Wednesday, August 15, 2007

Tragic Romances: Sohni-Mahiwal

The subcontinental folklore is accentuated by 4 tragic romances: Heer-Ranjha; Sassi-Punnu; Mirza-Sahiba; and Sohni-Mahiwal. Each of these stories is about the unwavering love between 2 individuals. All of these stories end tragically, but the victor in all 4 stories is love. Since love is one of the strongest (if not the strongest) emotions, sufi masters of the subcontinent set out to explain the relationship between God and slave as that of love. These poetic masterpieces make for excellent reading and if I were to trace its roots, I would say Jalaluddin Rumi's "Mathnawi" was the inspiration for such writings. However, that is a seperate topic altogether.

My personal favorite is the story of Sohni, the potter's daughter, and Mahiwal (whose real name was Izzat Baig), the rich trader from Bukhara. Mahiwal came to India for his business as usual with pockets full of gold coins. He set out to the Punjab where at the banks of the Sindhu river his eyes spotted the beautiful Sohni selling her pottery. Mahiwal was enchanted by her beauty and very soon he made it a habit of coming to her shop to simply catch a glimpse of her. He would religiously come to her shop and buy something she made every day!

Soon it became clear to the villagers that they both liked each other and Sohni was forcibly married to someone else. Mahiwal was heartbroken and started living like a hermit in a small hut across the river. He had forsaken his own people and family in Bukhara for the love of Sohni. In the darkness of night, Sohni would come to her side of the river and Mahiwal would swim across to meet her. He would always bring roasted fish for her as a gift. One day, due to high tide, Mahiwal was unable to catch any fish for his Sohni. Being the true lover that he was, he cut out a piece from his thigh and brought it roasted for her.

Sohni saw the bandage on his thigh and wept as Mahiwal told her what he had done. The following nights, Sohni, who didn't know how to swim, would take a large pot, which she used to hide in a bush, to help her float to the other side of the river where she would meet Mahiwal. The news of their romantic rendezvous started spreading like wildfire. Sohni's sister-in-law followed her at night and saw how these 2 lovers were meeting one another. The following night, she replaced the hard baked earthen pitcher with an unbaked one. As their meeting time approached that night, Sohni grabbed the pitcher from the bushes and set out into the river to meet her lover. The fiendish eyes of her sister-in-law looked on in anticipation...

Half way through the river, Sohni's unbaked pot broke open in the river and she started drowning. Mahiwal spotted Sohni drowning calling out for help and with his heavily bandaged thigh jumped into the river to save his love. Having chucked his thigh muscle out, Mahiwal was unable to swim for too long and watched helplessly as Sohni drowned to her death. Mahiwal gave up his effort and drowned to his death as well. Death, perhaps, did not do them apart, rather brought them together for eternity!

Painful, yet beautiful at the same time. Here is a song by Mekaal Hassan on the tragic romance between Heer and Ranjha. I highly recommend that you guys hear this brilliant song. It is a fusion of classical eastern vocals and flute with jazz-style drumming, bass and rhythm guitaring. These guys are my favorite band these days and as an ex-musician I understand the musical genius in their composition. Enjoy!

64 Comments:

Blogger espoir said...

This is beautiful. Did you dedicate this to anyone? :)

August 15, 2007 9:14 AM  
Blogger al-republican said...

espoir:

Yes, to my Sohni who lives across the Atlantic :)

August 15, 2007 9:15 AM  
Blogger rosh said...

Quite a touching story. I cannot understand or agree with a few intricacies, nevertheless a touching story. Human mind and heart is simple, yet complex.

I guess things haven't changed much today. Man has placed enough borders, boundaries, stereotypes - from all aspects, including religion to keep yearning hearts apart.

I pray, in life, you are blessed with your Sohni.

August 15, 2007 9:31 AM  
Blogger al-republican said...

Rosh:

Did you check out the link on youtube I added in this post?

Let me know what you think of the music.

August 15, 2007 9:56 AM  
Blogger rosh said...

Yes I did, very talented musicians/singers.

August 15, 2007 10:12 AM  
Blogger rosh said...

Pardon this ignorant & (a bit)confused Desi, is Heer-Ranjha, Sassi-Punnu, Mirza-Sahiba, bollywood stories/movies starring Sharook Khan :)

August 15, 2007 3:27 PM  
Anonymous Anonymous said...

Touchy..
For sure I wouldn't want my lover to get me roasted fish as a gift !! nor I want to eat his roasted thigh, not a zomby yet !! LOL
Rumi's poems are one of most beautiful poetries ever written..
This Chopra man ( Deepak Chopra) re-produced it on CDs ( with Persian and Indian background music, performed by Hollywood most famous names including Deemi Moore and Madonna). I have both of those CDs; you can only order them through his website: http://www.chopra.com/
Go to 'store' or 'shop on line' and then to the music section: volume one ( with the Persian music )is " A Gift of Love ", and volume two is " Oceans of Ecstasy " ( with the Indian music)..
The most touching CDs I've ever listened to..
I made a video out of it, give me few seconds and I'll link you guys to my video URL ..
IYM

August 15, 2007 7:30 PM  
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August 15, 2007 7:41 PM  
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August 15, 2007 7:45 PM  
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August 15, 2007 7:58 PM  
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August 15, 2007 8:09 PM  
Anonymous Anonymous said...

Sorry guys, that's me writing and deleting my comments since I end up typing the wrong links.. dyslexic.. pardon

Here it is:
http://www.onetruemedia.com/my_shared?z=15875092ba913be694ecf8&utm_source=otm&utm_medium=text_url

' To my lover ' is from 'A Gift of Love' CD, and the other two 'Keep that in mind and love' and 'This is True my lover' are from ' Oceans of Ecstasy'..
Please feel free to embed them on your blog if you want to.. this is my gift to you guys :)
IYM

August 15, 2007 8:18 PM  
Anonymous Anonymous said...

hey shap
interesting post and story and a good divergence from the heavy islamo/political thoughts.
btw a similar story is found in other cultures as well.
i wonder if every night they used to just eat "roast meat" and talk or even have sex?

August 15, 2007 9:51 PM  
Anonymous Anonymous said...

If muslims were to follow sufism which professes only love, more than half the world's problems would be resolved.

August 16, 2007 12:37 AM  
Anonymous Anonymous said...

hmmm...this is nice for a change..proves that you r not an emotionless political freak after all..this is how it works...al ..when in luv...spread it..glad that you figured it out..and are not the insensitive 'pyaar ka dushman' u always used to be..i would want to know the thoughts that provoked you to put up something like this..hmm a hearty conversation with someone perhaps..people of the world let it known..'mohabbat nahi ki tu kuch nahi kia'..its the most beautiful experience one can have..teaches u a lot and while ur in it..take it from a veteran..'mohabbat karke mohabbat ko jaana hai..wafa bas naam ki hai bewafai ka afsaana hai"..kabhi mohabbat bewafa...tu kabhi zindagi ( as in sohni-mahiwal)luv will fade away..either by ur death or by the next step--marriage...its the C word that keeps it going..COMPROMISE..for all those who disagree - wait till u get married..and people already married disagreeing---shudup...u know its true!!

August 16, 2007 12:44 AM  
Blogger al-republican said...

luv guru:

I may come across in writing as a 'fanatic', but really am not (and you know it!). I can also tell you that most people who are labelled "fanatics" are not as bad as the media would have us think.

In any case, love does not die, luv guru. Yes you compromise if it doesn't work out and move on, but true love always remains in the heart. This love is not necessarily shared with just one person in my opinion. As for marriage, that remains a forbidden fruit for me at the moment :P Don't back out of your commitment to me this September!

AD:

Hehe, I don't think they had sex! But, these stories are not authenticated stories and could be fiction in some cases. In any event, I will be posting more light-hearted stuff like this.

Siraj:

Sufism is the answer to many of our problems, yes, but it shouldn't be the whole and sole reason for our existence. There are many other things that make our Islamic identity and even the militant or strict ones have a role to play in society.

Rosh:

I am sure Bollywood has made films out of these stories. I know that Sohni-Mahiwal's story was the theme for one of Sunny Deol's films.

IYM:

Woman, do you work for Deepak Chopra?? :P

August 16, 2007 4:50 AM  
Anonymous Anonymous said...

I don't work for him.. LOL
He's just crossing my mind these days, that's it..
Did you like those poems ? I'm into poetry big time..
IYM

August 16, 2007 7:49 AM  
Blogger al-republican said...

Yes, I heard 2 of them. Pretty deep stuff and really passionate.

August 16, 2007 8:26 AM  
Blogger al-republican said...

IYM:

You have to tell me how you liked Mekaal Hassan's composition. You should hear it with earphones to hear the bass effects properly.

August 16, 2007 12:32 PM  
Blogger Creation said...

"He would always bring roasted fish for her as a gift." ... You need to trace down his lineage..i'm sure he has something to do with Bangladesh!

" Being the true lover that he was, he cut out a piece from his thigh and brought it roasted for her. " ... What made him think Sohni would consume a part of his body ?!?! LOL! hahaha .. bogus! .. A True Lover or TRUE PSYCHOPATH ?!

oh wait a min, or perhaps Sohni was a cannibal ? ..lol

This is the height of insanity!

Hey! if she was forced to marry someone else then what happened to her hubby ?

...lol..oh come on, they would meet almost every other night .. couldn't he teach her how to swim rather than to bring a roasted fish or a part of his body ?

hehe.. the poor guy lacked some real life skills!

I'm sure Sohni must have regretted falling in love with him.. after all what good is your love when it cannot even save the life of your beloved one...lol

August 16, 2007 12:49 PM  
Blogger al-republican said...

Creation, clearly you have a lot of growing up to do. Haven't you heard of literary fiction? I guess you would poke fun at the entire "Mathanwi" by Maulana Rum because it was all about animals talking and other kinds of "weird" things?

And I guess you would also find it a BIG offence that the Mathnawi is referred to as "qur'an-e-farsi"? HARAM! HARAM!

No wonder that guy ran away! Had you understood love and its deep spiritual connotations maube he might have come back? And I say this seriously.

August 16, 2007 12:56 PM  
Blogger Creation said...

Thank you.

August 16, 2007 1:17 PM  
Anonymous Anonymous said...

You want my honest opinion Al-.. I didn't like MH song that much..
Wanna hear the real bass effect, here is some 'Arabic Rock' by Rachid Taha:

http://youtube.com/watch?v=nUbzX3izyw4

So, you were a musician then .. ? why did you quit if I may ask you ?

August 16, 2007 3:33 PM  
Blogger al-republican said...

IYM:

Nice song. Very contemporary in nature and I did notice the fusion of Arab and Western sounds.

The music, however, has a contemporary appeal. It is played over a simple progression with very basic percussions on the drums. And anyone who knows music will tell you that a simple beat on the drums leaves very little room for the bass guitarist to "spice up" the composition.

The MHB composition is rich in chord progressions and the guitar scales are just hard to match! The drumming, too, is very complex - not something every drummer can play. Comparing vocals would be comparing oranges to apples.

To appreciate MHB, one would need a keen ear for musical intricacies, which is why I asked for comments from everyone. For example, most people would find Mozart boring. But, anyone who knows how Music is played will tell you how difficult it is to play his tunes much less compose them!

But, I still liked the song you posted for its contemporary appeal.

August 16, 2007 4:22 PM  
Blogger al-republican said...

I quit playing music for a variety of reasons ranging from religious beliefs to simply losing interest.

Music requires a lot of dedication and with the amount of time and effort I was putting into it, I found myself being distracted from religious duties such as prayers.

You know the old saying about sex, drugs and rock 'n roll? That is what actually made me rethink it all. I had gotten too involved into Music that now I was "graduating" to the "no holds barred" league. As beautiful as music sounds, the baggage that comes with it was not acceptable to me. I had started finding myself surrounded by women, alcohol and occassionally drugs (though I never consumed any of the above :P). I found myself constantly being invited to embrace this lifestyle. I finally decided to side with the tiny little voice within me that pestered me not to give in to that lifestyle. I often tell my mother how I saw her du'a take a physical form in front of me and I guess repelled me from taking those decisions that I knew I would regret later.

From thereon, I started losing interest as I got more involved in religion. Actually, giving up Music was a big motivation for me to study religion. I thought if I could give up something so close to me just because I was not willing to break the boundaries of morality that were inculcated into me, then why not find out where this tiny voice in me draws its inspiration from?

Sometimes to understood the good, it is important you understand what's bad. I guess that is why God created evil. I am not saying music is evil, hehe. But, I hope you can appreciate that the baggage that comes with it is FAR from being moral.

August 16, 2007 4:42 PM  
Anonymous Anonymous said...

Very honest Al-, very honest.. it takes a true person to 'confess' the way you did..
I guess we all check out or experience different paths in this life till ultimately we find the one that our soul is destined to follow.. right ?
The most important thing is not to kill yourself with guilt.. that's a trap that is hard to recover from, it chains you down to stagnancy.. right ?
Back to that song.. as I'm not a musician ( I just love music) then it's hard for me to compare the different varieties and understand how to de-compose it with my virgion ears.. you know better..
IYM

August 16, 2007 5:54 PM  
Blogger i*maginate said...

Wow wow wow, this is amazing. I will come back to the post in detail soon.

Having sped-read the comments and compared it with your post, what's all this fascination with the "roasted fish" thing?

Blah blah.

I will def. come back to your post, love "epic" stories :) They teach us a lot

August 16, 2007 6:30 PM  
Anonymous Anonymous said...

Al-
were you one of those musicians in the clip ?
you better confess for real now.. LOL

August 16, 2007 9:55 PM  
Anonymous Anonymous said...

which one of these was adil's comments? he called me last night saying he has commented..
AD

August 17, 2007 4:49 AM  
Blogger al-republican said...

Look in the "Quasi-Independence" thread, AD.

August 17, 2007 6:52 AM  
Blogger i*maginate said...

Here I come!

"Yes you compromise if it doesn't work out and move on"

I said something along the same lines to my teacher when studying "epic love stories" and it was the quote of the century...in epics, you simply can't "move on". Someone's heart has to break: often two. That's what makes it an epic!

"As beautiful as music sounds, the baggage that comes with it was not acceptable to me"

I think music makes the world go around. The world goes around, whether or not you want it to.

August 22, 2007 1:20 PM  
Blogger al-republican said...

Good morning, i*maginate :P

August 23, 2007 9:36 AM  
Blogger i*maginate said...

Hehe good afternoon now ;)

Sorry, I could not say anymore on the stories themselves...they are so heartbreaking!

August 24, 2007 3:03 AM  
Blogger Tamed Cynic said...

Shahab, very nice. One of my favourite Pathanay Khan song is about Sohni Mahinwal. "Sohni Gharay nu aakhdi.. Aj menu yaar mila gharya.."

September 04, 2007 2:01 AM  
Blogger Tamed Cynic said...

Alright, After commenting I searched for the song and its actually on youtube. Here you go!

http://youtube.com/watch?v=b0XWxylBO4k

The Amazing Pathanay Khan..

September 04, 2007 2:13 AM  
Anonymous Anonymous said...

Good Day!!! al-republican.blogspot.com is one of the most excellent resourceful websites of its kind. I take advantage of reading it every day. All the best.

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