Waris Shah's poetry
By Muhammad Sadiq
Tradition of fiction writing in Punjabi is very old. In 1766, WARIS SHAH wrote the famous QISSA (story) of HEER RANJHA. WARIS SHAH is the greatest fiction writer and prime pride for the essence of all human feelings, sentiments and sensational vibrations. In the whole human history of fiction writing, the most revered, honored and dignified personality depicting all its segments is WARIS SHAH , the great.
The loudest cry and echo of cardinal pain is addressed to WARIS SHAH , is the influential tribute from the throat of Amirta preetam
I say with severe dismay
Speak out from your grave
To teach us the next lesson
Of true love to lessen
Our feelings with essence of truth
Sincerity, purity and eternity
This great Sufi and philosopher poet having a high fame and repute like Shakespeare has depicted delicately the scenes and sensation of all human beings.
He picturised in poetry the original dynamics of natural fiction.
As tiny sparrows
Chirp and fly in rows
The day is dawned bright
And travellers take flight
The milk is being blown
Get up now from sleeping gown
Take now bath as enjoyed the married night
Now Ranjha acrroned the sight
Of a stream where the sailorman
A can of honey in bribe can
Be deduced as fare
For crossing with care.
To mention the sublime story a legendary tale of WARIS SHAH , I find no proper phrases nor worthy words to express the same spirit in true scene , yet as a favorite follower I try my best to offer some theme and thought of this great literally philosopher.
When WARIS SHAH talks about Punjab, he picturised the trends and traditions of Punjab including the society and culture full of life and spirit , his style in Punjabi language starts opening new and novel aspects of sensational communication:
Let us talk about in praise
Takht Hazara’s surrounding phase
Where young Ranjha’s, a symbol of youth
Are making merry in colors and smooth
These tall and strong, in loving technique
In handsome in looking, brave in physique
They are wearing remarkable ear ring
The make of jewelry in ornamental ring
A scene of joy tends to nurture
Wearing folk lunges of their culture
In praise of Hazara, what I mention
A paradise on earth has its attraction
The fair face of heer, which is presented, transcribed, exhibited and modalised by WARIS SHAH is the unique style of depiction. His tone is tuned by idioms, proverbs, illustrations, examples and the phrases which clearly witness.
The poet in craze, just to praise
The marvels of beauties heer lays
The luck smile on her fortune
Beauty is shining like a full moon
Her long long black hair
Well knotted into triplet pair
Like the grace of daffodil
Her eyes are wide and fine still
Like red, fresh and soft rose
Her cheeks are pinky blushing close
Talk about her smart and sharp brows
They are really like lahori bows
The black eye-liner is fine and fair
Depict Punjab culture and classical glare
Her eyes so attractive pretty
Like the thorough Indian beauty
Just like a fairy creature
Her delicate facial feature
Are just giving the words look
Calligraphed fine in golden book
To have her look, a matter of pride
Envying her beauty with every side
Let WARIS SHAH have a divine light
Lail-la-tu-qadar, the true holy night
Her fine red lips shines bright
As precious sapphire illuminates light
Her smooth lovely chin
Is like an apple thin
Her nose is straight with a slight curve
And a lit of hair on treasure to serve
Her teeth are white as daisy-row
And so shine, beads of pearls glow
Her whole graceful and beautified posture
Is like the fine and fairy’s Kashmiri picture
Her height is dashing tall
Like the paradise trees all
Like an innocent pretty koonj smart
Her knock is marked with graceful art
Her fingers are so soft and thin
Like in orchard the beans akin
Her arms are so smooth and smart
Like grinding sticks doing their art
Her breast so bloomed in beautiful maturity
Like marble carved round youthful purity
For the redness of her lips
Everyone sees, admires and slips
Among her all mates, Maids and friends
She seems a fairy queen with royal trends
The love has its own musical circle
With its magnetising lyrics and miracle
Through urd-bazar, a warriers solider
With a red cap he runs here and there
WARIS SHAH knows well, love is special kind
First eye to eye meeting wins the heart and mind
The patriotic love with Punjab is well described by WARIS SHAH . From the mind to the heart, and from heart to the feelings, his style of visualisation mysmerises the reader and he carries the soul parallel to his pen.
How it wonders that heer who was famous as a beloved of Ranjha, now heer is an essential character of WARIS SHAH . WARIS SHAH gained a unique style of poetic singing linguistic vocabulary, musicological rhythm, moral communication, natural and regional patriotism.
He says
A governor wishes soldiers with sincerity
And we express with kasur patriotic nationality
We are anxious and sorrowful by heart
Among the whole Punjab, kasur being desert
Except the external appearing grace
Kasur is losing its internal trace
WARIS SHAH is proud of being pupil
Of great Makhdom, the kasur’s symbol
The story of HEER RANJHA travels a journey from love tale to divine love has numerous ventures, sufferings, circumstances, observations, experiments, ups and downs, complications and a series of strive and struggles.
WARIS SHAH seems as an objective character suffering himself through all pains and grieves. Even the event of ear piercing is the pain of WARIS SHAH himself.
With bowing head and joining hands
Let me request Jogi with sincere bands
Accept and adapt as humble servant
I came for a lesson and look brilliant
We are your deciples coming with pure trust
Almighty lord, is the king of learning best
Without saint’s guide there is no light
Towards a true path and teachings bright
Just as the example to wish
Without milk, no delicious creamy dish
The contentment is the treasure above all
Gained by patience, and endurance’s call
Worldly relations have no value and trust
Even father and brother, and other lust
We are depressed by material gain or attain
For getting rid, let us break linking chain
O my guide, you are the final resort
Leaving where I go, my vision don’t depart
In the search of Jog, WARIS SHAH himself seems a perfect Jogi and travels, transcends and starts divine journey in search of true creator.
The practice and policy of Jog is to strive on
Through learning, and constant meditating on
A kind of death, in struggles hearth
It is achieved only with truth’s wealth
To achieve creator’s wish and will
A constant endurances and self’s kill
With humble nature and humiliating trend
We can find his guide being serving friend
Faith, truth and sincerity do really change
All stones melt and get the divine range
Human being is no more than a clay model
Yet the creator guide well in spiritual cradle
WARIS SHAH finds his great Lord everywhere
He is Omnipresent dwelling in all here and there
WARIS SHAH talks in despair about departing of HEER and RANJHA, he picturised the gloomy scene in really sad tone.
Ranjha says, departing is painful
It is serve shock and really sorrowful
I am thoroughly looted and ruined away
All possibilities blocked, getting no way
Saida gets heer, but of no use
Every link is cut, all means refuse
A house is in mourning sad
The scène of departing is really bad
Loneliness and solitude, serve grip of grief
No charms of life no sigh of relief
Without food and energy, no race to win
To challenge for a fight is mere a sin
If even sky falls, No loss, no death
As the strong link hold well the earth
It’s hard to depart from the beloved
As a spiritual bond now deeply held
WARIS SHAH it is paining to depart
No hope is assured for re-union of heart
It is surprising to couple a natural wonder
A crow gets koonj and jackale meets with lions thunder
Although everyone knows well about the life of WARIS SHAH , yet I mention briefly that he was born in village of Jandiala sher KHAN. He got elementary education from local school and then went kasur for Dars-e-nazami course. He was admitted in the same institution where from Bhulle shah had got his training.
After this course, he secured skill and knowledge in several spiritual arts. Then he approached to baba farid-ud-din masood ganJ shakkar at pak-pattan.
He offers tribute his spiritual guide,
Pir chisthi, the great, is eye apple of mauddod
he is a revered shaker gajh masood
He is honor of noble chistia caste
Grown perfect, famous and pious fast
In pak-pattan, among twenty two
He is saint, humble and noble too
Later on, in Punjab, shaker gunj stayed
Through his teaching, a relief he laid
Fifteen kilometers away from pak-pattan on the road to sahiwal, there is a village of Malka hans, Inside a Mughlia masjid. Here at this very spot, in 1766, with in short span of only thirty months WARIS SHAH created his remarkable work “HEER WARIS SHAH ”. He himself inscribed and Calligraphed every line of his poetic work. He made three original copies.
Several generations passed by train of time
Many uttered in tone and sang in rhyme
They all have gone, none stayed here
Many rulers came, yet left their possession here
Several clamed for longer tenure
But the death might not assure
Many came with power and long intension
But Noh’s storm disturbed dimension
Everyone and who has vanity and pride
Has to die in grave to hide
Talk not about this soul and body
Everyone with a schedule has to ready
WARIS SHAH has written a unique fiction
No other can present such a poetic diction
WARIS SHAH prays for us who are listening, reading and commentating HEER to understand, to take moral lessons and try to act and adopt the virtues described in it.
O my lord, grant true readers with zeal
For the treasure literature which really reveal
The wit and wisdom, and the divine light
And bless them all health, wealth and delight
Forgive and grant mercy with great kind
To everyone who sees, reads and tends to find
WARIS SHAH wishes well for all His grace
Faith,truth,nobility and His divine face.
So here were some sublime glimpses of the work of WARIS SHAH . He is still alive surviving good life and name. He is surely the pride of our tradition of fiction writings.
WARIS SHAH passed away in 1798. He is buried in his native village Jandiala sher khan district skeikhpura. Every year a grand URS is celebrated with millions of lovers and followers. And several segments are arranged to pay tribute to this great WARIS SHAH .
MUHAMMAD SADIQ
Founder
JEHAN-E-WARIS
Dera baba Muhammad Sadiq,
babU saboo,
Lahore by-pass,
Lahore-Pakistan