| Shah Jo Risalo | |
|---|---|
| 195px | |
| Author(s) | Shah Abdul Latif Bhittai |
| Original title | شاه جو رسالو |
| Country | Sindh, Pakistan |
| Language | Sindhi |
| Subject(s) | Sufism |
| Genre(s) | Poetry |
| Publisher | Sindhi Adabi Board |
Shah Jo Risalo (Sindhi: شاھ جو رسالو) is a poetic compendium of famous Sindhi Sufi poet Shah Abdul Latif Bhittai. In fact, it is many compendia, for Shah Abdul Latif's poetry in various forms of Bayt and Wai was compiled by many of his devotees during his lifetime and after his death.The devotees compiled his poetry and designated it as "Shah Jo Risalo" or "Shah's message" .
Ernest Trumpp called it Diwan when he edited the Risalo and published it from Leipzig, Germany in 1866 A.D.Afterwards, many scholars and linguists have published the Shah Jo Risalo with their own compilations, hence many editions are available.
Shah Jo Risalo,written in very pure and concise Sindhi verses,is the great storehouse of Sindhi poetry not only for the Muslims but also for the Hindus.Shah Abdul Latif has hidden his mystical ideas under a thick layers of various symbols taken from all spheres of life as well as from the classical sufi tradition, and particularly from Maulana Rumi's Mathnawi.[1]
Contents |
Surs (chapters) [link]
The traditional compilations of Shah Jo Risalo include 30 Surs (chapters) which were compiled by renowned researchers. The oldest publications of Shah Jo Risalo contained some 36 Surs, but later most of the linguists discarded 6 Surs, as their language and content did not match the Shah's style. Recently, Dr. Nabi Bakhsh Baloch, a renowned linguist of the Sindhi language, has compiled and printed a new edition after 32 years of research into folk culture, language and the history of Sindhi language.
The traditional 30 Surs included in Shah Jo Risalo are:
These Surs contain Bayts which Shah latif sang in state of ecstacy. These Bayts in The Surs concerning the life-stories of his heroines, viz. Suhni, Sassui, Lila, Mumal, Marui, Nuri and Sorath, are not chronological sequences, for the Sufi Poet in his state of "Wajd" or ecstacy, was concerned with the moments of denouncements in life-stories,which he used as allegories to express his mystical experiences.
Shah's Heroines [link]
The women of Shah Abdul Latif's poetry are known as the Seven heroines of Sindhi folklore who have been given the status of royalty in Shah Jo Risalo. The Seven Queens were celebrated throughout Sindh for their positive qualities: their honesty, integrity, piety and loyalty. They were also valued for their bravery and their willingness to risk their lives in the name of love. The Seven Queens mentioned in Shah Jo Risalo are Marui, Momal, Sassui, Noori, Sohni, Sorath, and Lila.In his poetry Shah has alluded in elaborate way to these characters of Sindhi folktales and used them as metaphors for high spiritual life.
These tragic romantic tales are Momal Rano, Umar Marui, Sohni Mehar, Lilan Chanesar, Noori Jam Tamachi, Sassui Punnhun and Sorath - Rai Diyach or Seven Queens (Sindhi: ست مورميون) of Shah Abdul Latif Bhittai.[2][3][4] Sassui Punhun and Sohni Mehar aka Sohni Mahiwal in Punjabi are also narrated in Punjab along with Heer Ranjha and Mirza Sahibaand thus form part of its traditions. These nine tragic romances from South Asia (all from now days Pakistan)have become part of the cultural identity of Pakistan.[5][6]
Perhaps what Shah Abdul Latif Bhittai saw in his tales of these women was an idealised view of womanhood, but the truth remains that the Seven Queens inspired women all over Sindh to have the courage to choose love and freedom over tyranny and oppression. The lines from the Risalo describing their trials are sung at Sufi shrines all over Sindh, and especially at the urs of Shah Abdul Latif every year at Bhit Shah.
First online edition [link]
Shah Jo Risalo has been available on the Internet since 2004. In 2001 Abdul-Majid Bhurgri developed Unicode based support for the Sindhi language. He also led an effort to digitize a conventional printed compilation of Shah Jo Risalo.This edition is based on the Kalyan Advani's version especially tailored for printing, in a simple yet beautiful format as well as an e-book. It is a must-own for every Sindhi speaker/reader.
Translations [link]
Shah Jo Risalo has been translated to some other languages. Shaikh Ayaz, the famous Sindhi poet, translated it into Urdu.
It was first translated in English by Elsa Kazi, a German lady married to Allama I. I. Kazi, who translated selections of Shah Jo Risalo in English prose. Madam Amina Khamisani has also translated a vast number of verses into English.
References [link]
- ^ Annemarie Schimmel, Pearls from the Indus:Studies in Sindhi Culture Jamshoro, Sindh,Pakistan: Sindhi Adabi Board (1986). See pp. 111.
- ^ https://www.thesindhuworld.com/lila_chanesar.html
- ^ https://balochistan.bestforum.ca/t16-sassui-punnun
- ^ https://balochistan.bestforum.ca/t16-sassui-punnun
- ^ https://punjabiworld.com/Creative-Punjab/Legends-of-Punjab/love-legends-of-punjab.html
- ^ https://fmurdu.blogspot.com/2009/05/mirza-sahib-popular-tragic-romances-of.html
