Shah Jo Risalo
Encyclopedia
Shah Jo Risalo is the name of the compiled verses of Shah Abdul Latif Bhittai
. Many scholars and linguists have published Shah Jo Risalo with their own compilations, hence many editions are available. No single edition is believed to be the original, but the oldest manuscript of Shah Jo Risalo is believed to contain all the authentic verses of Bhittai.
It is believed that Shah's verses were compiled in his life, but he did not like this and threw the only manuscript of his verses into a pond. Later, his devotees pleaded with him to write some verses, hence he told them many verses which were recorded in writing. However, most of his work was never written, only memorized by people, and became popular in the folk culture
of Sindh
.
, 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:
Dr. Nabi Bakhsh Baloch's compilation does not include Sur Kedaro, which he believes was written by another poet of Sindh with the same name, namely Abdul Latif of Hala.
These tragic romantic tales are Momal Rano
, Umar Marui, Sohni Mehar, LiLa Chanesar
, Noori Jam Tamachi
, Sassui Punhun and Sorath - Rai Diyach
or Seven Queens of Shah Abdul Latif Bhittai
.. Sassui Punhun and Sohni Mehar aka Sohni Mahiwal
in Punjabi
are also narrated in Punjab along with Heer Ranjha
and Mirza Sahiba
and 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
.
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.
based support for the Sindhi language. He also led an effort to digitize a common compilation of Shah Jo Risalo by Advani
, which was completed and published in text format as well as an e-book
. It is considered by many as the first ebook in Sindhi language, and uses Unicode text throughout.
Ahmed Chand, Shahnawaz Soomro, Muhammad Habib Sanai, Abdul Rahim Nizamani, Faqir Aslah Ali Qalbani, Ashiq Hussain Nizamani and Rashid Buriro also contributed to this project as volunteers.
, 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.
Shah Abdul Latif Bhittai
Shah Abdul Latif Bhittai was a Sindhi Sufi scholar, mystic, saint, poet, and musician. He is widely considered to be one of the greatest poets of the Sindhi language...
. Many scholars and linguists have published Shah Jo Risalo with their own compilations, hence many editions are available. No single edition is believed to be the original, but the oldest manuscript of Shah Jo Risalo is believed to contain all the authentic verses of Bhittai.
It is believed that Shah's verses were compiled in his life, but he did not like this and threw the only manuscript of his verses into a pond. Later, his devotees pleaded with him to write some verses, hence he told them many verses which were recorded in writing. However, most of his work was never written, only memorized by people, and became popular in the folk culture
Folk culture
Folk culture refers to the lifestyle of a culture. Historically, handed down through oral tradition, it demonstrates the "old ways" over novelty and relates to a sense of community. Folk culture is quite often imbued with a sense of place...
of Sindh
Sindh
Sindh historically referred to as Ba'ab-ul-Islam , is one of the four provinces of Pakistan and historically is home to the Sindhi people. It is also locally known as the "Mehran". Though Muslims form the largest religious group in Sindh, a good number of Christians, Zoroastrians and Hindus can...
.
Surs (chapters)
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 languageSindhi language
Sindhi is the language of the Sindh region of Pakistan that is spoken by the Sindhi people. In India, it is among 22 constitutionally recognized languages, where Sindhis are a sizeable minority. It is spoken by 53,410,910 people in Pakistan, according to the national government's Statistics Division...
, 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:
- Kalyaan
- Yaman Kalyaan
- Khanbhaat
- Suri Raag
- Samundi
- Sohni
- Sassui Aburi
- Maazuri
- Desi
- Kohyari
- Husaini
- LiLa ChanesarLiLa Chanesar-Introduction:Lilan Chanesar, is included in seven popular tragic romances from Sindh and Baluchistan. The other six are Momal Rano, Umar Marvi, Sohni Mahiwal, Noori Jam Tamachi, Sassi Punnun and Dhaj, Ror Kumar commonly known as Seven Queens of Shah Abdul Latif Bhittai...
- Momal RanoMomal RanoMomal Rano is one of the historical romantic tale from Pakistan. It is included in seven popular tragic romances from Sindh and Baluchistan. The other six are Umar Marvi, Sohni Mahiwal, LiLa Chanesar, Noori Jam Tamachi, Sassi Punnun and Dhaj, Ror Kumar commonly known as Seven Queens of Shah Abdul...
- Marui
- KaamodNoori Jam TamachiNoori Jam Tamachi is included in seven popular tragic romances from Sindh and Baluchistan. The other six are Momal Rano, Umar Marvi, Sohni Mahiwal, LiLa Chanesar, Sassi Punnun and Dhaj, Ror Kumar commonly known as Seven Queens of Shah Abdul Latif Bhittai...
- Ghatu
- SorathDhaj, Ror KumarRaja Dhaj or Rai Diyach, a name by which he is better known among Sindhi Rajputs when they listen to the ballad of Sorath, is an ancient figure made immortal by his abduction of Sorath, a woman of legendary beauty...
- Kedaro
- SarangSarangSarang is the helicopter formation display team of the Indian Air Force.The team flies four HAL Dhruvs. The name Sarang is symbolic as it is the national bird of India. The team was formed in October 2003 and their first public performance was at the Asian Aerospace Show, Singapore, 2004...
- AsaaASAAASAA may refer to:*Alaska School Activities Association*Alberta Schools Athletic Association*American Sleep Apnea Association...
- Ripp
- Khahori
- Barwo Sindhi
- RamkaliRamkaliRamkali is a raga from Hindusthani classical music which originated from Bhairav Thaat. In the raga, as like bhairav, second tune and sixth tune are flat. Flat nishad and sharp madhyama are used often....
- Kapa'iti
- Purab
- Karayal
- Pirbhati
- Dahar
- Bilawal
Dr. Nabi Bakhsh Baloch's compilation does not include Sur Kedaro, which he believes was written by another poet of Sindh with the same name, namely Abdul Latif of Hala.
The Seven Queens of Sindh
The women of Shah Abdul Latif's poetry are known as the Seven Queens, 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.These tragic romantic tales are Momal Rano
Momal Rano
Momal Rano is one of the historical romantic tale from Pakistan. It is included in seven popular tragic romances from Sindh and Baluchistan. The other six are Umar Marvi, Sohni Mahiwal, LiLa Chanesar, Noori Jam Tamachi, Sassi Punnun and Dhaj, Ror Kumar commonly known as Seven Queens of Shah Abdul...
, Umar Marui, Sohni Mehar, LiLa Chanesar
LiLa Chanesar
-Introduction:Lilan Chanesar, is included in seven popular tragic romances from Sindh and Baluchistan. The other six are Momal Rano, Umar Marvi, Sohni Mahiwal, Noori Jam Tamachi, Sassi Punnun and Dhaj, Ror Kumar commonly known as Seven Queens of Shah Abdul Latif Bhittai...
, Noori Jam Tamachi
Noori Jam Tamachi
Noori Jam Tamachi is included in seven popular tragic romances from Sindh and Baluchistan. The other six are Momal Rano, Umar Marvi, Sohni Mahiwal, LiLa Chanesar, Sassi Punnun and Dhaj, Ror Kumar commonly known as Seven Queens of Shah Abdul Latif Bhittai...
, Sassui Punhun and Sorath - Rai Diyach
Dhaj, Ror Kumar
Raja Dhaj or Rai Diyach, a name by which he is better known among Sindhi Rajputs when they listen to the ballad of Sorath, is an ancient figure made immortal by his abduction of Sorath, a woman of legendary beauty...
or Seven Queens of Shah Abdul Latif Bhittai
Shah Abdul Latif Bhittai
Shah Abdul Latif Bhittai was a Sindhi Sufi scholar, mystic, saint, poet, and musician. He is widely considered to be one of the greatest poets of the Sindhi language...
.. Sassui Punhun and Sohni Mehar aka Sohni Mahiwal
Sohni Mahiwal
Sohni Mahiwal and is included in seven popular tragic romances from Sindh and Baluchistan. The other six are Momal Rano, Umar Marvi, LiLa Chanesar, Noori Jam Tamachi, Sassi Punnun and Dhaj, Ror Kumar commonly known as Seven Queens of Shah Abdul Latif Bhittai...
in Punjabi
Punjabi language
Punjabi is an Indo-Aryan language spoken by inhabitants of the historical Punjab region . For Sikhs, the Punjabi language stands as the official language in which all ceremonies take place. In Pakistan, Punjabi is the most widely spoken language...
are also narrated in Punjab along with Heer Ranjha
Heer Ranjha
For 1970 Hindi movie of same name and characters, see Heer Raanjha.Heer Ranjha is one of the four popular tragic romances of the Punjab. The other three are Mirza Sahiba, Sassi Punnun and Sohni Mahiwal. There are several poetic narrations of the story, the most famous being 'Heer' by Waris Shah...
and Mirza Sahiba
Mirza Sahiba
Mirza Sahiba is one of the four popular tragic romances of the Punjab. Heer Ranjha and Mirza Sahiba, including Sohni Mahiwal and Sassi Punnun are the four tales from Punjab, narrated in Punjabi...
and thus form part of its traditions. These nine tragic romances from South Asia
South Asia
South Asia, also known as Southern Asia, is the southern region of the Asian continent, which comprises the sub-Himalayan countries and, for some authorities , also includes the adjoining countries to the west and the east...
(all from now days Pakistan
Pakistan
Pakistan , officially the Islamic Republic of Pakistan is a sovereign state in South Asia. It has a coastline along the Arabian Sea and the Gulf of Oman in the south and is bordered by Afghanistan and Iran in the west, India in the east and China in the far northeast. In the north, Tajikistan...
)have become part of the cultural identity of Pakistan
Pakistan
Pakistan , officially the Islamic Republic of Pakistan is a sovereign state in South Asia. It has a coastline along the Arabian Sea and the Gulf of Oman in the south and is bordered by Afghanistan and Iran in the west, India in the east and China in the far northeast. In the north, Tajikistan...
.
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
Urs
Urs is the death anniversary of a Sufi saint in South Asia, usually held at the saint's dargah . South Asian Sufis being mainly Chishtiyya, refer to their saints as lovers and God as beloved...
of Shah Abdul Latif every year at Bhit Shah.
First online edition
Shah Jo Risalo has been available on the Internet since 2004. In 2001 Abdul-Majid Bhurgri developed UnicodeUnicode
Unicode is a computing industry standard for the consistent encoding, representation and handling of text expressed in most of the world's writing systems...
based support for the Sindhi language. He also led an effort to digitize a common compilation of Shah Jo Risalo by Advani
Advani
आडवाणी is a Hindu family name, the Romanisation of which is Advani [aˑᶑʋaˑɳiˑ]. It is found among people from Sindh, Pakistan. Sindhi surnames often include the suffix -ani after their grandfather's forename or after their village in Sindh, in memory of it. Thus, Advani can mean either ‘from the...
, which was completed and published in text format as well as an e-book
E-book
An electronic book is a book-length publication in digital form, consisting of text, images, or both, and produced on, published through, and readable on computers or other electronic devices. Sometimes the equivalent of a conventional printed book, e-books can also be born digital...
. It is considered by many as the first ebook in Sindhi language, and uses Unicode text throughout.
Ahmed Chand, Shahnawaz Soomro, Muhammad Habib Sanai, Abdul Rahim Nizamani, Faqir Aslah Ali Qalbani, Ashiq Hussain Nizamani and Rashid Buriro also contributed to this project as volunteers.
Translations
Shah Jo Risalo has been translated to some other languages. Shaikh AyazShaikh Ayaz
Shaikh Ayaz was one of the great Sindhi poets of Pakistan. He was born in Shikarpur Sindh. By profession he was a lawyer but he also served as the vice chancellor of Sindh University. His poetry brought new trends into Sindhi literature....
, 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
Allama I. I. Kazi
Allama Imdad Ali Imam Ali Kazi , was a scholar, philosopher, jurist, and educationist. He is considered to be a founder of the University of Sindh at its present location at Jamshoro. Many remarkable works for Sindhi Art, literature, mysticism, education and history are attributed to him...
, who translated selections of Shah Jo Risalo in English prose. Madam Amina Khamisani has also translated a vast number of verses into English.
External links
- Shah Jo Risalo — Full text in Sindhi Language
- Shah Jo Risalo - The Selection, translated by: Elsa Kazi into English
- Shah Jo Risalo Full text in e-book/PDF format