Abstract
Shah Husayn (1539-1593) of Lahore, popularly known as Lal Husayn, is a
celebrated sixteenth-century sufi poet of premodern Punjab, who composed very
lyrical and melodious short poems or kāfīs. His poetical compositions are high
symbolic in nature, with similes and metaphors drawn from Punjabi rural life and
folk traditions. In particular, most of his metaphors are related to cotton-spinning
and cloth weaving, cotton being a major agricultural produce of Punjab. One of
the reasons is that Shah Husayn belonged to a family or caste of weavers, which
was, and is still, considered a marginalized community in South Asia. He was not
shamed of his social status, as he did not hesitate to openly acknowledge it in his
poetry. Most of his famous kāfis feature spinning and weaving metaphors, with
charkha or the spinning-wheel as the central symbol. He employed a feminine
voice in his poetry. He also talked about the technicalities of spinning and
weaving, as well as attan or the female social space for spinning, and dowry, and
beautifully weaves them in his sufi symbolism, which is meant to disseminate
ethical ideals among the readers. He urges the people to earn good deeds during
their lifetime so that they could enjoy the eternal pleasures in the life hereafter.
Tanvir Anjum, Naila Pervaiz. (2019) Ghum Charkhaṛyā/Spin, O Spinning-wheel: Cotton-spinning and Weaving Symbolism in Shah Husayn’s Poetry, Journal of the Research Society of Pakistan, Volume 56, Issue 1.
-
Views
1050 -
Downloads
258
Article Details
Volume
Issue
Type
Language
