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Folk tales and legends are a mirror to the
bygone ages. In there one sees the desires,
ideals, and the unfathomable passions of the
simple people of the past, preserved in the
idioms and metaphors of their cultures. To
them can also be attributed their creation,
propagation, and the mystification of
legends. With their rich folk heritage, the
various regions of Pakistan have many common
legends. One such example is the folk tale
of Sassi Punnun, which, according to some
versions, originated in the Punjab, the
heroine was brought up in Sindh and the
tragic end came in Balochistan.
There is much confusion and overlapping in
the story as we find it today, for it has
been told and retold by hundreds of writers.
Its origin in pre-Islamic times was a major
source of altering the identity of
characters, the timing, the locale, and also
the cultural contents, so intricately woven
into the account.
Thanks to the mystery, the glamour and the
appeal of the legend, the author of the book
under review explores the facts behind it,
which remain buried in the sands of time.
Believing Sassi's birthplace to be in
Cholistan, he went there and in the process
discovered Sasawa, a village near Rahim Yar
Khan, the point where Sassi was put in a
chest and floated in the river. He also
visited Bhambore, and Kech (Makran) but did
not take the trouble to locate the grave at
Pir Hasan Goth, in district Sibi.
Folklore is a useful guide to the history of
a people, but to construct a history of the
folklore itself is a complicated and next to
impossible task. The present book is a case
in point. Since the earlier writers wrote
the story of Sassi Punnun regardless of its
temporal and spatial dimensions, and since
the scanty archaeological remains and other
sources of cultural history are only
partially authentic and partially silent,
the author could not do much more than add a
few pieces to the jigsaw puzzle.The book has
nineteen chapters. Those numbered seven,
eight and, then, ten to fifteen are devoted
to mostly historical description and
analysis, while the rest narrate the story
in the style of a novel but in conjunction
with sporadic historical references and
discussion.
The author, much confused about the dates,
tries to make claims which often are at odds
with each other. The major reason being his
research for references in the divergent
mythological and historical sources of the
Hindus, Greek and Egyptians, and the
scriptures of the Muslims and the Jews. Some
of the quotes actually distract from the
central theme. This effort, though, adds a
transcendental colour to the story, and
militates against the aim of discovering the
truth.
In the tradition of other Punjabi romances
under the influence of mystic and Hindi
poetic traditions, the female character,
Sassi, dominates the story with her extended
description, her assertive role, the power
of her conviction and her tragic
annihilation. Punnun appears in the end and
that too for just a brief period.
The author has, however, tried to explore
his ancestry as well. How the other writers
or poets have treated the tale has been
unique to their approach. Shah Latif focuses
more upon the human, sentimental, and moral
elements of the tale, and does not elaborate
the events in Sur Sassi of Shah Jo Risalo.
His 'vies' are specially heart rending.
Hashim Shah has portrayed Sassi in a way
that places her amongst the finest creations
of Punjabi literature. She is projected as
bold, wise as well as aggressive. The
changes in her mood, her utter commitment to
love, her emotional outbursts and her
rebellion against social barriers are
vividly portrayed. Lukh Shah confined
himself to the role of Sassi in his
narrative.
Not surprisingly, when the poets treated the
story, they tried to prove their poetic
worth and when Salim Shahid, a fiction
writer and a poet, chose to write it in
prose, he excelled in his descriptions and
the narrative. But in portions meant for
historical investigations he does not seem
to be as forthcoming, given the absence of
an adequate and consistent methodology.
In the case of popular folklore, getting to
know more versions often only adds to the
confusion in the reader's mind. This is so
because folk tales are deeply rooted in the
cultural outlook of the popular audience.
Only a great poet or writer can respond to
the needs of being genuinely artistic and
objective in his treatment of the events
while carrying popular appeal. Not being
able to keep up to this standard, the author
admits that he contrived some portions to
complete the story. This confession also
reflects inadequacy of the research he has
taken up.
The book has been produced, in many ways, in
an unprofessional style. For example, the
Quranic Surah "Shams" is produced in the
beginning to show its link with the theme,
but this has not been justified in the text.
In the introduction, preface and throughout
the text, many questions are posed regarding
societal attitudes towards critical issues
of history, politics, culture, literature
and research. Some of them are very
pertinent, while others have just been
raised without being answered.
This book is a piece of insipid research. It
has tried some new approaches to treat the
subject. For instance, it explores the
significance of the script in revealing the
history of language and culture. But the
author could not draw a logical conclusion
from the story. He, however, could find
reference from Ibn Masud, ruler of Daibul
soon after Muhammad Bin Qasim, admitting
that he bribed a local Hindu to transcribe
the story into Muslim times and characters.
The language used by the author is quite
Sanskritized, perhaps to give the story a
complexion and flavour of the period in
which it reportedly occurred. But it serves
no purpose, for the reader cannot comprehend
it fully. The story itself is absorbing. But
the motive of the author to authenticate the
story is lost in the book. Only the
assertion of the author, that the story
should not be treated as a historical fact,
remains.
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