Bulleh Shah was a sufi poet, believed to have lived from 1680 to 1758. Although there is a difference of opinion among research scholars about the time of his birth and death. The ancestral village of Bulleh Shah was Uch Gilaniyan in Bahawalpur, now a part of Pakistan.

From there his family first shifted to Malakwal (District Multan, Pakistan) and then to Pandoke, which is about 14 miles southeast of Qasur (Pakistan). Bulleh's earlier name was Abdullah Shah, later on it changd to Bulleh. His family background was religious, his father being a highly religious person. Bulleh Shah was the desciple of Inayat Shah, a Qadiri Sufi. Bulleh composed a lot of poetry in seraiki, the local spoken language, which is a dialect of that great Sindhi language spoken in Sindh and the neighbouring territories. His style of poetry is called Qafi, which was already an established style with sufis who preceeded him. The tomb of Bulleh Shah is in Qasur (Pakistan) and he is held in reverence by all Suis of Sindh and Punjab.

"Maati kudam karendi yaar
Ulte hor zamane aaye
Maati kudam karendi yaar."

The poem is typical of Bulleh, the sufi's, view of the world. He sees the common underlying reality that lies beneath the mundane, and rejoices in its all pervasiveness. This concept is similar to the the monotheistic, omnipresent concept of God that we come across in Sikhism and the Upanishads. The translation is entirely mine, please do point out any inconsistencies to me.

"Maati kudam karendee yaar,
Vaah vaah maati de gulzaar;
Maati ghora maati jora, maati daa aswaar, [gulzaar=bouquet of flowers]
Maati maati nu(n) dorave, maati daa khankaar. [khankaar=clanging]
Maati maati nu(n) maaran lag-gee, maati de hathiyaar. [hathiyaar=weapons]
Jis maati par bahutee maati, so maati hankaar; [hankaar=arrogance]
Maati baagh bagheechaa maati, maati dee gulzaar. [baghechaa=garden]
Maati maati nu(n) vekhan aayee, maati dee a bahar;
Hus khed phir maati hove, paindee pau pasaar. [pau=feet;pasaar=spread]
Bullah ja(n) eh bujhaarat buj-jhe, [bujhaarat=riddle]
Taa(n) lah bhau siro(n) maar."

Maati=soil; ghora=horse; gulzaar=bouquet of flowers; khankaar=clanging; hathiyaar=weapons; hankaar=arrogance; baghechaa=garden; pau=feet; pasaar=spread; bujhaarat=riddle

"The soil is in ferment, O friend
Behold the diversity.
The soil is the horse, so is the rider
The soil chases the soil, and we hear the clanging of soil
The soil kills the soil, with weapons of the soil.
That soil with more on it, is arrogance
The soil is the garden so is its beauty
The soil admires the soil in all its wondorous forms
After the circle of life is done it returns to the soil
Answer the riddle O Bulleh, and take this burden off my head."

"Ulte hor zamane aaye." This translation is derived mainly from the book by J. R. Puri and T. R. Shangari of the Radha Soamis, titled Bulleh Shah. According to the authors this kafi of Bulleh Shah reflects a tumultuos time in the history of Punjab. The poet percieves radical changes taking place in society around him. This was the middle of 18th century when the Sikh power was in the ascendancy and the mughal power was waning. It was a time of chaos as there was no law and order. Bulleh Shah sees rampant corruption and societal decay. The general tone of the poem is pessimistic, as you will see.

"Ulte hor zamane aaye,
Hun asaan bhed sajjan de paaye. | (sajjan=beloved)
kaa(n) laggad nun maaran lagge, | (laggad=hawk)
chiriyan jurre khaaye | (chiriyan=birds;jurre=a bird of prey)
iraqiyan nun chabuk paunde, | (iraqiyan=a breed of horses)
gade khood khavaye | (gade=donkey;khood=green fodder)
aapneyan vich ulfat naahee, | (ulfat=love)
ke-he chaachche taaye | (chaachche=father's younger brother;taaye=elder)
piyo putran ittfaak naa kaahee, | (piyo=father;putran=sons)
dheeyan naal naa maaye | (dheeyan=daughters;maaye=mother)
sachcheyan nun hun milde dhakke, | (sachcheyan=truthful;dhakke=push around)
jhoothe kol bahaaye | (jhoothe=liars)
agle jaaye bankaale baithe,
pichliyan farash vichaye | (farash=floor)
(one line is missing here, somebody please complete it)
Bullah jina hukam hazooron andaa,
tina nun kaun hataaye."

"Perverse times have come,
I know the mystery of the beloved
crows have begun to hunt hawks,
and sparrows feed on falcons
horses bear the whipping,
while donkeys graze on lush green
no love is lost between relatives,
be they younger or elder uncles
There is no accord between fathers and sons,
Nor any between mothers and daughters
The truthful ones are being pushed about,
the tricksters are seated close by
The front liners have become wretched,
the back benchers sit on carpets
Those in tatters have turned into kings,
the kings have taken to begging
O Bulleh, that which is His command
who can alter His decree."

THE COMMON IDEAS OF BULLEH SHAH AND SHAH LATIF
by:Shafqat Tanvir Mirza

Many years ago, a Bengali writer, Ahmad Sharif, had said that Shah Lateef Bhitai was a poet of the same class as Bulleh Shah of the Punjab and Lalan Shah of what was then East Pakistan.

Now in Pakistan, nobody pays any attention to the commonalties found in the Sufi poets of Bengal and the Punjab or Sindh. We have not yet learned any lesson from the 1971 tragedy. We continue to ignore the commonalties found between Bulleh Shah and Shah Lateef who were contemporaries. They had almost the same experiences of the turbulent period in which they lived. Shah Lateef (1690-1752) and Bulleh Shah (1680-1758) had witnessed the death of Aurangzeb, the last of the great Mughals who was responsible for the murder of Dara Shikoh and Sarmad, the Sufi poet.

The Sindh Graduates Association of Islamabad arranged a Shah Lateef national conference on August 24, 1996 a day earlier than Bullah Shah’s urs The Islamabad conference held four sessions presided over by the three federal ministers, Yusuf Talpur, Muhammad Afzal Khan and Aftab Shahban Mirani and Zafar Ali Shah, deputy speaker of the National Assembly. The Sindh Graduates Association has held several meetings on the Shah since inception. The most praiseworthy job it has now taken up is the construction of a Shah Lateef Complex in Sector-H, Islamabad, close to the offices of the Pakistan Academy of Letters.

Half of the work on the project has already been completed. The Punjabis have not given as much attention to their own great Sufi poets as the Sindhis have given to Shah Abdul Lateef and Sachal Sarmast. Is there any cultural center honoring the memory of Bulleh Shah, Sultan Bahu or Mian Mohammed Bakash which can be compared to the Bhit Shah center?

Another revealing fact is that in the Shah’s Risalo, we can find the kafis of Shah Husain, poet of 16th century and the kafis of his contemporary, Bullah Shah [I don't know what this sentence is supposed to mean, they wrote in different languages. About the latter, one can say that he was equally popular in Sindh and was remembered as another great Sindhi poet, Sachal Sarmast who says about him:
"Belleh koon bairagi keteeoi jinhan da shahr Kasur."

Shah Lateef and Bulleh Shah both loved jogis, bairagis, swamis, and faqirs. They traveled far and wide in search of truth. The Shah was refused the hand of a Mughal girl while Bulleh Shah refused to marry a girl belonging to the Pathan rulers because he did not like her. On the other hand, Shah Lateef feel in love with a sick Mughal girl to whom he had gone to administer some medicines. The parents of the girl did not like the gesture and Lateef’s father, Shah Habib, had to leave his village.

After many years of wandering, the Shah came back. The Mughals had by that time lost most of their pomp and glory. Therefore, the Shah was allowed to marry the girl of his choice. Shah Lateef went to learn sufism from the great sages of his time. He also met the Jogis of Hinglaj and Garnar while Bulleh Shah accepted Shah Inayat, an Arian his mentor. As he says:
"Bullah! Shah Inayat dey beh boohy
Jis pehnaey sanoon savey tey soohey."

(I was Shah Inayat’s love due to which I have worn cloths red and green).

Both the Sufi poets had witnessed the decline of the Mughals, the rise of local powers, the invasions of Nadir Shah and Ahmad Shah Abdali which they carried out in the name of Islam. And Bulleh Shah could not help saying.
"Dar Khulla hashar azab da
Bura haal hoya Punjab da."

(All the agonies of the day of resurrection have been let loose on the Punjab)

Shah Lateef was also worried about Sindh. He was not happy with the Kalhoras and the Mughals who were responsible for the murder of the murder of the local chief of Mehdavi Tehrik, Shah Inayat of Jhok and Makhdoom Abur Rahman of Khuhrra.

But it is Bhitai and Bulleh Shah’s ideas which they share. Shah Lateef says:
"Read the letter ‘Alif’ and wash off the rest,
Cleanse your heart of all impurities;
How many leaves wilt thou put in the nest?"

And then:
"Reading and reading again
Availeth nought,
Assimilation alone avails.
The fight fails as unfought
Four the sin the softer asil gains,
As ye turn over the pages,
The dust gathers on through ages."

And Bulleh Shah says almost in the same vein:
"Learn no more knowledge, O friend!
This knowledge will be of no avail to you
You need to read only Alif
You read and read and pile your books into a heap
The Quran and other books are lying all around you
By reading and reading you become Mullah and Qazi
But God is pleased without their knowledge
Your avarice is whetted every day
you always aim at personal gain."

It is these common ideals and ideas which bind the people of all the regions of Mother India. The only thing is that after partition this unity of thought has not been given due importance.

A valiant and fillial child of Jeejal Sindh will always say, "Yes, I am a Sindhi. Yes, I am a proud Sindhi. Being a Sindhi is not defined as a person who lives in Sindh, can speak Sindhi, and has studied in a Sindhi medium school. Being a Sindhi is a way of life, it is a philosophy, it is a mind set, it is upbringing, it is what your elders have instilled in you as values in life. It is being proud of your heritage, proud of your food, proud of your culture, proud of your beliefs. I think that our downfall will be when we start considering ourselves as non-Sindhi. We know our past, we know our history, and we are proud of our heritage.

We are nomads; none the less, we are proud Sindhis. Sindhi culture has no parallel. Its ideals are beyond the frontiers of religion. Swami [Saami] said so, Kanwar sang such, Latif liked that, and Sachal was the most outspoken.

Sindhi Resources

Sindh : My Motherland My Fatherland

Makhdoom's Quest For The Truth

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Makhdoom's Quality Quest