- Bulleh Shah
Bulleh Shah (1680 – 1757) ( _pa.
Shahmukhi :Nastaliq|بلہے شاہ,Gurmukhi : ਬੁੱਲ੍ਹੇ ਸ਼ਾਹ), whose real name was Abdullah Shah [ [http://www.apnaorg.com/poetry/bullahn/ The Life of Bulleh Shah] ] , was a PunjabiSufi poet.Biography
Bulleh Shah is believed to have been born in 1680, in the small village of
Uch ,Bahawalpur , Punjab, now inPakistan [ [http://www.poetseers.org/spiritual_and_devotional_poets/sufi/bulleh_shah Bulleh Shah Biography] ] . His ancestors had migrated fromBukhara in modernUzbekistan .At the age of six months, his parents relocated to
Malakwal . There his father, Shah Muhammad Darwaish, was a preacher in the villagemosque and a teacher. His father later got a job inPandoke , about 50 miles southeast ofKasur . Bulleh Shah received his early schooling in Pandoke, and moved to Kasur for higher education, to become a student of the prominent professor,Ghulam Murtaza . He also received education from Maulana Mohiyuddin. His spiritual teacher was the eminent Sufi saint, Shah Inayat Qadri [http://www.dailytimes.com.pk/default.asp?page=story_27-8-2004_pg7_46 247th Bulleh Shah fair begins] Daily Times,August 27 ,2004 .] .Bulleh Shah was a direct descendant of
Muhammad , through the progeny of Shaikh Abdul Qadir Gillani of Baghdad.A large amount of what is known about Bulleh Shah comes through legends, and is subjective; to the point that there isn’t even agreement among historians concerning his precise date and place of birth. Some "facts" about his life have been pieced together from his own writings. Other "facts" seem to have been passed down through oral traditions.
Bulleh Shah practiced the Sufi tradition of Punjabi poetry established by poets like
Shah Hussain (1538 – 1599),Sultan Bahu (1629 – 1691), andShah Sharaf (1640 – 1724).Bulleh Shah lived in the same period as the famous Sindhi Sufi poet,
Shah Abdul Latif Bhatai (1689 – 1752). His lifespan also overlapped with the legendary Punjabi poetWaris Shah (1722 – 1798), ofHeer Ranjha fame, and the famous Sindhi Sufi poetAbdul Wahad (1739 – 1829), better known by his pen-name,Sachal Sarmast (“truth seeking leader of the intoxicated ones”). AmongstUrdu poets, Bulleh Shah lived 400 miles away fromMir Taqi Mir (1723 – 1810) ofAgra .He died in 1758, and his tomb is located in
Kasur ,Pakistan [ [http://www.poetry-chaikhana.com/B/BullehShah/ Poems by Bulleh Shah] ] .Poetry Style
The verse form Bulleh Shah primarily employed is called the
Kafi , a style of Punjabi, Sindhi andSiraiki poetry used not only by the Sufis of Sindh and Punjab, but also bySikh gurus.Bulleh Shah’s poetry and philosophy strongly criticizes
Islamic religious orthodoxy of his day. At the time worldy corruption had been taken over as opposed to the true teachings of Islam.A Beacon of Peace
Baba Bulleh Shah's time was marked with communal strife between Muslims and Sikhs. But in that age Baba Bulleh Shah was a beacon of hope and peace for the citizens of Punjab. While Bulleh Shah was in Pandoke, Muslims killed a young Sikh man who was riding through their village in retaliation for murder of some Muslims by Sikhs. Baba Bulleh Shah denounced the murder of an innocent Sikh and was censured by the mullas and muftis of Pandoke. Bulleh Shah maintained that violence was not the answer to violence.
Bulleh Shah also hailed Guru Tegh Bahadur as a ghazi (Islamic term for a religious warrior) and incurred the wrath of the mullas.
Humanist
Bulleh Shah’s writings represent him as a humanist, someone providing solutions to the sociological problems of the world around him as he lives through it, describing the turbulence his motherland of Punjab is passing through, while concurrently searching for God. His poetry highlights his mystical spiritual voyage through the four stages of Sufism: Shariat (Path), Tariqat (Observance), Haqiqat (Truth) and Marfat (Union). The simplicity with which Bulleh Shah has been able to address the complex fundamental issues of life and humanity is a large part of his appeal. Thus, many people have put his kafis to music, from humble street-singers to renowned Sufi singers like the Waddali Brothers and Abida Parveen, from the synthesized techno qawwali remixes of UK-based Asian artists to the rock band Junoon.
Bulleh Shah’s popularity stretches uniformly across Hindus, Sikhs and Muslims, to the point that much of the written material about this Muslim thinker is from Hindu and Sikh authors.
Modern Renditions
In the 1990s
Junoon , Asia's biggest rock band from Pakistan, has also rendered such poems asAleph (Ilmon Bas Kareen O Yaar) and Bullah Ki Jaana. Bulleh Shah's verses have also been adapted and used inBollywood film songs. In 2004,Rabbi Shergill successfully performed the unlikely feat of turning the abstruse metaphysical poemBullah Ki Jaana into a Rock/Fusion song, which became hugely popular inIndia andPakistan . Another version was performed byLakhwinder Wadali titled simply Bullah. Examples include the songs Chhayya Chhayya and Thayya Thayya in the movieDil Se . The Wadali Bandhu, a Punjabi Sufi group from India, also released a version of Bullah Ki Jaana on their album Aa Mil Yaar...Call of the Beloved.See also
*
Kasur , The City of Saint Bulleh Shah
*List of Punjabi language poets
*Sufism Works online
* [http://onetruename.com/bullehshah.htm Bulleh Shah poetry]
* [http://www.apnaorg.com/poetry/bullahn/ Articles on Bulleh Shah's life and poetry (apna.org)]
* [http://www.poetry-chaikhana.com/B/BullehShah/index.htm Bulleh Shah: Poems (English translations) and Biography (poetry-chaikhana.com)]External links
* [http://www.indo-pak.org/content/view/69/58/ Short Biography of Bulleh Shah]
* [http://www.sikhspectrum.com/082004/punjabi.htm Littérateurs of the Punjabi Language (sikhspectrum.com)]
* [http://www.geocities.com/shahidfm2/bulleh_shah.htm Article on Bulleh Shah's life and poetry (Kasur.20fr.com)]
Wikimedia Foundation. 2010.