Bulleh Shah

Full name Abdullah Shah, a famous Muslim Sufi. He was a Punjabi poet, a humanist and philosopher.



Early life
Bulleh Shah is believed to have been born in 1680, in the small village of Uch, Bahawalpur, Punjab, in present day Pakistan. His father, Shah Muhammad Darwaish, was a teacher and preacher in a village mosque. Little is known about Bulleh Shah's ancestry except that some of his forebears were migrants from Uzbekistan and that his family claimed direct descent from the prophet Muhammad.

When he was six months old, his parents relocated to Malakwal. His father later got a job in Pandoke, about 50 miles southeast of Kasur. Bulleh Shah received his early schooling in Pandoke and moved to Kasur for higher education. He also received education from Maulana Mohiyuddin. His spiritual teacher was the Qadiri Sufi Shah Inayat Qadiri, who was a member of the Arain tribe of Lahore.

Life
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), and Shah Sharaf (1640–1724).

Bulleh Shah lived in the same period as the Sindhi Sufi poet , Shah Abdul Latif Bhatai (1689–1752). His lifespan also overlapped with the Punjabi poet Waris Shah (1722–1798), of Heer Ranjha fame, and the Sindhi Sufi poet Abdul Wahab (1739–1829), better known by his pen-name, Sachal Sarmast (“truth seeking leader of the intoxicated ones”). Amongst Urdu poets, Bulleh Shah lived 400 miles away from Mir Taqi Mir (1723–1810) of Agra.

Poetry Style
The verse form Bulleh Shah primarily employed is called the Kafi, a style of Punjabi, Sindhi and Siraiki poetry used not only by the Sufis of Sindh and Punjab, but also by Sikh gurus.

A Beacon of Peace
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 the ninth Sikh Guru, Guru Tegh Bahadur as a Ghazi, or "religious warrior", which caused controversy among Muslims of that time.

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, Sain Zahoor, Abida Parveen and Pathanay Khan, from the synthesized techno qawwali remixes of UK-based Asian artists to the rock band Junoon.

Modern renderings
In the 1990s Junoon, a rock band from Pakistan, rendered "Bullah Ki Jaana" and "Aleph" ("Ilmon Bas Kareen O Yaar"). In 2004, Rabbi Shergill turned the abstruse metaphysical poem "Bullah Ki Jaana" into a Rock/Fusion song that became popular in India and Pakistan. The Wadali Bandhu, a Punjabi Sufi group from India, have also released a version of "Bullah Ki Jaana" on their album Aa Mil Yaar... Call of the Beloved. Another version was performed by Lakhwinder Wadali and entitled Bullah.

Bulleh Shah's verses have also been adapted and used in Bollywood film songs including "Chaiyya Chaiyya" and "Thayya Thayya" in the 1998 film Dil Se, and "Ranjha Ranjha" in the 2010 film Raavan. The 2007 Pakistani movie Khuda Kay Liye includes Bulleh Shah's poetry in the song "Bandeya Ho". The 2008 film A Wednesday, included a song titled "Bulle Shah, O Yaar Mere". In 2009 the first episode of the second season of Pakistan's Coke Studio featured a collaboration between Sain Zahoor and Noori, "Aik Alif" while, in June 2010, episode one of the third series featured "Na Raindee Hai" and "Makke Gayaan Gal Mukdi Nahi", performed by Arieb Azhar.

Death
He died in 1757, and his tomb is located in Kasur, present day Pakistan.

Further reading
Bulleh Shah: the love-intoxicated iconoclast, by J. R. Puri, Tilaka Raj Shangri. Radha Soami Satsang Beas, 1986
Great Sufi Poets of The Punjab, by R. M. Chopra, Iran Society, Kolkata, 1999.


Some Poetry:

"MAATI KUDAM KARENDEE YAAR"

Maati kudam karendee yaar,
Vaah vaah maati de gulzaar;
Maati ghora maati jora, maati daa aswaar,
Maati maati nu'n dorave, maati daa khankaar.
Maati maati nu'n maaran lag-gee, maati de hathiyaar.
Jis maati par bahutee maati, so maati hankaar;
Maati baagh bagheechaa maati, maati dee gulzaar.
Maati maati nu'n vekhan aayee, maati dee a bahar;
Hus khed phir maati hove, paindee pau pasaar.
Bullah ja'n eh bujhaarat buj-jhe,
Taa'n lah bhau siro'n maar.

"ULTE HOR ZAMANE AAYE"

Ulte hor zamane aaye,
Hun asaan bhed sajjan de paaye.
kaa'n laggad nun maaran lagge,
chiriyan jurre khaaye
iraqiyan nun chabuk paunde,
gade khood khavaye
aapneyan vich ulfat naahee,
ke-he chaachche taaye
piyo putran ittfaak naa kaahee,
dheeyan naal naa maaye
sachcheyan nun hun milde dhakke,
jhoothe kol bahaaye
agle jaaye bankaale baithe,
pichliyan farash vichaye
Bullah jina hukam hazooron andaa,
tina nun kaun hataaye.

"GHUNGAT CHUK O SAJANA"

Ghungat chuk o sajana hun sharmaan kaanu rakhiyaan
Zulf kundal ne ghera paaya, bishiyar hoke dang chalaaya,
Vekh asaan val taras na aaya, karke khuni akhiyaan ve.
Ghungat chuk o sajana hun sharmaan kaanu rakhiyaan
Do naina da teer chalaaya, maen aajiz de seene laaya
Ghaayil karke much chupaaya, choriyaan eh kin dasiyaan ve.
Ghungat chuk o sajana hun sharmaan kaanu rakhiyaan
Birhon katari toon kas ke maari, tad maen hoyi bedil bhaari
Mud na layi saar hamaari patiyaan teriyaan kacchiyaan ve.
Ghungat chuk o sajana hun sharmaan kaanu rakhiyaan
Nehu laga ke mann har leeta, fer na apna darshan deeta
Zehar piyaala maen eh peeta, si akaloun maen kacchiyaan ve.
Ghungat chuk o sajana hun sharmaan kaanu rakhiyaan
Shah Inayat mukhon na bolaan, soorat teri har dil tolaan,
Saabat houke fer kyun dolaan, aj kaulon maen sacchiyaan ve.
Ghungat chuk o sajana hun sharmaan kaanu rakhiyaan