Reviewed by Rana Mansur Amin

TO publish special issues of literary journals is an old tradition. A lot of literary journals are famous for their special issues, such as Naqoosh of Muhammad Tufail, Fanoon of Ahmad Nadeem Qasimi, Sahifa of Majlis Taraqqi-i-Adab, Nigar of Niaz Fatehpuri, and Khayal of Nasir Kazmi. They have become milestones of our literary history. Many of these have been published in book form as well.

The latest issue of Punjabi literary journal Kangaan is a Syed Waris Ali Shah number. Kangaan started publishing in 1990 under the editorship of Muhammad Afzal Raaz who is well established as a critic, poet and Punjabi prose writer. His efforts for the revival of Punjabi language are par excellence.

The Waris Ali Shah issue is over 800 pages and in addition to Punjabi, also has sections in Urdu, Gurmukhi and English.

Eighty-eight articles study Waris Shah’s position in world literature and Warsian scholarship and criticism.

Waris Shah is a giant of Punjabi literary culture. Some critics call him the Shakespeare of Punjabi literature. His magnum opus Heer is not only a Punjabi but a world classic. Some intellectuals also place it in the Punjabi Sufi poetic tradition. It is an encyclopedic work on the cultural life of 18th century Punjab. All types of Punjabi characters can be seen through its lens.

Afzal Raaz has done a good job of compiling an anthology of essays on Waris Shah’s work, particular Heer. Heer and Ranjha are legendary figures and their love story has been retold in poetry in many languages — Persian, Hindi and Urdu, along with Punjabi. In Punjabi literature, Heer has become a metaphor. Many eminent poets have gained inspiration from it and adorned their poetry with similes and metaphors taken from it. According to great Punjabi Sufi poet, Mian Muhammad Bakhsh:

Waris Shah is sovereign of the realm of letters, who can negate him We have no courage to criticise the realm of his letters
Waris Shah and Bulleh Shah were both pupils of Hafiz Ghulam Murtaza of Kasur. When Waris Shah composed Heer, he took it to his teacher. His teacher was initially reluctant to listen to it, but after he did, he said to Waris Shah, “You have threaded precious stones in a string of grass.” It was a great tribute for Waris Shah. Punjabi was not as developed in Waris Shah’s times as it is now. It was only a vernacular language then (1722-1798) but a Chaucer can be born at any age to transform a language.

Many Punjabi scholars have contributed to this edition. Works of scholars and critics such as Sharif Kunjahi, Professor Zuhair Kunjahi, Dr Maulvi Muhammad Shafi and Professor Hamidullah Hashmi are part of this edition. One of the gems of this volume is the Urdu introduction Shah Abdul Aziz wrote for his edition of Heer. Professor Khalid Hamayun of Punjab University Oriental College, Lahore, discusses two doctoral theses on Waris Shah and Heer.

Some articles also criticise the ‘fake’ scholars of Heer.

Unfortunately, the English section of the issue is very poor and it seems that effort was not made to make it worth reading.

Kangaan’s next issue will be a Mian Muhammad Bakhsh number

The Dawn: June 12, 2011