They allow us to explore yet another aspect of Punjabi poetry: the metaphysical treatment of age, memories, and nostalgia. This issue features three veteran Punjabi poets still working today: Amarjit Chandan (1946), Ajmer Rode (1940), and Navtej Bharati (1938) each of their literary careers lasted four decades. Though many Punjabi poets came under the sway of Persian and Urdu, the language stands strong, and of late translations of Punjabi poets have enabled us to re-explore and reexamine this region of India. The Muslim Punjabi poets wrote in Shahmukhi script, while the Hindu poets wrote in Hindi script. From the seventeenth century to the late nineteenth century, its influence extended even to Sufi poets like Bulle Shah and Ali Haidar. While Shah became prominent for his Kafis, short poems of about six stanzas, Ali Haidar was known for his Si-harfis-poems of thirty stanzas. His poems depict the atrocities inflicted by the army on the conquered population. From the forebears of Punjabi poetry-Baba Farid to the last Sikh Guru-Guru Gobind Singh-and from Bhai Vir Singh during the reign of Maharaja Ranjit Singh (1780–1839) to Amrita Pritam, Punjabi poetry has traveled far and wide, through wars, spiritualism, experimentation and frequent political upheavals. Nanak was a witness to the attacks by Babur, the first Mughal emperor of India. Guru Nanak's Babarvani tells of Babur's conquests of India through four hymns. The repeated conquest of the region resulted in disintegration of the sociopolitical and cultural scene in this part of India, and the reaction was literary dissent and the emergence of Punjabi poetry. Saints and Sufis used it against the invading rulers, while the masses used it to challenge the influence of Arabic and Persian, languages that were imposed upon them. Located in northwestern India, the state of Punjab has been subjected to numerous attacks, primarily by Muslim invaders for whom it was the principal entry point into India.
Life-friendly and full of natural resources, the terrain of India attracted expansionist rulers from around the world. Ruin has been a metaphor for rise, and hope never feels like a stranger in their poems.Īlmost a thousand years old, Punjabi poetry stands on ashes, reinforced by a blend of spirituality and dissent.
Treating conflict with restoration has enabled Punjabi poetry to survive years of it. Instead they have preserved the seeker in them over centuries of not fearing probable predicaments in their quest to experiment with their literature. The poets from the region of Punjab in India refuse to succumb under political suppression, but this hasn't incited them to pen confrontational and vengeful pieces. And as we become exhausted in our journey, we tend to become seekers-seeking the very nature of the energy that makes us, sustains us, and breaks us.
We are afraid of perceived mistakes and consequences, since life’s trials and errors present frequent dilemmas along the way. Capitulating to changes around us, we change our creations. While preserving a culture through literature, the familiarity of daily life sometimes gets forgotten. It just preserves them in quieter pastures. Who start out with a map of their journey." Hope this helped you find emotions you didn't even know existed.Time never forsakes memories. "The destination is the place where those find thrones, The lamp that was once lit also finds itself with no fire.Įven the bad coins can work once in a while." "I've seen the rising Sun ultimately setting,
Just hope it doesn't leave you in the dust, Try to unravel the bundle of love someday. My tears remain few after crying so much.Įven as I embrace you, why do you seem so far away?" "There is only the pain of separation in my verses now, Look, what the guest living in my heart gave to me." We are like the water separated from the river, "Why would you ask about the well-being of fakeers like us, Have you really loved in an unselfish way?" If you pine for your love to be returned, Oh Bulleya, Maybe I'll become a figment of your imagination, Hence, we bring to you 10 verses from Punjabi poems that will make you crave for more: Punjabi is such a beautiful language and when combined with poetry, it can give you feelings that will both warm you up and manage to break your heart, at the same time. A poem leaves you with emotions that linger with you long after the poem is over. Anyone who has read any poetry at all already knows that a poem has the power to make you admire the beauty of life, be it love, nature or even sorrow.