Punjab’s Song of Sorrow and Hope:To Waris Shah by Amrita Pritam
(Part I)
I will return for You! (Mein Tenu Pher Milangi)
Born in Gujranwala (now In Pakistan) on 31 August 1919, Amrita Pritam migrated on the eve of Partition from Lahore to Delhi via Dehradun. She passed away on 31 October 2005; but I met her a week ago, her voice ringing bold and clear from her fascinating works. For she had pledged: Mein Tenu Pher Milangi[i] (I will return for You!)
I read her representative poems, translated a few into Sambalpuri, Odia, and English; and once again watched Pinjar[ii] (2003), the heart-rending film based on her novel. I heard her voice in her recital of the iconic poem Ajj Aakhan Waris Shah Nu.
Dear Amrita, I greatly savoured my very brief encounter with you. Thanks for opening a bit of your heart and soul to me.
Punjab’s Song of Sorrow and Hope
Ajj Aakhan Waris Shah Nu by Amrita Pritam (1919-2005), Punjab’s first and celebrated woman poet, is among Punjab’s most sorrowful songs, possibly second only to Heer Ranjha by Waris Shah (1722-1798), the famous Sufi poet. Waris celebrated in his tragic song the undying love between Heer and Ranjha that transcended the barriers of religion. Some have interpreted Heer Ranjha as more than a romantic tragedy; and as a mystical, devotional poem about the soul (Ranjha)’s eternal quest for the Supreme Divinity (Heer).
Amrita’s poem about the unbearable trauma of Partition is not entirely morose, despondent, and hopeless; the undying flicker of a determined diya radiates the hope for love and life despite the rapacious forces of darkness (आज्ज सब्बे कैदों[iii] बन गये, हुस्न इश्क दे चोर).
But why remember Amrita Pritam and her most famous poem now? Because her 105th Birth Anniversary would be celebrated on 31 August 2024; and Ajj Aakhan … is a timeless creation as relevant today as it was in 1948 when the poet wrote it on a scrap of paper during her train journey from Dehradun to Delhi.
Why did the poet address Waris Shah? She mentions,
“From the moving train, small mounds of earth shrouded in darkness looked like numerous graves …. the dark, desolate night seemed to wail through the wind. I remembered Waris Shah’s plaintive ballad about Heer’s unrequited love, the song which people sang in every home. That is why I addressed Waris Shah…” [iv]
Partition Literature
Partition was no less traumatic than the forcible amputation of a healthy person without anaesthesia. Suddenly, millions of people became uprooted and homeless- watan se be-watan, in Amrita’s words. About fifteen million people fled across the hastily and thoughtlessly drawn border by Radcliffe, making Partition the largest forced migration in human history. Anywhere between 2,00,000 to 20,00,000 people are estimated to have been killed in the communal frenzy that ensued. It is a dark chapter in the history of our sub-continent and the world.
Several renowned authors including Amrita Pritam, Bhisma Sahni, S.H. Manto, Salman Rushdie, and Khushwant Singh have written novels, short-stories, poems about the trauma of partition.[v]
How I savoured the song
It would be impudent for me, an Odia with a modest capability in Hindi and none in Punjabi, to suggest how to savour this song; but here is how I went about it.
First, I read a few short but representative poems of Amrita Pritam in Hindi, and then learned that Ajj Aakhan.. is her most famous poem. I read it, liked it, and began translating it into English (my favourite method to compel myself to read the poem several times to appreciate the nuances of each word and phrase). Then, I found that Amrita Ji had herself translated this song into Hindi and English. I read those translations, too.
But I wanted more out of the poem, and located with the help of a friend (Thanks, Anjuly!) the text of the original Punjabi poem in Devnagari script. Taking a print out of the Punjabi, Hindi, and English versions; I read them in that sequence. I’m glad I did that, for I found the Punjabi nazm far superior to the Hindi and the English translations. Even with the author herself translating, the limitations of translation are evident.
Translation involves inescapable transmission loss; language is a vehicle of a culture rooted in geography and time; a different language cannot capture all the nuances of the original text, its earthy flavour, its proverbs, and words and phrases dripping with cultural memory.
Poetry is, truly, untranslatable. Translation will always be inadequate, at best an approximation of the original. Even Amrita Pritam’s own translation cannot fully capture the heart-rending horror, the searing sorrow, and the pathos of the original nazm.
Just one example will suffice to illustrate the limitations of translation:
The following line in Punjabi-
सने डालियां पींग आज्ज, पिपलां दित्ती तोड़
has been thus translated by the poet herself-
Hindi
हर पीपल से टहनियां टूट गई जहां झूलों की आवाज़ आती थी...
English
Branches heavy with swings,
cracked from peepul trees
In the Punjabi version, Peepul severs her own arms along with the swing she is cradling; the translations do not capture the heart-wrenching agony of the original!
Why merely read the poem, when amazing recitals by the author, and by Gulzar are available on YouTube? I played Gulzar’s recital more than once. The poem I had read came alive in Gulzar’s evocative recitation. Only a kindred soul, a poet, could recite it with such empathy.
The links are given in the endnotes.[vi]
What is special about this poem?
In this poem, the poet-narrator suffers the trauma of Partition- she sings, sighs, sobs, weeps, wails, mourns, stutters, sobs, chokes; and the readers suffer vicariously the unbearable agony of Partition through the power of her poetry. Ajj Aakhan.. is a poem that presents a live telecast of the breaking news, as it were, long before the age of TV; almost like Sanjay giving to Dhritarashtra a blow-by-blow account of the horrible fratricide in the Mahabharata.
Quaido’s malice, hate, villainy, and poison killed Heer and Ranjha; but the lovers were resurrected by Waris Shah, the Sufi-Singer-Saint, the Balladeer of the Broken-Hearted (दर्दमंदा देया दर्दिया).
Why sing of sorrow?
Those who have suffered the trauma of Partition physically or vicariously are condemned to carry on the burden of living with a dagger permanently lodged in their heart and soul that no surgeon can remove; but the soul sprouts a song to share and lessen the sorrow. That makes the pain bearable and life liveable. Song is a balm that soothes the many scars with painful memories bubbling under them.
Song of Hope
This sad song, a mournful dirge, is ringfenced, as it were, with hope. The opening and concluding stanzas are like Amrita Pritam’s red shawl which she tore into two to protect her two kids from the biting cold when migrating from Lahore to Dehradun.
Opening Stanza
आज्ज आखां वारिस शाह नूं
कित्थे कबरां विचों बोल ते आज्ज किताबे ईश्क दा
कोई अगला वर्का फोल
Concluding Stanza
आज्ज आखां वारिस शाह नूं
कबरां विचों बोल ते आज्ज किताबे ईश्क दा
कोई अगला वर्का फोल
In these stanzas, the poet solicits Waris to arise from his grave and usher in a new refrain in his immortal song of love. That is a mannat for a miracle! A song to soothe the suffering souls.
बोलो अमृता
Speak Amrita…
Sing a new refrain in the saga of love…
softly play the flute of love…and
vanquish the venom
spreading all over the world.
बोलो अमृता… गाओ…
एक नया तराना छेड़ो…
प्यार की एक फूँक से
दुनिया में फैल रहे ज़हर को काटो।
~~~
Comments
Anshu
Dear Prasanna,
I teared up last night with the beauty of your piece and the memory of my own mother's nostalgia for Jhang, the land of Heer-Ranjha.
Your lyrical prose has surpassed itself this time! Comparing the trauma of partition to amputation without anaesthesia is just brilliant and utterly apt. Your words brought back to me my parents' recall of the Partition and their own days as refugees in Dehradun before my father landed a job - in Dibrugarh!
Both my parents hailed from Jhang, and my mother's favourite music was Waris Shah's Heer, sung by the legendary Asa Singh Mastana. Obviously, it never held the same appeal for me while I was growing up. But as the years have gone by, I see and understand her rootedness and her refusal to let any other music dislodge Mastana's rendering of Waris Shah's Heer from the top of her chart.
Of course I had read Ajj Aakhan... before and heard Gulzar recite it. But it's your piece that has made me truly appreciate its meaning and its pathos. Likening it to Sanjay's account in the Mahabharata is a mind blowing idea! A few months ago, I visited the Partition Museum in Amritsar, and the impact left me reeling. I felt much the same last night as I read Amrita Pritam's words coupled with your tribute.
Thank you, Prasanna
Warmly,
Anshu.
Anjuly
Inter DPS Punjabi Language Festival 2024
DPS,
Amritsar organised the event on 24 Aug 2024 to commemorate the 105th
Birth Anniversary of Amrita Pritam. On this occasion, I spoke to the students
and teachers. DPS Amritsar has shared a link for my speech:
https://drive.google.com/drive/folders/101ke4z-iHM9u_vnwQwmwf06qlFwMkCoX?usp=sharing
~~~
(Part II)
(Ajj Aakhan.. Original Punjabi poem & Hindi and English Translations by Amrita Pritam)
Punjabi Text in Devnagari*
वारिस शाह नूं
आज्ज आखां वारिस शाह नूं
कित्थे कबरां विचों बोल ते आज्ज किताबे ईश्क दा
कोई अगला वर्का फोल
इक रोई सी धी पंजाब दी तूं लिख लिख मारे वैण
आज्ज लखां धिया रोंदियां तैनूं वारिस शाह नूं कैण
उठ दर्दमंदा देया दर्दिया उठ तक्क अपना पंजाब
आज्ज वेले लाशा विछियां ते लहू दी भरी चिनाव
किसे ने पंजा पाणियां विच दित्ती जहर रला
ते उणा पाणियां धरत नूं दित्ता पानी ला
इस जरखेज जमीन दे लू लू फुटिया जहर
गिट्ठ गिट्ठ चड़ियां लालियां ते फुट फुट चड़िया कहर
उहो वलिसी वा फिर वण वण वगी जा
उहने हर इक बांस दी वंजली दित्ती नाग बना
नागां किल्ले लोक मूं, बस फिर डांग्ग ही डांग्ग,
पल्लो पल्ली पंजाब दे, नीले पै गये अंग,
गलेयों टुट्टे गीत फिर, त्रखलों टुट्टी तंद,
त्रिंझणों टुट्टियां सहेलियां, चरखरे घूकर बंद
सने सेज दे बेड़ियां, लुड्डन दित्तीयां रोड़,
सने डालियां पींग आज्ज, पिपलां दित्ती तोड़,
जित्थे वजदी सी फूक प्यार दी, ओ वंझली गयी गवाच,
रांझे दे सब वीर आज्ज भुल गये उसदी जाच्च
धरती ते लहू वसिया, कब्रां पइयां चोण,
प्रीत दिया शाहाजादियां अज्ज विच्च मजारां रोन,
आज्ज सब्बे कैदों* बन गये, हुस्न इश्क दे चोर
आज्ज कित्थों लाब्ब के लयाइये वारिस शाह इक होर
~~~
*(Source: वारिस शाह नूं - अमृता प्रीतम - आईना (hindireport.in)
~~~
Ajj Aakhan Waris Shah Nu (1948)
To Waris Shah
(Translated by Amrita Pritam)
Speak from the depths of the grave
to Waris Shah I Say
and add a new page of the saga of love
today.
Once wept a daughter of Punjab,
your pen unleashed a million cries
a million daughters weep today,
to you Waris Shah they turn their eyes.
Awake, decry your Punjab,
O sufferer with those suffering!
Corpses entomb the fields today
the Chenab is flowing with blood.
Mingled with poison by some
are the waters of five rivers,
and this torrent of pollution,
unceasingly covers our earth.
And heavy with venom were the winds,
that blew through the forests
transmuting into a snake,
The reed of each musical branch.
With sting afters ting did the serpents
suppress the voice of people.
A moment so brief and the limbs of Punjab turned blue
Threads snapped from their shuttles
and rent the songs at their throats
Silenced was the spinning wheel’s hum,
severed from their gatherings, the women.
Branches heavy with swings,
cracked from peepul trees
boats laden with trappings
loosened from anchors to sink.
Despoilers of beauty and love,
each man now turned a Kedu*
where can we seek for another
like Waris Shah today?
Only you can speak from the grave,
to Waris Shah I say
add another page to your epic of love today.
~~~
*Or Qaidon – The uncle of Heer, the villain in Waris Shah’s love story who got her to eat the poisoned sweets.
~~~
Ajj Aakhan Waris Shah Nu
(Hindi Translation by Amrita Pritam: Source- Aksharo Ke Saye)
उठो वारिस शाह—
कहीं कब्र में से बोलो और इश्क की कहानी का — कोई नया वरक खोलो...
पंजाब की एक बेटी रोई थी
तूने लंबी दास्तान लिखी
आज तो लाखों बेटियां रोती हैं तुम्हें—वारिस शाह से—कहती हैं...
दर्दमंदों का दर्द जानने वाले उठो! और अपना पंजाब देखो!
आज हर बेले में लाशें बिछी हुई हैं
और चनाब में पानी नहीं ...अब लहू बहता है...
पांच दरियाओं के पानी में यह ज़हर किसने मिला दिया
और वही ज़हर का पानी खेतों को बोने सींचने लगा...
पंजाब की ज़रखेज़ ज़मीन में वही ज़हर उगने फैलने लगा
और स्याह सितम की तरह वह काला ज़हर खिलने लगा...
वही ज़हरीली हवा वनों–वनों में बहने लगी
जिसने बांस की बांसुर– ज़हरीली नाग—सी बना दी...
नाग का पहला डकं मदारियों को लगा और उनके मत्रं खो गए...
फिर जहां तहां सब लोग– ज़हर से नीले पड़ने लगे...
देखो ! लोगों के होठों से एक ज़हर बहने लगा
और पूरे पंजाब का बदन नीला प़डने लगा...
गले से गीत टूट गए
चर्खे का धागा टूट गया
और सखियां — जो अभी अभी यहां थी जाने कहां कहां गई...
हीर के मांझी न — वह नौका डुबो दी जो दरिया में बहती थी
हर पीपल से टहनियां टूट गई जहां झूलों की आवाज़ आती थी...
वह बांसुरी जाने कहां गई जो मुहब्बत का गीत गाती थी
और रांझे के भ़ाई बंधु बांसुरी बजाना भूल गए...
ज़मीन पर लहू बहने लगा—
इतना—कि कब्रें चूने लगीं
और मुहब्बत की शहज़ादियां मज़ारों में रोने लगीं...
सभी कैदों में नज़र आते हैं हुस्न और इश्क को चुराने वाले
और वारिस कहां से लाएं हीर की दास्तान गाने वाले...
तुम्हीं से कहती हूं–वारिस! उठो! कब्र में से बोलो
और इश्क की कहानी का कोई नया वरक खोलो...
~~~
- Sansad TV: Ek Thi Amrita- https://youtu.be/jyng88pcU7g
- Aksharo Ke Saye (Hindi Edition) by Amrita Pritam
- Kavitakosh.org
[i] Mein Tenu Pher Milangi- a poem Amrita wrote for her soulmate, Imroz; recital by Gulzar: https://youtu.be/B6sxT3aGv68
[ii] Link for Pinjar: https://youtu.be/vtapCrARMZk?si=ircXR4zm6RRp_vb7
[iii] Quaido was Heer’s uncle who murdered her by poisoning her food.
[iv] Source: Pritam, Amrita. Aksharo Ke Saye (Hindi Edition), Rajpal & Sons. Kindle Edition. English translation of the quoted para is by this blogger.
[v] Here are some of the most celebrated works by renowned authors on the Partition of India and Pakistan:
1. “Train to Pakistan” by Khushwant Singh - This novel vividly depicts the horrors and human tragedies of the Partition through the story of a small village on the border of India and Pakistan.
2. “Tamas” by Bhisham Sahni - A powerful narrative that portrays the communal violence and chaos during the Partition, based on Sahni’s own experiences.
3. “Ice-Candy-Man” (also known as “Cracking India”) by Bapsi Sidhwa - This novel provides a child’s perspective on the Partition, capturing the innocence lost amidst the turmoil.
4. “Midnight’s Children” by Salman Rushdie - While not solely about the Partition, this Booker Prize-winning novel intertwines the story of India’s independence and Partition with magical realism.
5. “Pinjar” by Amrita Pritam - A poignant tale of a Hindu woman abducted during the Partition, exploring themes of identity, trauma, and resilience.
6. “The Shadow Lines” by Amitav Ghosh - This novel delves into the impact of Partition on individuals and families, spanning across generations and geographies.
7. “A Bend in the Ganges” by Manohar Malgonkar - A gripping story that captures the violence and upheaval during the Partition, focusing on the lives of two friends caught in the conflict.
These works offer profound insights into the human experiences and historical complexities of the Partition.
(Source: CoPilot)
[vi] Recital by Amrita Pritam: https://youtu.be/aFkKOr08-jw?si=kACTBm7lKphcfIqA
Recital by Gulzar: https://youtu.be/rBvFabOMPVs?si=7WIOIoetB9YdViVp
