Folk legend: Resituating Heer and Waris Shah
Kazim says their significance has been lost over time.
The lawyer said Shah had not been regarded as a Sufi by many as he was not associated with an established order.
LAHORE:
We need to revisit Heer and Waris Shah keeping in mind the current state of affairs as their significance has been lost over time, said lawyer Raza Kazim on Saturday.
He was speaking at a session on Heer and Waris Shah at the first day of the Lahore Music Meet. Kazim said they had been relegated to being entertainment items in movies, plays and soaps. Kazim said Heer was not a love story but a tale of conflict wherein the protagonist had fought the Sials who symbolised authority and Kedu who represented an establishment which she had revolted against.
The lawyer said Shah had not been regarded as a Sufi by many as he was not associated with an established order. Kazim said he was not an elitist but he maintained a distance from those he did not take a liking to.
He said Shah had chosen to write about Heer rather than Sohni as the former had revolted and confronted society in its entirety. He said this was not the case with the latter. Shah said Heer had been misconstrued by some people as a love story. He said this was false as it was a tale of sensitivity, confrontation and revolt against society in which she was depicted as a rebellious figure who had never given in. Kazim said Shah had done complete justice to the characters in the poem. He said Shah’s pir had dismissed the work as being based on “worldly love” after hearing a few verses. Kazim said he had later told Shah that he had secured a place for himself in paradise after seeing the completed work.
The lawyer said Heer was the epitome of sensitivity. He said the current generation was devoid of this as it tended to prize agendas over emotions. “The younger generation will learn a great deal by revisiting Heer and Shah,” Kazim said.
He said Shah was a selfless soul who loved those around him while Heer was the paragon of sensitivity and fortitude who had revolted against authority.
Researchers Mano Javed and Musa Abbas narrated verses from the poem to conclude the session.
Published in The Express Tribune, April 5th, 2015.
We need to revisit Heer and Waris Shah keeping in mind the current state of affairs as their significance has been lost over time, said lawyer Raza Kazim on Saturday.
He was speaking at a session on Heer and Waris Shah at the first day of the Lahore Music Meet. Kazim said they had been relegated to being entertainment items in movies, plays and soaps. Kazim said Heer was not a love story but a tale of conflict wherein the protagonist had fought the Sials who symbolised authority and Kedu who represented an establishment which she had revolted against.
The lawyer said Shah had not been regarded as a Sufi by many as he was not associated with an established order. Kazim said he was not an elitist but he maintained a distance from those he did not take a liking to.
He said Shah had chosen to write about Heer rather than Sohni as the former had revolted and confronted society in its entirety. He said this was not the case with the latter. Shah said Heer had been misconstrued by some people as a love story. He said this was false as it was a tale of sensitivity, confrontation and revolt against society in which she was depicted as a rebellious figure who had never given in. Kazim said Shah had done complete justice to the characters in the poem. He said Shah’s pir had dismissed the work as being based on “worldly love” after hearing a few verses. Kazim said he had later told Shah that he had secured a place for himself in paradise after seeing the completed work.
The lawyer said Heer was the epitome of sensitivity. He said the current generation was devoid of this as it tended to prize agendas over emotions. “The younger generation will learn a great deal by revisiting Heer and Shah,” Kazim said.
He said Shah was a selfless soul who loved those around him while Heer was the paragon of sensitivity and fortitude who had revolted against authority.
Researchers Mano Javed and Musa Abbas narrated verses from the poem to conclude the session.
Published in The Express Tribune, April 5th, 2015.