAN

It is interesting to recall Dr Schimmel's views on Sufism. She is particularly fascinated by Mansur Hallaj also was executed in 922 A.D. and has since then became a model of Sufism – of an experience where low, suffering and re-union co-exist. Ikram Chughtai has said that Dr Schimmel has written a book on Hallaj – also has taken a different view of Hallaj. But Ikram Chughtai has lamented that the work is in German language. In her book As through a Veil the views on Hallaj are worth noting. She writes: "Hallaj was the first to discover that the mystery of creation lies in the dynamic love which is the very essence of God."
Hallaj's Kitab-at-Tawasin is a small work in superb rhyming pose, with interspersed versus. Dr Schimmel says, "He (God) loves them (man) and they all love him. The language of experience because the language of love. She provides a functional definition to Sufi that he a solitary way fervour on the way to knowledge. Then he is with the community he recites: O my Lord! O my Lord! But is solitude he exclaims: O my beloved! O my beloved!
Sufi-poetry is not the religious poetry. Religious poetry is neutral and objective. Sufi adds love to it and makes it personal, permeates emotions and makes the religious close to human heart, only then religious becomes mystical. Hallaj's Tawasin is an intellectual work permeated with emotions. This Tawasin becomes a work of love. Dr Schimmel gives also a view of Ibn-e-Arabia's Tarjuman-al-Ashwaq (Interpretation of Love). She says this mystical work is very different from other work.
Dr Schimmel further says, "In Arabic medieval poetry the relation between man and God was at least in Ibn Arabi tradition, expressed in metaphors of man's longing for a beautiful maiden...." But in Indo-Muslim folk tradition has developed another peculiar feet under the influence of Hindu neighbour. This tradition with female metaphors has shown development by means of nafs (self). The first steps is that of temptation, which finally reaches the stage of fulfillment. This is represented in Ranjha-Heer relationship.

"Repeating Ranjha, Ranjha is my mind I myself love become Ranjha.... The recitation dikhar (Zikar), creates an environment and leads the mind to a state of pictographic reception of the signifier. There is however the folk-verse which has a different forum. Which is sing by the village-girls in a company. Charkha-nama comprises quarters with the first line gives the half line of the Muslim creed: La il raha.... with every revolution of the spinning wheel. The charkha nama has a psychological effect and the kalima transforms the internal life of the girls into pious sentiments of a believing woman. This poetry gives a living presence to the Kalima in the heart of every one.
Miraj nama in the next poem with sufic relevance.
God sent at Gabrial

My Mohammad Shall come! He said.
Take Buraq, draw it before him.
'My Mohammad shall come!' He said.
He shall go to the City of Medina
In front of him angels shall fly
The door of Paradise shall open
My Mohammad shall enter! He said.
My Mohammad Shall come, Shall come!
He shall see and look at My throne.
He shell pluck the roses of Paradise.
My Mohammad shell smell them! He said.

JhanaaN
- Dr. Harbhajan Singh
Veera raahiya
je challeyaN tooN des Bangaalay
ikk dou laRhe jhanaaN saaday de lainda jaiyeeN.

vahreyaN toN ann-vartay paani ishaq jhanaaN de
lokkaN bhaanay buss challay ne
is dareya de kanDay utte vasday banday
apnay aap toN russ challay ne.

maiN sunneya hai des Bangaalay
thaaniN saaday lokkiN lannghay,
hatheyoN TuTTey tokkay wangooN
gaye kutr'day othoN de lokkaN nu
paTheyaN daTheyaN wangooN
raahaN uppar laithooN paithooN maas di tatti ghaani
saRkaN uppar nangi paye namoshi saadi

Veera raahiya
ohni raahiN dullan daiweiN iss dareya nu
vahreya toN ann-vartay paani
laggan daiweiN apni aahray
aapay lokk pachhaan lain'gey
ishaq kade na jaan jangaalay
ajjay JhanaaN de kanDay vassan banday mehar mohabbat waale

Veera raahiya
je challeyaN tooN des Bangaalay
ikk dou laRhe JhanaaN saaday de lainda jaayeeN
sanu apnay paani utte baRhi aas hai.

Regards

Sukhbir

Kithey Gayeeaan Bhainnaan.....

Kithey gayeeaaN bhainnaaN
te kithey gayeeaaN maawaaN?
Thall vich SassiyaaN jhal vich HeeraaN
SohniyaaN payeeaaN vich dariyaawaaN...
kithey gayeeaaN galliyaaN oh bhalliyaaN bhalliyaaN
jiss ghar chaahaaN aawaaN jaawaaN...
har ikk ghar di khaas nishaani
har ikk jeeh da apna naawaN....
hunn taaN ikko jehiyaN sajjiyaaN shaklaaN
pata na kehRay naaoN bulaawaaN...
bhainn kahaaN taaN dasna painda
apni neeyat da sirnaawaaN...
sabh jagg hoyaa mard zanaani
baaki sabh chhaawaaN parchhaawaaN...
kithey gaiyeaN bhainnaaN
kithey gayeeaaN maawaaN?

English translation: Where did the sisters go

Where did the sisters go
Where did the mothers depart?
The Sassis in deserts,
the Heers in plains
The Sohnis in rivers
forever lost.
Where did the streets
disappear,
the streets of innocence
Where I could go
to whichever house that I wished to
Each house had a special mark
Each living being had his name.
But all the faces now
made up the same
I may call them, by what name.
Calling them sisters
am made to explain
A preface to my intent
my sense of shame.
The whole world’s become
Man and woman
The rest is shadows,
Simulacrum.
Where did the sisters go,
Where have the mothers gone?

Dear Suman ji, Safir Sahib, Javed Bhaaji and Veer DullaBhatti,

This is indeed great news about the possibility of Harbhajan finding space amidst the pantheon of Punjabi poets on APNA. I hope this is only a beginning. There is a long list of highly deserving Punjabi danishwars whose writings would bring credit to APNA family.

As for Harbhajan’s poetry, I have the following information to share with the APNA fraternity.

First, his Meri Kaav Yaatraa, though a formidable and exhaustive collection, showcases his poetry only upto the early 90s. To the best of my knowledge, there are at least 4 collections of his poems that appeared after MKY. Out of these 4, Rukh Te Rishi and Jungle Vich Lakardhara (a long poetic tribute to the legendary medieval poet Kabir running into 100 odd pages) are by any reckoning major works.

Second, Rukh Te Rishi has been translated into Hindi with incredible sensitivity by the well-known Dogri poetess, Padma Sachdev. It has appeared as part of a three-book tribute to Harbhajan published by Saaraansh publishers, New Delhi. (I may mention here that the collection of his prose writings - Cholaa Taakiaan Waalaa which is part of this set - has been widely acclaimed) English translation of the poem has been published by the Ajanta publishers, New Delhi. This translation by two professors of the Guru Nanak Dev University, Amritsar is too put it mildly a nightmare. There exists another English translation of Harbhajan’s poetry selected at random by one Prof Nirula from the University of Delhi. This one, as far as I recollect, is a far more sensitive response to the author than the one by the professorial duo from Punjab. There also exist a few translations by Amarjit Chandan and given the sensitivity of the poet, these better be good.

Parts of the book have been translated into English by Dr Madan Gopal Singh who remains in my opinion the finest transcreator of Punjabi poetry – some of his translations of Shah Husain, Sultan Bahu, Bulle Shah, Waris Shah are incredibly beautiful. Madan’s translations of Raabiaa, Sheikh Farid-al-din Attar, Sultan Bahu and Bulle Shah in Hindustani have been rendered by Shubha Mudgal and used in Meera Nair’s Kamasutra. With some luck, I can try and post some of these to you pretty soon.

Third, two other translations of Harbhajan’s work have appeared in Hindi. The first of these two has been translated by the Hindi poetess Gagan Gill and published by the Rajkamal Prakashan under the title Jungle Mein Jheel Jaagti. It is only a passable translation and hardly does any justice to the poet’s work. The other published by the Bhartiya Jnanpeeth is an outrageous misreading of the poet’s work.

Harbhajan’s unpublished poems about the anti-Sikh riots have recently been translated into Hindi by Padma Sachdev and are scheduled to appear in the forthcoming issue of the Sahitya Akademi journal. I do not know how difficult it would be get hold of these poems but one can always try.

Warm regards,

Sukhbir

Saeed ji wadhaiyeaN hoan. Hopeful this new tv station will help promote awareness of Punjabi language in Pakistan...and in Gurdaspur, Amritsar, Ferozepur too if the antennas are strong enough.:-)

"AadarshaaN de RaNg"

MenooN kih puchhde O
Aap apni aadarshaaN di sohaagan da
... ghhuNd cha ke vekhho
Kih ohdiyaaN akhhaaN vich
... kisse sadhraaN di manzal tikar
... pohNchan da naqsha haiy
Kisse sidh raah de poorne

Ohde muthhe te
... ohde huthaaN diyaaN likaaN noon chhuddo
Ohde galey de taweet de zaaiche di okhat nooN
... suljhaan vich samaa barbaad na karo

OhdiyaaN akhhaaN vich aadarshaaN de
... shagnaaN de raNgaaN da veerva karo
GooRhe, ratRe, mel-khhore rang
Sohn sohappan soojhaaN te araadyaaN de rang
Suchal aasaaN umeedaaN di titliyaan te
... jugnoo'aaN de rang
Ya! Dubb-khaRabbe
Be-aasi te be-amli di waachhaR theeN khurr geye
... be-yaqini de rang

MenooN kih puchhde O
Aap apni aadarshaaN di sohaagan da ghhuNd
... cha ke vekho

This may be a stupid question but im not familiar with Hindi and am still a beginner in learning Punjabi language (speaking and Gurmukhi) but would like to know how compatible is Punjabi with Hindi script?

A suggestion to make APNA website more helpful (My opinion) is if you can create some pages containing the alphabet of the Gurmukhi and Shahmukhi scripts, and also list the vowel symbols etc There is a page on www.punjabonline.com which has Gurmukhi alphabet etc, but i think having them listed here would reach more people.

As for Shahmukhi script which i very much want to learn, i have not heard of anywhere which teaches this. Is it exactly the same as Persian(Farsi)? If so i might take up Persian classes as an extra curricular course if i can get into university in September.

Thanks

This may be a stupid question but im not familiar with Hindi and am still a beginner in learning Punjabi language (speaking and Gurmukhi) but would like to know how compatible is Punjabi with Hindi script?

A suggestion to make APNA website more helpful (My opinion) is if you can create some pages containing the alphabet of the Gurmukhi and Shahmukhi scripts, and also list the vowel symbols etc There is a page on www.punjabonline.com which has Gurmukhi alphabet etc, but i think having them listed here would reach more people.

As for Shahmukhi script which i very much want to learn, i have not heard of anywhere which teaches this. Is it exactly the same as Persian(Farsi)? If so i might take up Persian classes as an extra curricular course if i can get into university in September.

Thanks

Maan kite gayi nahin si
Saver saar ton tikaal sandhya tak
Kamm kardi kardi thak gayi si
Lamme din di saari kaar mukaa ke
Ohne mera kamra kholeya
Te sehaj subhaa naal saun gayi
Ghar de aarpaar langhdi hawa de ang-sang
Ohde saah charhde lehnde san

Sutneendre vich uth ke
Oh baahar gate tak gayi
Te gali vich mere naan di aawaaz ditti
Mainun taan aapnni hi aawaaz nahin si sunndi
Ohdi kiven sunndaa?

Maan poori sutti vi nahin si
Ohnun mere murh aunn di birhak si
Samundar vich gharak gaye jahaaz de
Us kallekaare musaafar vaang
Jo aje jioondaa hai
Te gharke jahaaz de tehkhaane vich
Aapnne nikke neaanneyaan nun labhdaa
Ohnaan de naan diyaan vaajaan maardaa hai

English translation: Mother in a Foundered Ship

Mother hadn't gone anywhere
From the early morn to the timed out dusk
She had worked herself to exhaustion
Having finished a long day's work
She opened the door to my room
And slept off without much ado
Her breathing danced in rhythm
With the wind playing across the house.

She stood up in slumber
Walked upto the gate
In the street she called out my name
Far away, somewhere, faraway, lost in the crowds
I couldn't hear my own voice
How could I hear hers?

Mother hadn't slept off fully
She would hear the footsteps of my return
Like the lonely passenger
On a foundered ship
Still alive
And in the basement of the foundered ship
Looking for his little children
Calling out their names
Calling out.

From Harbhajan Singh's Sutta Hoya Baalkaa

Tiki hoyi raat si
Toon sain main saan te darr si

Tere te mere vichkaar
Mitti vich sutta hoyaa baal si
Darr si mate jismaan di mehak vich guaache
Aseen doven saun jaayiye
Te mitti vich sutta
Baalkaa eh jaag paye
nikal ture saanun labhann de vaaste...

English translation:The Sleeping Infant

A still settled night 'twas
You were, I was
and the fear there was

Between you and I
Asleep in the mud was an infant
Fear was
That lost in the musk of our bodies
We two may sleep off
And this little infant may wake up
From its muddy slumber
And set out to look for us

I am posting a small sample from a poem by the legendary poet of Punjab, Puran Singh, (Birth 1881 at Salhadd, Abbotabad Death 1931, Dehradun). I hope the English translation bty Dr Madan Gopal Singh will help the Punjabi readers to look beyond the Amrita-Shiv dyad. It is about time we did and recognized the wealth of the contemporary Punjabi literature. So here it is

FromPuran Singh'sMera Tuttaa Jehaa Geet

Akhkharaan de akhkhar mere, nikke nikke haththaan vichon dig dig painde,
Mere nikke nikke hathth, daataan vaddiaan, Jhanaa de Jhanaa paye vagde.
Saare gumm gumm jaande main theen;
Saare murh labhbhde naahn,
Mere baal-nainn bhole bhaale dhoond na sakde, bhaaven bhaalann chaar chupheriyaan.
Retaan vich dulleh chamakde, pharhann nahin hunde,
Mere akhkharaan de dariyaa nassade jaande,
Motiaan de harh.

English translation by Dr Madan Gopal Singh: FromMy Run Down Song

Words upon waves of words, fall off my tiny little hands, keep falling,
Small and tiny my hands, their gifts too large, so many Chenabs go flowing, so many Chenab
I keep losing all, keep losing;
Not to be found again, the words fall
My innocent infant-eyes unable to trace them, looking all around
Spilt across sand-dunes, shimmering, out of reach,
The rivers of my words go running
Such a deluge of pearls.

Gulloo Baashah da Bhedooo
(( Veddi Eid de moaqe te ))

Mera Bhedoo chhail chhabila e
Ohdi chaal baRi mustaani e
Oh baaNka raNg riNgila e
. . . Mera Bhedoo chhail chhabila e

OhnooN bhaNgRa music bhaNda e
Te dhol te chakriaaN khaNda e
Per maal di seir nooN jad nikle
Fer pop te dumm halaNda e
.... Sur taal da boht rasila e
.... Mera Bhedoo chhail chhabila e

OhnooN Ravi roz nawaya e
phul kilyaaN naal sajaya e
PeraaN vich jhaNjharaaN paNyaaN neiN
Ohda ik ik nakhra chaya e
.... Ohdi akhiyaaN da raNg nila e
.... Mera Bhedoo chhail chhabila e

Ohde siNg tirchhe te aaRe neiN
Ohde khhoraan de vich chaNg'yaaRe nein
Ohde sahaaN de vich shoa'le neiN
Ohne kiyaaN de Bhedoo saaRe neiN
.... Rujj kabba te aRh-bila e
.... Mera Bhedoo chhail chhabila e

Oh ruu'b te dab'dabe wala e
Ohda ghabrooaaN wala chala e
Hun hor ki dassaaN meiN sajno
Bus Rani Khan da sala e
.... Ohda ochaa boht qabila e
.... Mera Bhedoo chhail chhabila e

Ohde pichhe bhedaan aaNdiaaN neiN
Mil maahiye tappe gaaNdiaaN neiN
Oh nazar oThha jad takda e
Sab vaari vaari jaNdiaaN nein
.... Oh ghabroo rajj sajila e
.... Mera Bhedoo chhail chhabila e

Ik bhed de naal ohdi yaari e
BaRi saaoo te baRi piyaari e
Lak patla te qadd ochaa e
Mukh sajra akhh kajraari e
.... Os bhed da naam Jamila e
.... Mera bhedoo chhail chhabila e

Mera bhedoo ee mera saNgi e
Saadi joRi daadhi chuNgi e
Oss omar de chuss da ki dassaaN
Ohde saNg jeRhi vi laNgi e
.... Eh sari Ram di leela e
.... Mera Bhedoo chhail chhabila e

Web-publish a quarterly Punjabi magazine, with mirrored copies in both Gurmukhi and Shahmukhi

The idea is to get submissions from India, Pakistan and abroad. Transliterate the selected material both in Shahmukhi and Gurmukhi, and web-publish a ditto copy of the material in both scripts. It can later be paper-published in India and Pakistan for selected free distribution

Requirements:

1) Funding – must be completely funded for a year or two in advance so that we don’t need to rely on advertisements and subscriptions.
2) Funding must include token payments (US $25 - $50 per piece) to all writers published in the magazine or at least those writers who reside in India and Pakistan.
3) A diverse, dedicated and qualified editorial board with representations form India, Pakistan and Punjabi Diaspora – split into sub-teams of editors responsible for selecting material for different sections, poetry, short story, criticism, book reviews, general articles, etc., etc.
4) A small team of transliterators.
5) A small team of web designers.

Any thoughts??

Secondly, I would request not to have the email addresses of participants revealed on the main discussion forum. Mainly, for the reason that people who are in the bad habit of mass mailing pick those emails and start sending strange screen downloads right and left. Even they are on my block senders' list but still I have exceeded the capacity of that list and these automatically generated messages are continuing like a virus. This is pretty annoying!

Lastly, with the more space that you've talked about, I recommend having a little cafe kind of a corner just like the Pak Tea House kind of place, where poets,writers and mujzoobs can post their work or thoughts.

In the end, I am surprised that MTM never came up with anything on Basant? I have not been following this forum so may have missed that. Later.

The list and discussion on Punjabi authors have been very helpful to me. As to the question why these writers and poets are not on APNA web page – the simple answer is that it is only due to lack of manpower and they will be posted in time. Right now, we have limited manpower to work on APNA web page. We also had a problem with the space and traffic that we had with our current web hosts. We will be moving APNA to a new host by early March. It will more than double the storage (from current 900MB - which is almost filled - to 2200MB) and traffic allowance and will also be expandable as needed – not free of course. We are currently getting about 1.3 million hits a month and need lot more traffic allowance.

APNA web page is supposed to be a place for all Punjabis who are willing to look at Punjabi and Punjabiat without artificial borders of geography, religion, politics, etc. We always try to get other folks ideas who are interested in developing this 33000-feet high perspective on Punjabi. The response has been tremendous as attested by about 100 membership applications per month that we get from around the globe. One mind and heart at a time, we hope to add to the efforts of many others who aspire for mutual understanding, peace and brotherhood among all Punjabis. I personally believe that, as a side benefit, it is also the formula for permanent peace in our region. I am always greateful to those who offer their time and efforts to help in developing APNA web page. Suman Ji, Dulla Bhatti, Bali, Zahra and many others have helped by transliteration, translations and by providing published material, music, ideas and by even developing some web pages. If we could find some friends in India who have the time and know how to just scan Punjabi books or can provide books and music to us, we will be happy to create web pages for all of the writers recently discussed here. Any other ideas to make APNA web more useful are of course always welcome.

Sukhbir

It am saddened after hearing about Gargi's illness. It is sad that we will lose these legends in the near future but they did not waste their lives doing nothing. All these names you mentioned had done the best one could and like always it is upto the next generation. That is why the language is even more important. As long as Punjabi lives there will be more Bulleh Shahs, Amrita Pritams and Satyarthis... but if languages dies....phir ki hoye te ki na hoye?

In the criticism and prose area you left another name I admire a lot...Prof. Pritam Singh. Reading of his book "Punjab, Punjabi te Punjabiyat" should be made mandatory for APNA membership.:)

barha asaan hai mash'hoor chand ravi hona,
barha muhaal hai par phalsaphi kavi hona.

You are absolutely right about GurbakshSingh PreetLari - I wonder how I fogot to mention his name. May apologies. Also the formative significance of both Bhai Veer Singh and Nanak Singh should not be underestimated. They had their day - justifiably.

As for your doubt regarding the caste configurations and politics, I have personally been a direct witness to some of the most sordid behind the scenes caste hard-sells and I cannot even begin to tell you how deeply saddening it was for a young child who doted on some of these cultural demi-gods. I'm refraining from naming these writers for fear of being dragged into a libellous squabble - otherwise reputations will tumble like a castle of pins exposed to nothing more than a gentle gust of wind.

At the same time, however, I would like to maintain that, at least within the realm of poetry, the Punjabi poets from the 20th century have the potential to stand up to the very best. Poets like Puran Singh, Bawa Balwant, Harbhajan Singh, Jaswant Singh Neki, Harnam, Paash, Lal Singh Dil, Amarjit Chandan can hold more than their own against the legendary Bengali poet like Jibnanand Das, or Rabindranath Tagore, or Shakti Chattopadhyay, Shankho Ghosh et al. No doubt about that. The lure of Shiv Kumar's imagery - no matter how static - has the potential to move even stones. So there the matter rests. I do not wish to make a hasty judgement but I remain unconvinced about the 20th century poetry from Western Punjab. Maybe I haven't read enough in which case I would most humbly like to be educated. But I do like Najm Husain Syed's ouevre. I think he is an absolutely a towering figure. I also think highly of Mazhar Timarzi as a poet. But, then, as I said maybe I do not know enough.

As for Devendra Satyarthi - Padma Sachdev, a leading Dogri poetess rang up yesterday to convey this sad news. I had many an interesting discussion with him. This fellow was excessively fond of travelling on foot - primarily because he did not have enough money to pay the bus fare. Unfortunately, I haven't been in touch with him for long. A whole generation is disappearing. Harbhajan Singh died about three months ago. Balwant Gargi is reportedly down with acute Alzheimer syndrome. Amrita Pritam is also reportedly not keeping good health. Hunn hor ki aakh sunnaiye!

Baki Rabb Rakha

Sukhbir

KuRhiyaN - Manjit Tiwana

kujh kuRiyaN lammay route diaN bassaN hundiaN hann
jo naiRay di sawaari nahi chukdiyaN...

kujh kuriyaN Banarasi saaRiyaN hundiaN hann
jehna nooN ikk vair vekh ke hi jee bhar jaanda.

kujh kuRiyaN sunehari frame vichliyaN
rangdaar fotoyaN hundiaN hann
jo kisay vi drawing room vich sajaiyean ja sakdiyaN hann

kujh kuRiyaN nazmaN hundiyaN hann
jini vaar paRhou
hor vi vadhiya lagdiyaN hann

kujh kuriyaN titliyaN hundiaN hann
jo bachpan de shauNk pichhay
saari ummer varHyeaN de panneyaN ch kaid ho ke
reh jaandiaN hann

kujh kuRiyaN zameer hundiaN hann
jo haadseyaN da hisaab mangdiyaN
aapnay hi sareer di sooli latak jaandiyaN hann

kujh kuRiyaN Begum Akhtar diaN gazalaN hundiaN hann
jo bahut ghatt lokaN nooN pasand aundiaN hann

kujh kuRiyaN maaN da hauka hundiaN hann
jo asmaan ch kuaareyaN da raah bann ke reh jaandiaN hann

We all know politics is a major part of Sahit sabhas...be it Sahit Academy of Delhi or Sahit Sabha of Sahnewal. Although Sukhbir, you are stretching this caste thing too far. I think jatts were totally out of the upper echelons(ofcourse relatively speaking here) 50 years ago....probably 1 in 1000 was a high school graduate but things did change drastically in the last 40 years...that might explain the skewed ratios. In case of Gulzar Sandhu it might have to do something with being an editor of an influential Punjabi newspaper? Safeer and Hasrat..certainly farmaishis..sarkari naukri pays sometimes.
Others left out in my opinion, Gurbakhash Singh PreetlaRhi, Jaswant Singh Kanwal and certainly Paash. Each one of these 3 influenced more minds than safir, hasrat,kamil,musfair, ghumman combined together and many times over.

Bhai Vir Singh and Nanak Singh might seem not that significant in retrospect but they were relavent in that time.

Ajit Cour and Manjit Tiwana got their recognition more because of the fact that they represented modern paRhi likhi Punjabi women..khas karke jadoN not many of them were visible on the scene...visible te ajjay vi nai. kaallegaN di librariaN ch lok Ajit Cour ee parhdey ne hor koi nai;).

Poetry

Puran Singh
Bawa Balwant
Harbhajan Singh
Jaswant Singh Neki
Tara Singh Kaamil
Harnaam
Sant Ram Udaasi
Paash
Lal Singh Dil
Amarjit Chandan
Amitoj
Avtaar Jandialvi
Ajmer Rode
Dev
Sati Kumar
Gagan Gill
Vaneeta

Fiction

Sohan Singh Seetal
Devendra Satyarthi
Jaswant Singh Kanwal
Gurdiyal Singh
Tarsem Nilgiri
Prem Prakash
Daleep Kaur Tiwana
Swaran Chandan

Prose

Giani Ditt Singh
Harbhajan Singh
Amarjit Chandan
Bhushan Dhiyanpuri
Gurbachan

Literray Criticism

Sant Singh Sekhon
Prof Mohan Singh Diwana
Dr Harbhajan Singh
Prof Kishan Singh
Dr Attar Singh
Prof Harjit Singh Gill
Dr Tarlok Singh Kanwar
Gurbhagat Singh
Dr Satinder Singh Noor

Folklore and Cultural Studies

Devendra Satyarthi
Dr SS Wanjara Bedi
Dr Harjit Singh Gill
Dr Surjit Lee
Dr Nahar Singh
Dr SS Aulakh
Dr Shiv Ranjit Singh Bajwa

But, of course, you are right about my rather "hard to please" sensibility(see? what nerve I have to extol myself!) as far as literature - especially Punjabi literature - goes. Light banters apart, what struck me as deeply revealing about the list was the class configurations built into the politics of the national awards.

It is no surprise that the earlier awards between 1955 to 1966 are dominated by the Khatri-Arora group (Bhai Veer Singh?, Amrita Pritam, Mohan Singh, Nanak Singh, Prabhjot Kaur, Kartar Singh Duggal being the examples) to the near total exclusion of all other whereas the latter half is almost similarly dominated by the JAT lobby (Kulwant Singh Virk, Sant Singh Sekhon, Gulzar Singh Sandhu, Kapur Singh Ghumman, the Tiwana Sisters – Dileep and Manjit Harinder Mehboob…). It must be remembered that genuine writers like Paash and Waryaam Singh Sandhu - both JATS - could not make the grade. It mattered little what the literary or cultural merits of the writer in question were.

The above shifts were mapped by another shift from the Pothohari to Majhaili to Malwai dialects. Students of sociolinguistics would possibly understand the reason why this should be so. Other important indicators are perhaps the absence of what I have to, with great reluctance, term as the Hindu writers - only Balwant Gargi (a baaniaa and Shiv Kumar Batalvi (a brahmin make the grade in the first two decades and a half and only Prem Prakash makes it in the next three - oops, did I forget Vishwanath Tiwari?) What happened to stalwarts like Baba Balwant and Devendra Satyarthi remains hidden under a shroud of cultural bias - the latter, incidentally died only yesterday.

Kulwant Singh Virk, in a sense, becomes an important break as he ushers in the era of the JAT domination. Otherwise, in the first two decades and a half, Harbhajan Singh is the only significant break - he being a Ramgarhia from the clan of the artisans. Only three other from amongst the artisanal group – Tara Singh Kaamil, Gurdiyal Singh and Surjeet Paattar – were given the award. But, then it must be remembered that Hazara Singh Gurdaspuri did not make the grade. And eloquent voices from the margins such as Sant Ram Udaasi, Lal Singh Dil, Amarjit Chandan never made the grade and now never will.

The scenario is somewhat better when it comes to the non-Governmental awards. Thus the first recepient of the prestigious Bhartiya Jnanpeeth Award happens to be quite proudly for us is a woman – the legendary Amrita Pritam. The only other recepient of this award is the novelist Gurdiyal Singh who is a Ramgarhia. Likewise, the recepients of the prestigious Saraswati Samman are Harbhajan Singh and importantly another woman novelist, Daleep Kaur Tiwana. The third major literary award – the Kabir Samman - has similarly gone to Harbhajan Singh, Jaswant Singh Neki and Gurdiyal Singh. It is more than obvious that caste configurations do not add up when the NGOs are the arbiters of literary merits. But then their case is not as innocent as it may seem. More of that some other time.

Sukhbir

Yes, our identities are constructed by language. But they are remodeled and changed by the food we eat, the books we read, the work we do. It would be impoverishing to be deprived of the diversity around us.

1955 Mere Sainya Jio (Poetry)Bhai Vir Singh - considered a major literary figure but his writing does not inspire much confidence

1956 Sunehure (Poetry)Amrita Pritam - a major literary figure but not necessarily a bigger poet than either Harbhajan Singh or Jaswant Singh Neki

1959 Wadda Vela (Poetry)Mohan Singh - without doubt a major though somewhat dated Punjabi poet

1961 Ik Miyan Do Talwaran (Novel)Nanak Singh - was very popular during his lifetime but was a very minor novelist

1962Rangmanch (History of Indian theatre)Balwant Gargi - a clever prose writer and a playwright

1964 Pabbi (Poetry)Prabhjot Kaur - how someone like Prabhjot could get anywhere near the National Awards remains an enigma. By any reckoning a minor poetess, if at all. 1965 Ik Chhit Chanan Di (Sh tories)Kartar Singh Duggal - thrived because of his centrality within the Pothohari power politics that dominated the first 15 years of the post-independence scenario and also because of his prolific ink-flow - a minor writer

1967 Loona (Verse play)Shiv Kumar - a cultural icon like none else. A poet of haunting, artefactual and static imagery

1968 Naven Lok (Short stories)Kulwant Singh Virk - a rather limited though effective writer

1969 Na Dhuppe Na Chhanve (Poetry)Harbhajan Singh - a literary giant and a poets' poet

1971 Eho Hamara Jiwana (Novel)Dalip Kaur Tiwana - minor novelist who remained stolid nevertheless

1972 Mittar Pyara (Play)Sant Singh Sekhon - a literary giant

1973 Kal, Aj Te Balak (Drama)Harcharan Singh - good enough for students doing Giani, Vidwani, Buddhimani - nothing much to write home about

1974 Jug Badal Gaya (Novel)Sohan Singh Seetal - a real life dhaddi and a great novelist

1975 Adh Chanani Raat (Novel)Gurdial Singh - major, absolutely major novelist

1976 Ba Mulahaza Hoshiar (Novel)Narenderpal Singh - inconsequential, absolutely inconsequential

1977 Kach De Vastar (Poetry)Sohan Singh Misha - with a name like MISHA your are supposed to be good but is he?

1978 Urvar Par (Short stories)Gurmukh singh Musafir - Pothohari poet-turned-politician - equally colourless as both

1979 Karuna Di Chho Ton Magron (Poetry)Jaswant Singh Neki - along with Harbhajan Singh the best the Punjabi has to offer in poetry

1980 Suraj Te Kehkashan Sukhpal Vir Singh 'Hasrat' - dead loss - simple and absolute

1981 Footpath Ton Garaj Tak (Poetry)V.N. Tiwari - the loss could not be dealier

1982 Amar Katha (Short stories)Gulzar Singh Sandhu - it pays to be JAT

1983 Anik Bisthar (Poetry)Pritam Singh Safeer - was once an important poet because he was a reasonably important advocate

1984 Pagal Lok (Drama)Kapur Singh Ghuman - it pays even more to be a JAT

1985 Khana Badosh (Autobiography)Ajit Cour - minor but very successful

1986 Shahar Te Gran (Short stories)S. Sujan Singh - major but not so successful

1987 Kothe Kharak Singh (Novel)Ram Sarup Anakhi - Sab Chalta hai, bhai

1988 Galiey Chikar Dur Ghar (Autobiography)S.S. Wanjara Bedi - major but is he acknowledged as such?

1989 Kahikashan (Poetry)Tara Singh Kamil - carpenter par excellence

1990 Uninda Wartman (Poetry)Manjit Tiwana - minor, very mionor

1991 Jhanan Di Rat (Poetry)Harinder Singh Mehboob - lucky, plain lucky to be there

1992 Kujh Ankeha Vi (Short stories)Prem Prakash - major and absolutely major took a long time to break into the big league

1993 Haneray Vich Sulgadi Varnmala (Poetry)Surjit Patar - MAATHAA SHAAYAR

1994 Nawen Yug De Waris ( Short Stories)Mohinder Singh Sarna - nothing much to write home about

(No Awards in 1957, 1958, 1960, 1963, 1966 and 1970

I agree with you and Wurn's conclusion however I am not as farful of cultural globalization or hegemony of powerful cultures anymore. The globalization and new world order was big thing few years back and many authors like Thomas Freidman and Francis Fukuyama cashed in on it with books like, "Lexus and the Olive Tree" and "End of History" respectively. It was thought to be the logical conclusion of the dvelopments in communications, technical speriority, military and economic power coupled with democracy.

The democracy part still holds true but others are challenged and best seller books have started appearing saying exactly the opposite of globalization as envisioned by earlier idealogues. One very good book to read is "World on Fire" by Amy Chua. Her thsis is that democracy and economic plus cultural globalization are in paradoxical relationship. The straight-jacket capitalism of globalization is enriching a minority who already enjoyed an edge in commerce and trade. The populist backlash out of this disproportioate distribution of the fruits of globalization are cashed in fair democracratic elections by populist and anti-globalists politicians from Indonesia to Venexuela to Brazil. The economic and cultural globalization that benefits a minority in most third world country quickly becomes unpopular with the help of populist slogans like cultural and economical imperialism. Theoretically a rising tide should lift all boats but that is not the case with third world where economic power is monopolized by tiny and oftn cultural minorities such as Chinese in Indonesia and other southeast Asian countries. Given equal opportunity and level playing field in the form of fair elections, most supporters of globalization would actually lose all over third world countries.

In the arena of cultural globalization, multicuturism is challenging it with a vengence and actually winning all over. The surge in awareness and popularity of panjabi culture during the last few years is a clear indication of multiculturism over globalization.

Actually a prototype of globalization in subcontinent dates much earlier than the current wave of Americanzation in the name of globalization. It was the failed attempt to globalize Hindi/ Urdu all over subcontinent with Pakistan paying much more dearly in the form of East Pakistan becoming Bangladesh.

What is different this time is the calculation of advantages and disadvantages upfront. This was not the case with Urdu in Pakistan because it had no use in job market, education, science and technology and commerce. The case for Engish is very different. It is deemed useful even by the ardent or militant supporters of multculturism and even ethnocentrism. The adoption of Americanization and English is more of a useful tool towards progress without sacrificing love and determination to promote and protect cultural heritage especially languages part. It is also an absolute necessity for the diasporic Panjabis

Thanks for the information about the mother languages day. I hope you will contribute here more often. Regards,

 MOTHER LANGUAGE DAY The linguistic diversity that has been an essential characteristic of the human species is being replaced by a system in which some languages are expanding at the cost of others. This is now true within nation States and the global system. Control over someone's language has become one of the primary means of exerting power over other aspects of people's life.

Language is one of the essential keys to cultural and personal identity. People construct their identities in the house of their language. The present situation poses therefore a great risk to human diversity. Since linguistic and cultural diversity and bio-diversity mutually influence each other, this also contributes to a major ecological crisis.

"All people have the right to a diversity of languages. This includes the rights to express themselves and have access to information in their own language, the right to use their languages in educational institutions funded by the State, and the right to have adequate provision created for the use of minority languages where needed." (1995 People's Communication Charter)

(1995 People's Communication Charter) 1) A mother tongue can be defined on the basis of several criteria: a) Origin (the language –or languages- one learned first;(b) Identification: # internal identification (the language/s one identifies with or identifies as a native speakers of); # external identification (the language/s one is identified with or is identified a s a native speaker of, by others) # Competence (the language/s one knows best. # Function (the language/s one uses most). The definition that respects the linguistic human rights of indigenous peoples and linguistic minorities (and minorised majorities) best, regardless of whether they use spoken languages or sign languages is the definition by internal identification. The panel uses this definition of the mother tongue/s: the language/s one identifies with.

What linguistic dictatorship is doing to us?

The following lines demand your attention.

Stephen Wurm sums up many of the arguments for the need of linguistic diversity: Each language reflects a unique world-view and culture complex, mirroring the manner in which a speech community has resolved its problems in dealing with the world, and has formulated its thinking, its system of philosophy and understanding of the world around it. In this, each language is the means of expression of the intangible cultural heritage of people, and it remains a reflection of this culture for some time even after the culture which underlies it decays and crumbles, often under the impact of an intrusive, powerful, usually metropolitan, different culture. However, with the death and disappearance of such a language, an irreplaceable unit in our knowledge and understanding of human thought and world-view is lost forever. (Wurm, ed. 2001: 13).

yours comments are welcome

http://www.sawf.org/newedit/edit03023003/index.asp

For details of this unique evening kindly check out our website and checkout:
http://www.pakistanamericanculturalsociety.org
http://www.pakistanamericanculturalsociety.org/page0.htm
Reservation Deadline is February 12, 2003
Best Regards for a Happy Eid and Beautiful Basant(Spring)!

Sukhbir

http://www.apnaorg.com/poetry/rahig/arahi1.html

Sir Main Pehli vaari aap di likht parhi hai. Mainu Sher-o-shayri di Itni Akal nahi hai. Par Pher v aapdi last posting parh ke reh nahi hoya. Rabb kare tuhadi kalam(Pen)di Dhaar kade Khudi na hove.

RABB RAKHA

BaiTthi nouN dhianay paiyaaN
TeriaN sharataaN
Pyar diaN lukiaN si
JinhaN ch abarataaN
Hass pai mai channa
Tere yadaaN dil laaya ay
JindRee da roula
Teray sufnay bhulaaya ay
Teray bahjouN sajna
Mai kalli tay zaroor aaN
TouN meray kolooN
Tay mai teray kolooN door aaN
Milni, wachhoRa dhola
JindRee da hissa ay
MabataaN day wich mahiya
Saara ay ho qissa aay
Ki ay jay zaroorataaN nai
Wakhho wakhh kita ay
HijraaN da gham asaaN
Hass hass peeta ay
LoRaaN kita wakhhra tay
LoRaaN ee milaowna ay
Pal pal asaaN teree
YadaaN ch langowna ay

In a sense crossing over a political line of geographic divide may be an act of intransigence to question a false drive forced on contemporary history. But, it is much more than that in that it is posed at rather visceral levels of sheer physical existence. Between the utopian heaven of matrimony invoked by Mr Quest and a dystopian haven of sheer physical survival falls the rather cruel shadow of the economic bubble that much of the populace in the subcontinent is forced live in.

Sukhbir

The next point is that even in Punjab there are different community, group and clan profiles - negotiated no doubt very heavily by pressures on an already pressured agrarian economy - vis-a-vis the incidence of female foeticide. The rural-urban divide, likewise, shows varying degrees of foeticidal tendencies. The Punjabi Hindu, for instance, is a far lesser culprit than the Punjabi Sikh. The prevalence of this evil practice is growing in the rural areas at an alarming pace. On the other hand, dowry deaths amongst the Hindus - including what is known as bride-burning - shows a degree of much wider prevlence amongst the Hindus than Sikhs.

The job-profiles of the males are also, in a sense responsible for the growth of maladies - both socio-economically justified gender preference and the physical ones such as aides found chiefly amongst the truck drivers on the move or the diasporic labour on occasional visits back home. Needless to say that larger carriers of the Highway Virus are the Sikhs. But all this needs a far serious attention than has hitherto been given to these issues.

Sukhbir

First, I agree that dowry is one of the reason but not the sole reason behind girl infanticide. The issue of extra care and protection to girl, changing one self and home to be congenial for up bringing of a girl, social preference of having boy, etc. are also important reasons. What so ever, girl infanticide is now becoming linked to psychological reasons than physical reasons. Even poor people manage to marry their daughters. I guess all the people who came to India penniless after partition got their daughters married and managed dowry. So one can easily manage what social system may provoke for but nobody can manage what a greedy fellow may demand for. Again, I would say people are financially better off than ever but still they prefer boys kyon ki loki kudian di kismat taun daar de ne.

The issue of Bride trading seems inflated. Decent male & female do get their life-partner in region/ state/ country. Buying girls from far off places or countries is more a factor of availability to a particular individual (it would be interesting to know why they do not get a match in vicinity and why they get a girl in far off places). People’s trade among Pakistan-India-Bangladesh-Nepal-Burma (Myanmar) is an age-old practice. Nobody should feel offended. Also the reasons why a girl from far off distance was preferred, seems person specific again. I doubt if it reflects any new trend. It only tells that age-old practice of flesh trade is still continuing.

However, if Male-Female ratio is too skewed, some people may not get spouse (which happened in Kinnaur area of H.P., India in 1980s due to polyandry practice) but I have reservations in believing that Punjabi society is scarce of eligible girls or boys.

ZJ: I read few weeks ago during launch of Columbia that KC was married to a a gora but had no idea about the rest of the story. I was wondering too about that part of her life missing from stories.

The known authorities on the history of the Sikhs are - Prof Ganda Singh, Dr Fauja Singh, Prof JS Garewal, Dr Harjot Oberoi, Dr Bhagwan Josh...

Sukhbir

a)The Jats in Punjab did not practise female infanticide
b)The Jats in Punjab did not force their womenfolk, unlike in Rajasthan and Bengal, to mount the funeral pyre of their husbands and commit sati
c)the Jats in Punjab did encourage their widowed women to remarry.

I will also take this opportunity to emphasize that the scenario has changed drastically and the proponents of the pure Punjabi race may be alarmed at the drastic drop in the male-female ratio and the fact that many an unmarried Punjabi male is resorting to importing bride from far off regions such as Bihar and Bangladesh or even Assam.

I would like to further mention that the kshtriyas as described within the parametres of the said inquiry are not necessarily the same as the Punjabi Khatris - a group of people more readily identified with the vaishs and as people who controlled the rural economy of Punjab but without commensurate political power. As corroboration one may cite here from Waris Shah's Heer Ranjha Surkhi hoththaan di lohard dandaasarde da, Khoje Khatri qatl bazaar vichchon

Sukhbir

Dr. Zaki: Going back to the earlier point, "The Good, the Bad, and the Completely Ridiculous in American Life" by Bill'O'Reilly is a must read. The introduction of the book is as interesting as the end of the book. Kindly concentrate on his approach and read the story of the struggle as well. That's what I was comparing to.

Is it really true? a good lot means a good lot but It is a news to me.

Of course, business and media cannot be compared to engineering and technology, but my focus was on the background to reach a certain point since I have been reading the bios of both.

Buddha had also started as an ascetic (Yogi/Sanyassi) without any intentions of saving his fellowmen. Does that make Buddhism any less important or some sort of conspiracy hatched by Khashtriyas against Brahmans? And how did Rajputs end up being a major clan of Punjab; weren’t they driven eastward by Mahmud of Gazni and endedup establishing their fiefdoms in Eastern plains?

A marriage crisis is hitting thousands of men in parts of rural India which are running out of potential brides. The traditional preference for boys instead of girls has led to widespread abuse of modern pre-natal scans. The technology should protect the health of mother and baby. But, wrongly used, it is a death sentence for unwanted girls. The practice of determining the sex of a foetus and aborting girls is illegal, but widespread. The worst affected states, such as Haryana and Punjab, now have some of the most skewed sex ratios in the world - and the proportion of baby girls is still falling. Buying brides: A whole generation of young men is failing to find brides. Many are now resorting to "buying" girls from poor communities outside the region to bear their children. Government officials raid clinics to make sure doctors are not abusing modern technology by tipping off parents they were carrying girls. In many clinics, the illegal and systematic abortion of girls is common practice. In Punjab, special prayers of thanks greet the birth of a boy. Prejudice runs deep. Girls are born into silence. "People say, you have two girl children, you have done some sins in your past life," said office manager Surinder Saini. "With a boy child, people say your generation will propagate, your older age will be safer. This is the concept of our society." Combating prejudice: Mr Saini is a fierce campaigner against female foeticide. He and his wife have two daughters. But even they aborted their third child after tests showed it was a girl. All those years of prejudice against girls are finally coming back to haunt this society. There is such an acute gender imbalance here that it is causing real social problems. Young men are coming of marriageable age, only to discover there is no-one left for them to marry. The young girls who would have been their brides never had the chance to be born. The villages are full of frustrated bachelors. In Haryana, a quarter of the female population has simply disappeared. Many now see buying wives from outside as their only option. Foreign imports: "I couldn't find a local girl," said Chandram, who purchased a wife last year from Bangladesh. "So I had to go outside to get married. But it wasn't cheap." His bride looked about 15. Now she is thousands of miles from home. They have just had their first child - a baby girl. She looked sickly, struggling to survive. The ghosts of missing babies are closing in. If newly-weds continue with this brutal practice of eliminating girls, this whole region is on course for catastrophe.

(Are loathsome acts, such as “honor killing” and “female infanticide” an integral part of Punjabi culture? Kih kehNde neiN vasaib de soojh-waan es baare. Javed Zaki)

Saloo dhur Kashmir da
Koi aayaa barfaan cheerdaa
jaanna kar ke rah

Saloo dhur Gujrat da
Koi mein bhau pehli raat da
dittai dhang behaaye

Saloo dhur Multan da
Koi rabb dillaan diyaan jann daa
Suttee shau gal laaye

Saloo mera aal da
Koi mehram nahiton haal da
Kis pai aakhkhaan jaaye

Saloo bhochhann jordeyaa
Koi hossi rabb daa lordeyaa
Koi hor naa kitaa jaaye

Tussan sabbe saloo vaaliyaan
Tusaan ik birakh diyaan daaliyaan
Tudd jehaa koi na

Saloo mera unnindaa
Koi Shaam Vrindavan sunnidaa
Janna bikharde raah

Saloo da rang jaavnna
Murd pher naa jagg te aavnna
Challo ghum ghumaaye

Kahe Husain gadaaiyaa
kehi raat jungle vich aayiyaa
Rabb dahda beparvaah

Obviously Sameer's information, I do not have the heart to say this but I have to, is completely off the mark, without any scholarly foundations and based on primeval surmises. He will do well to at least take a look at the 1881 Gazetteer of the Punjab commissioned by the then administrative head - Daniel Ibbetson. At least the caste configuration in Punjab may act as an eye opener. HOPEFULLY!

Sukhbir

Their coming to India from central Asia could not be for personal spiritual growth to begin with. Why move thousands of miles to a place with no Muslim population except newly conquered territory? What were they looking for? The question for the message of peace and love does not arise because the population did not have diverse religious beliefs at each other's throat. Its purpose was to attract new recruits for their school of thought.

When they climbed down the mountains on the heels of MAhmud Ghaznavi victories, they all switched to green turbans and became Syeds. The Syed phenomenon itself is a big fraud. The Syed meaning descendants of Prophet Muhammad. At present, only in sub-continent, there are several million Syeds. Statistically it is impossible to have this many descendants from one man 1400 years (60-70 generations ago) keping in mind that all male descendants except one were wiped out at Karbala by Yazud some 45-50 years after the death of prophet. It is impossible to have all Sufis descending from Zain-ul-Abideen since 700 AD. Muhammad's descendants were more interested in keeping the memory of Muhammad and Ali alive than experimenting with extra-dogmatic Islamic spirituality as 12 Imams of Shias did. Yoy have to believe that the Syed business was a fraud to begin with. Its purpose was to look pious and claim more respect due to ancestry.

As I pointed out in my previous post that after Baba Farid nobody is famous until Shah Hussain 300 years later. This was the main conversion period ro Islam, carried out mostly by Suharwardi Sufis. The mexus between Sufism and Selhi Sultanate is a well-known fact and nobody denies it. It made Sufis quite influential. Power corrupts and its happened to Sufis too as it is witnessed in the case of pirs and Sufis descendants.

Sufism has deviated from its principles of personal spiritual growth to proselytizing. Worse, proselytizing was not followed up by providing services to the newly converted community as modern Christian missioaries do. From Sufi stnadpoint, Guru Nanak was a reaction to this corruption. He educated himself in as much detail as he could. As a reformer, he had two choices: either preach to fall back to personal spiritual growth or proselytizing but becoming full service community leader and not just converting and moving on.

He chose second option. It required creation of constitution, community laws, guidelines, just as prophet Muhammad did in his time. Sikh Gurus were full service providers. They remained with their community, guided them through peace and war and sacrificed thir own and their dear ones lives in this persuit of full service leadership. I am not a Sikh, but for this very reason of honestly and serving to the best of their capabilities, I admire them a lot. You would not find this full service leadership in Muslim Sufis. None died fighting for people and none sacrificed their sons and other loved ones. It is almost definite that if Sikhs continued with Guru for very long time, corruption would have seeped in alongwith becoming powerful just like popes during the dark ages in Europe. But fortunately, it ended with Guru Gobind Singh so that no major criticism on Sikh Gurus can be leveled.

Shah Hussain also felt the paradox of either trying to becoming full service leader or compltely detaching it from social services and conversion. He chose the later and totally made it personal spiritual business and thus malamati Sufi.

Around this time, most of the conversion to Islam was completed and Sufis did not heed proselytizing anymore. Many went into WW and personal spiritual growth creating ebautiful literature and preaching love, peace etc.

Love is natural. It does not need a master. Because love could be blind, a better substitute is compassion which can not be blind or irrational. Because of rationality in compassion, the importance of blind faith and supreme force or being is not a necessity. The point I am trying to make is that though love is a good message by Jesus or Sufis, compassion preached by Buddhism and Sikh Gurus is superior to it. Then you made a very stereotypical, mythical and controvertial comment about the reason for conversions, as follow:

[As for why the Indian Muslims did not retain their original Hindu names, the answer is that the vast majority of the people who responded to the lure of Islam via Sufism were also rejecting the thousands of years of Brahminical tyranny.]

This is absurd and with absolutely no proof. All data and logic point to a much different picture. I ahev already explained the reasons for complete rejection of native names by proselytizers. Here is my rebuttal for the reamining part of your statement.

The conversion to Islam was patchy. Some villages fully, some partially and some villages did not convert. The conversion was more in the western part of Panjab than eastern. Some clans and tribes completely converted such as AraiN, some partiall such as Jat and Rajputs and some did not. Within tribe, soe clan converted and some did not such as Cheema, Bajwas etc. This pattern suggest to socio-politico-economic basis of conversions. The conversion were top down. Once elders of a tribe or clans converted, the service providing artisans and family members slowly converted.

The caste system was actually less rigid in Panjab than UP and Bihar (Ganges plains) for a very long time, much before the arrival of Muslims. It was repeatedlt pointed out in Mahabharata by the supporters of Pandus that Kurus are supported by people not following caste system rigidly. Not that Panjab was egalitarian but it has to do with the historical reasons. The constant arrival and rules of Scythians, Huns and white Huns (Jats, Rajuts and Gujjars among otehrs) adjusted them in the middle of the order caste system. Becasue of power, they could not be given shudra status and could not be accepted as Brahmins. It swelled middle order castes or reducing the percentage of Brahmins and Shudras. Less in number meant less power and therefore power rested with Khatris (Kshtriya). Most of the converts came from this middle order and lower castes. Assuming roughly 15 percent Brahmins before the conversion should have swelled Panjabi Brahmins to around 50 percent by removing 55 percent middle and lower castes to conversion to Islam. One must then ask: Are there much more Panjabi Brahmins (about 50 percent) now among Hindus? They are not. Even after 55 percent converted to Islam, the power in remaining Hindus remained outside Brahmin caste. In 1947, Khatris and not Brahmins were the leading muscle of Panjabi Hindus. What does this tell? It tells that at the time of Muslim invasions, Brahmins were much less than 15 percent and had much less power to impose rigid caste system, assuming that all of them were hell bent upon imposing rigid caste system.

The caste system was much stronger and rigid in UP and Bihar where conversion to Islam by Sufis did not succeed nearly as much as in Panjab. It succeeded in Panjab due to the politics part of socio-politico-economic factors. It was a planned effort, part of a strategy to defend outerlying areas which can not be defended easily during possible rebellions. A force sent to Multan or Sindh from Delhi to quell rebellion has to pass through deserts of Rajhistana and Cholistan - not a strategically easy task. It was necessary to decrease the chance of rebellion by including them through religion. This pressure did not exist in eastern Panjab being next to Delhi, and the areas around GT road all the way to Kabul because these areas could be defended and Sufis were not necessary to convert the population on war footings. That is why, conversions in these regions were slower and in east Panjab to a lesser extent.

The caste system did play some role in conversion of shudras and untouchables as it is still playing a role in their conversion to Christianity, Islam and Buddhism in India but caste system can not be presented as a reason for the conversion of Jats and Rajputs and northern Gujjars. This is the majority of Panjabi Muslims.

Dullah Bhatti: Thank you for a very informative link of Kalpana Chawla. Many magazines and papers are highlighting the literacy rate amongst Indian Women and their stance to further strengthen Kalpana's position and efforts. I do not know if I like doing the former. Both O'Reily and even Jack Welch had very difficult backgrounds and they came out as self made men. The American media does not portray them as the men who rose from nowhere. In this case, she came from a decent background where all her siblings did well in their education and moved on from there. Of course, her grand-parents' and parents' struggles were different since they were immigrants after a horrific partition. It's just various way of seeing things that you find in each newspaper. In general, I liked the link you had posted since it spoke very genuinely about the progression of steps in her life.

ki AakhhaaN beetay pal di
chal chad gal guzray kal di

waa thhandi wich marjani
Teesay pai satt puraani
yadaaN pay dayn maroRay
SouchaaN di chhuree pay chal di

ki AakhhaaN beetay pal di
chal chad gal guzray kal di

hai jindRee rukh agaaN nouN
ki taknaaN phair pichhaaN nouN
per dil di peeR aawalRee
uTthdi tay pindaa wal di

ki AakhhaaN beetay pal di
chal chad gal guzray kal di

Pkar, I think you misunderstood my point. Just to make it loud and clear, I laud achievements of Kalpana Chawla and entrepreneurial spirit of the so-called “neo-colonists” (as it is exactly this spirit that generates massive wealth necessary to achieve such land marks for humanity at large to begin with!) that made it possible for her to realize her dreams. Hope that helps!

Sameer, without getting into debate about definition of culture and so on, something better left to academics, I would point out to you that it’s notver the globe. We need to be cognizant of that fact while passing damning judgments about Sufi movement in a constricted geographic context.

2. Correct me if you could on details because you come across as one so thorough with figures, isn’t the number of people watching a Hindi channel like Aaj Tak and even a very colouless Zee at least fives times more than that of the viewership of an English channel like the Star. Aren’t the vernacular papers from Hindi to Bengali to Malyalam selling many times more than their counterparts in English. Even the Punjabi daily Ajit sells more than the English daily Tribune. So what is the cultural significance of all this?

3. So what is the point if Baba Farid and Guru Nanak are separated in time by a period of two hundred years? (The Guru Granth Sahib, incidentally, is not commissioned or edited by Guru Nanak and, if only you knew about the lively debate – which I do not whish to go into for fear of being misunderstood but which I find fascinating in terms of the continuity of creative-spiritual drives – regarding which poetry is Baba Farid’s and which of his followers down the line upto the 14th century.) There is such a thing as the editorial prerogative and one is not going by quota representation. The Gurus were not playing some kind of a populist game. They were quite seriously looking into the possiblities of spirituo-cultural confluence. If you wish to see, the Guru Granth Sahib is like a delta where the rivers and oceans meet. And yes no one s trying to create a monolithic view of Sufism in India. That would be a grave mistake which you seem to be quite unnecessarily reading into our argument. The Naqshbandias obviously didn’t get along with the other silsilas and this agreement was more often thasn not quite violent. This has happened within Hinduism all along – the debates amongst the Hindu and Buddhists exegetes being but one example, the destruction of the Buddhist and Jain temples by the Hindu bigots being another and look up Raj Tarangini and you would see the Hindu king looting his own temples. No one here is talking about the sajjada nashins - where on earth did you get that fantastic idea. On the contrary, there is an attempt to reclaim the most creatively compassionate part of Sufism because it is deemed urgent by some hopeless romantics like me. The bit about Ghulam Farid and his three hundred years is a bit of news for me – please read up your history once again

3. You say: “How can one use 10 great people from 700 (years of?) history to make a judgement about the history of a profession.”

Well I am wondering how many people (pure numbers) for you would constitute an area of reasonable space for us to locate our formulations on. No body is whitewashing the sins of the past, I am merely asking you to look at something else – to not treat communities as irretrievable monoliths. As for why the Indian Muslims did not retain their original Hindu names, the answer is that the vast majority of the people who responded to the lure of Islam via Sufism were also rejecting the thousands of years of Brahminical tyranny.
And finally, my hundred example to you one need not necessarily be read literally. It was an impassioned response to a vehement one.
Cheers!

Sukhbir

You are making sweeping statements which are partially agreeable and partially debatable. Real life is lot more complicated are require understanding of the terms used. First of all, we need to define what is meant bt culture, then how cultures are influenced through ages and then separate economic subjugation from cultural subjugation.

The way meaning of culture is understood and practiced varies from time to time, place to place and from individual to individual. For some religion is outside culture for being personal, separate from communal culture. For some language is the most important component of any culture and for others it is religion. In the subcontinent, the importance of religion is lot more than western understanding of culture. For this reason, any change in culture is more fiercely opposed in our societies. That is why, we keep looking backward, past as perfect, classical literature as the best and protect it by all possible means including violence. The leadership of cultural protection is in the hands of Sangh parivar, Islamic Fundamentalists and Islamists. However, there is a minority who either exclude religion from culture and oppose unnecessary infatuation with Sufism here at APNA. Then there are people in the middle who include religion in the culture but not to the extent of extremists and include language and other aspects of culture. This is the case with the majority of the people.

Cultures are always changing called evolving naturally. In the past neighboring cultures influenced more but now in the era of mass communication, that no longer hold true. In the past and now as well, the urban culture influenced faster than village or rural culture.

Some of the changes fall under the doctrine of necessity, some solicited, some unsolicited and some forced down. The force down in the past was mostly in the sphere of religions but now profit motives of free market and globalization also work similar to the way religions were forced down.

Again the challenge to change is only violent, irrational and fierce in the arena of religious culture protection while the opposition to change in language or other secular components of culture is more rational and not retrogressive. For example the opposition to Urdu and no apparent opposition to English is strictly in line with doctrine of necessity. The Urdu and Hindi is fast losing its role in communication and commerce as they once enjoyed. The subcontinent languages are of no use in science, technology, communication and commerce. It is English that is falling much harder on Urdu and Hindi than on Panjabi. Panjabi never had any use for non-Panjabis and is going to stay that way. Now teaching in Hindi or Urdu has no advantage in teaching over Panjabi for Panjabis.

Please make sure that you also support change in religious component of culture as I do if you make a sweeping statement that change is only constant which I agree wholeheartedly but across the board. When you open to change, you must open to revisionism of history including you know what part I am talking about. You can not present 100 examples from history with every single one a repeat of 'Baba Farid Kalam is part of Guru Granth Sahib'. There are 200 years separating Baba Farid and Guru Nanak. Doesn't that say something about those 200 years of not finding a single Sufi worthy of respect by Guru Nanak? Actually it lasted for 300 years until Shah Hussain. This was the 300 years where WW, Sufism, bigotry, proselytization, tyranny, conniving and sleight of hand went hand in hand. During this 300 years, Suharwardiya Sufis like Rukn-e-Alam and Makhdoom Shah JahaniaN wer practically in bed with Tughlaqs and proselytizing became the primary motive of Sufism. Now we are in the repeat of those 300 years since the death of Khawaja Ghulam Farid. Now sajjada nasheens and pirs are doing exactly the same and milking their ancestors's standing on one foot for 40 days in the foothill of Himalaya. Now political, spiritual and material power is accumulated together along with feudalism in southern Panjab and Sindh. Please read what Khawaja Suleiman Taunsavi and Mehr Ali Shah of GolRa Sharif have said about women. Please read about most well known Afghan Sufi, Mullah Shor Bazar, his modus operandi, corruptions and how he was endowing titles to every Afghan king including Baccha Suqai.

How can one use 10 great people from 700 history to make a judgement about the history of a profession. Then, why not whitewash wrongs of Mughal Empire by evoking Dara Shikoh and Akbar, whitewash evils of dacoits and burglars by evoking Robin Hood and Jagga 100 times as 100 examples.

The cultural imperialism real or percieved is not a major issue for the world if religions are excluded from the culture.

Panjabis never had objection to calling School and hospital to schools and hospitals. They are the first group of southasians who have freely mixed reggae, hip-hop, rock, remixing western into Panjabi music. Panjabis generally have no objection to promoting Panjabi language in Roman lexicon to overcome the difficulty of Shahmukhi and Gurmukhi understanding for each other. I do not have the data but I have gut feeling that Panjabi diaspora have more openly intermarried with others subcontinent cultures as well as western cultures. I do not know of any Tamil, Bengali or Gujrati but know many Panjabis with American wives. Panjabis have been open to both solicited and unsolicited changes throughout history than other southasian cultures. Panjabis have absorbed Aryans, Scythians, Huns, Greek, Persians, Afghans and others.

Rendering of “Yeh Haseen Shaam ...”
By ? (Could somebody please identify the poet!)

‘tis enchanting evening of ours__
drenched in your fragrance,
blooming my hopes, my desires__
is all but everlasting.

soon, on the sky afar,
will twinkle a beckoning star__
flooding your heart with memories.

memories of:

some tale of severance,
some chore undone,
some dream unpleasant,
some things unsaid,
to that certain someone.

I wish!
we had met instead__
in times benevolent,
in a land tranquil,
on some sky distant,
in a dream certain.

and ‘tis dream
was all and everlasting.

The point you have raised are well-taken. The question has occupied the attention of a range of thinkers within the Sub-continent both from the left and the right. The right reaction has invariably tried to push the perceived or imagined threats of cultural imperialism into imagined histories beginning with the advent of Islam in the Sub-continent. The other right has been equally aggressive in naming its weapons of mass destructions after people like Ghazni. Obviously Buddha didn't smile then and smiles even less now. The agenda of civilizational superiority has been clearly etched out by the likes of Allama Iqbal and of this the following is but one example from his Saare Jahan Se Achchha:

Ai aabroode Gangaa, woh din hai yaad tujhko
Utaraa tere kinaare jab kaarvaan hamaaraa

The left has dealt with this question with far greater compassion and foresight whether we like it or not. The idea of exchange and multitopia or even, at times, dystopia, the notion of subjectivity as a culturally plural and textually multiple and polyphonic construct is indeed a dynamic one. Thus, the notion of coexistence is not merely a compound where you exist alongside of me and tolerate civilly but a complex one where both you and I are embeddings existing rather in one another. This radical principle of coexistence demands, above all, the being's ability to coexist with oneself. For, we often bump into people who haven't met themselves in decades but are otherwise so successful that they shape the destinies of entire people.

Some left-intellectuals also take solace in the thought that the erstwhile colonized nations have turned the tables on developed countries, for instance, in the field of fiction - examples of Gabriel Garcia Marquez, Chinua Achebe, Ngungi wa Thiongo...are liberally and somewhat euphorically cited. The sad fact, however, remains that these writers, few in number as they are, have in the first place emerged on the global scene through the publishing houses of the first world. So the arbiter of acceptability is still the first world.

Finally, I wonder how you would respond to Homi Bhabha's "travelling diasporic histories"

Sukhbir

Kaafi de dooje baNd di aakhri line vich "hunn" missing e.

"Bohta na hunn taRpaa ve RaNjhana"

Saadi v jhok wasaa ve RaNjhna
MoR moharaaN te aa ve RaNjhna

La ke aas umeed khhaRi aaN
Tere lei jugg naal laRi aaN
Bhaa birhooN di roz saRi aaN
ANg la ke ThhaNd paa ve RaNjhna
.......Saadi v jhok vasaa ve RaNjhna
.......MoR moharaaN te aa ve RaNjhna

Tere sooch khiyaal stende
Her ja tere jhole peNde
Kaag benere mool na beNde
Bohta na taRpaa ve RaNjhna
.......Saadi v jhok vasaa ve RaNjhna
.......MoR moharaaN te aa ve RaNjhna

Naam tere di jog lei e
Heer saleti RaNjhan thei e
Nioon de shoah vich ruRh-di pei e
Aa ke paar cha laa ve RaNjhna
.......Saadi v jhok vasaa ve RaNjhna
.......MoR moharaaN te aa ve RaNjhna

Associated Press

NEW DELHI, India -- Front pages of Indian newspapers today carried pictures of Kalpana Chawla, the first Indian-born woman in space, to celebrate her expected return to earth on the space shuttle Columbia.

The return never happened after the space shuttle Columbia broke apart about 203,000 feet over Texas minutes before it was to land in Florida.

"What can anyone say except that we are aghast at the terrible tragedy," said V. Sundararamaiah, scientific secretary of the Indian Space Research Organization.

In India, which has launched satellites for years and is preparing for a moon orbit this decade, Chawla was a new kind of heroine.

Just before she lifted off on the Columbia space shuttle for her second trip to space, she told reporters that her inspiration to take up flying was J.R.D. Tata, who flew the first mail flights in India.

"What J.R.D. Tata had done during those years was very intriguing and definitely captivated my imagination," Press Trust of India quoted her as saying on Jan. 16.

After her first flight in 1997, she had told News India-Times of seeing India's Himalayan Mountains and mighty rivers from space.

"The Ganges Valley looked majestic, mind boggling," she said. "Africa looked like a desert and the Nile a vein in it."

Chawla was born 41 years ago in Karnal, about 80 miles north of New Delhi, in northern Haryana state. She emigrated to the United States from India in the 1980s and became a U.S. citizen.

Chawla's parents, two sisters and sister-in-law had gone to the United States to watch her flight, a family friend, Arun Sharma, said outside the home of her brother, Sanjay, in New Delhi.

Sanjay Chawla was watching TV news when he heard about the disaster, and was unable to make any comment, Sharma said.

The town's residents had planned a celebration, but were in shock and mourning today.

Some 300 children at the Tagore Bal Niketan school that Chawla attended had gathered for an evening of song and dance to celebrate the expected landing of Columbia, said Principal Rajan Lamba in a phone interview with The Associated Press.

"A happy occasion turned into an atmosphere of disbelief shock and condolence," Lamba said.

Press Trust of India had calculated exactly when Indians could look to the skies and wave as the space shuttle carrying mission specialist Chawla flew past in the heavens. PTI told readers in southern Bombay and Madras which minute of the day they could hail their countrywoman.

The Times of India put her picture at the top of the front page in Saturday morning's editions, saying she and her crew mates were preparing for their homecoming.

Chawla graduated from the Tagore School in the mid-1970s and later received a degree in aeronautical engineering from Punjab Engineering College.

After moving to the United States, she earned an advanced degree in the same field from the University of Texas and a doctorate in her specialty from the University of Colorado at Boulder in the late 1980s.

She became an astronaut in 1994. On her first space flight, she was blamed for making mistakes that sent a science satellite tumbling out of control. Other astronauts went on a space walk to capture it.

India Today magazine reported that NASA had absolved Chawla, rating her a "terrific astronaut," and saying the accident had resulted from a series of small errors.

On her 1997 flight, Chawla said that as the shuttle repeatedly passed over India, especially New Delhi, she pointed it out to the other crew members and said, "I lived near there."

http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/world/south_asia/2716961.stm

aakhhiaN chup chapeetay
dil day souday keetay
mann lai gal aakhhiaN di
hunn jo guzray beetay

bayqadraaN di yaari
rowndiaN lang gae saari
dar na phair we chhadaya
wah wah ishq di reetay

darshan day ja mainu
labhdiaaN nazraaN tainu
kinniaN umraaN langiaN
deed pyalay peetay

rayh rayh Tees pay uTthdi
taang teree na mukdi
yaad karan lai tainu
dil day phhat na seetay

It is eminently laudable to forget sometime but not when we are living through the worst of times marked by bigotry, intolerance and hatred

So do we forget all those refernces to the Sikh tribute to the Sufis from Baba Farid to Hazrat Mian Mir to Dara Shikoh to his undying passion for the advaita, to his and his army's ultimate decimation at the hands of Aurangzeb, to the take over of the town of Jhok in Sind by the Sufis in the early 18th century and their first ever experiment with the indigenous democratic polity - run largely in close conjunction with the peasantry. How do we forget the reworking of the Radha-Krishna myth in Heer Ranjha, references to the myriad Shaivaite cults in Heer Ranjha, Puran Bhakt, how do we forget that the bulk of the Hindu qissas were written by the Muslim Punjabi poets... To every one example of intolerance that scholars like Sameer give, it would be possible to give at least a hundred to counter them. No doubt about that.

Yeah, no doubt about it. Our great Sufis claim to be belonging exclusively to Syed clan except Shah Hussain, Shah Inayat and few others, fell so much in love with the local philosophy, traditions, brotherhood and culture that they completely wiped out native names for convertees. Punjab was mostly converted by Sufis, giving Arabic names to everybody until some Persian names appeared later while Persians convertees kept Cyrus, Manochehar, Irredshir and Turkish converts kept Alap-Tageen and Subag-Tageen, the love of our Sufis of indigenous culture left not a single Mohan, Ashok, Kumar, Ajay etc among Muslims.

The love for our culture was so intense that not a single uprising was ever reported against the tyranny of rulers from Delhi darbar in the areas infested with Sufis, such as Bahawalpur and Multan divisions. Everybody fell in love with the message of peace, equality, WW and Arifana Kalam, never to worry about freedom in this world. Many of our great Sufis in southern Panjab enjoyed aristocratic lifestyle without owning any property. We call it fee sabeel ullah.

And let us not talk about comments about women folks by some of the lovers of peace and equality.

Let us see if the Sufi preachings of love, equality and peace can be invoked towards justice and mutual coexistance and not common sense. Same message by Jesus did not save native Americans from decimation, did not stop slavery of blacks, did not stop holocaust and did not stop colonozation by Europeans. Let us be realistic instead of dreaming. Stick to the their poetry as beautiful classical literature, love Panjabi language and use this love to promote brotherhood, love, peace and understanding with common sensical humanism. Relying only on historically benign convictions would do the job efficiently - if that is a goal.

Wahdat-ul-wajood tassawuf di duniya vich dher puraanni Sufi reet ai par Hallaj te Ibn-ul-Arabi ne ais fiqr nu naven sireyon sirjeya ate ais nu zinda haqeeqat da roop baksheya te saade Chishti, Qadri, Naushahi, Suhrawardi Sufiaan ne ais andar lok reet shaamil karke lokaai di samajh te soojh nu ais naal roshanaya
from Wahdat-ul-Wajood Te Punjabi Shaayari Ali Abbas Jalalpuri

Sukhbir

MeiN teray qurban
wayhRay Aa waR meray

teray jaisa hor na kae
dhuNdaaN jungle baila rohi
dhuNdaaN taaN saara jahaan
MeiN teray qurban

Regards

Just to further frighten you: The most pious, obedient and faithful angel in Allah Taala's court, was no one, but Iblees - Shaitaan(Satan). Your getting scared(whether real or imaginary) is quite insignificant in front of this mess that we have on the peaceful planet earth.

“Khuda jaane lok Tasawwuf nu ki samjhde han! Tasawwuf taan bas ikhlaas ate ishq paidaa karan da saadhan hai ate jihda kamm ishq di shakti ate ikhlaas di barkat naal ho sakdaa hai o is ton bina nahin ho sakda, taan asl vich Tasawwuf zaroori nahin balki ishq te ikhlaas paidaa karan di zaroorat hai.”
Tasawwuf Kya Hai Mohammed Manzoor Nuamaani, p 23

If sufism is all about “Islamic train of mysticism”, then how does one account for the contribution made by the 40 Buddhists monks travelling out of Lhasa, Tibet in the late 7th century AD and converting to Islam in Khurasan by way of an experiment in the perpetual dissolution of the self?

The projected Sufi simplicity can be highly misleading – it is a highly layered method of “remembrance” and “listening” – involving at least the following seven modes: lasani, qalbi, ruhi, sari, khafi, akhafi, akhafi-ul-akhafi

At a Qadri khanqah in Kermenshah, Kurdistan, I have personally witnessed the highly popular and fetishized idea of the whirling devishes being severely panned by none other than the legendary Sufi singer, Shahram Nazeri.

Sukhbir

http://www.mymp3z.com/music/index.php?cat=81

MTM: If you happen to listen to the song as well and know the meaning of the very first few words, kindly do share them.

Vikram: Since you had a few questions/comments on the whirling derveshes hope you will find the following an interesting read.

Thanks.

New album on sufism launched

ISLAMABAD—Sufism is Islamic train of mysticism. It uses subtle means to send across a strong message of love for God Almighty through love of humanity. It is all about a basic but pristine devotion to God. A Sufi need not be dressed as a mendicant to prove his humility, he has to be humble inside ... thinking that the entire humanity is better off than him.

Sufi traditions form a highly developed school of thought and the Sufi followers can readily distinguish Sufism between true devotion to God from mere show of it.

Recently, as an ode to Sufism and hence the love of God, ace director Shoaib Mansoor launched his music video by the name of Ishq and it has a kaafi rendition in it. The words were written hundreds of years ago by the mystic saint Baba Bulhey Shah, but they have a charming relevance to this day.

Shoaib Mansoor is the genius behind such successful projects as Alpha Bravo Charlie, Fifty Fifty, gulls and guys and many more. All his work has been based on unconventional themes have been big hits. The video has been sponsored by Supreme Tea and is called Supreme Ishq. An apt name for the love of the Almighty.

The video is a cut above the rest and each scene depicts the Sufi philosophy in symbolism. The theme shows the ecclesiastical journey of a young man. There is a dervish in each of us that wants to connect with the Creator. The video shows a young man going into a trance by swirling like a dervish in Turkish robes associated with Maulana Rumi, the great Sufi poet. All dervishes, young women and men discard their worldly ornamentation and transform into simple soul get-ups. With their right hands raised and the left ones lowered, the dervishes swirl in circular movements. The raised hand depicting enlightenment from God and the lowered hand depicting its dissemination onto the mankind.

The Sufi becomes the tool of God by distributing His love to humanity. A file of dervishes descends from stairs leading up to the skies and a file goes up simultaneously, depicting he journey of a sufi who must come back on earth with a bowed head, after discovering the truth, to spread his wisdom.

Because, the majority of Pakistan’s population lives in rural areas, Shoaib has tried to depict associations from rural lives. The Kaafi rendition by Riaz Ali Qadri, is in Seraiki, which is understood in at least two provinces completely. Riaz Ali Qadri is yet another discovery by Shoaib Mansoor from the saintly town on Pak Pattan. His mature, mellow voice defies his young age of 35. He does full justice to the rendition, putting all expressions of joy, awe, and sobriety in one go.

A banyan tree is shown in most of the footage as it depicts the centre of rural lives. A banyan tree is where all the joyous and sombre occasions of the village take place.

The tree also symbolises selflessness, as it provides a very generous shade to all under its canopy and its roots spread far and wide depicting longevity and a lovely relationship with earth - a giving temperament. The beating of drums is another rural manifestation; the dohl signifies all important announcements in a village life.

The video shows dervishes swirling through deserts, mosques, shrines and forests ... all the places where his search for divine love makes him travel in a meta-physical state.

In the end, the young man once again transforms into his ordinary, worldly self and walks off with the young woman who herself has returned from her journey of self-discovery. It depicts the fact that all of us have this yearning inside us to search for the questions related to the Creator and then answer them within our spheres of existence. We can continue living our roles in a better perspective, if we make that journey every now and then.

The video is another achievement by Shoaib Mansoor. Tackling the subject of love for Almighty is a great feat and the way he has done it, is astonishing. Kudos to Levers for launching the rendition in a collection comprising various Sufi Kaafis and soulful renditions by great names like Pathanay Khan and Abida Parveen.

The album and CD is a service to these great names, who have immortalized the genre of Kaafi. The album called Supreme Ishq is a must buy for those who want to keep their divine yearning alive,

The excellent videography, editing and camera techniques make Supreme Ishq a superior work in terms of production value. Everything, from the rendition to the music and special effects have fitted in remarkably to spell a weave on the listeners and viewers alike who can’t help listening to Supreme Ishq playing again and again in their minds.

Safir Rammah: Please have a link to this particular number on APNA's website as well. This will be a very pleasant and beautiful addition.

These essentialist questions have been disbanded from the extant pedagogies of literary/cultural studies all over the world but for us these remain very much APNA questions.