The life and poetry of the 16th century poet Shah Husain aka Madho Lal Husain have stirred the people’s imagination generation after generation. His poetry with its disarming simplicity set the canons of Punjabi literary tradition. Surprisingly, his life was as enigmatic as his verses were accessible. His life turned into stuff myths are made of.

He introduced the genre of Kafi, a lyrical structure based on Ragas suitable for creative expression, that gained immense popularity after him and continues to be employed by poets even today.

The riddle of Shah Husain’s unusual life has never been fully solved; how and why a scholar trained for a religious life turned rebel and upended the tradition. Last year we had Ishq Nama by Farrukh Yar that painstakingly explored the sources which in his opinion were the mainstay of his poetic expression.

This year we have Sarbpreet Singh’s novel The Sufi’s Nightingale, on Shah Hussain’s life published by Sang-e-Meel Publications, Lahore. The blurb says that Sarbpreet Singh, writer, playwright and podcaster, is an author with several books to his credit. The Sufi’s Nightingale is what the publisher calls a fictionalised retelling of life of Shah Hussain ‘who was a Malamati –a Sufi who actively debased himself, choosing a lifestyle that would earn him rejection and abuse, as a means of conquering his ego.’ The author forgot to qualify that by doing so Shah Hussain was rejected by the clergy and status quo but became people’s darling. The voices of Shah Hussain and his Bulbul, Maqbul tell the story. The narrative is interspersed with verses from Shah Hussain’s repertoire. Sadly, some texts of the lyrics suffer from interpolations. The Kafi or a part of it quoted at the start is in fact a mutilated version of the original which is wonderful in its composition. Here it is: “Na muqeem na musafir / Na muslamaan haa (n) na kafir / Obee haa (n) jo kujh k (i) saa (n).” It’s murder. Original text is: “Na ghar baari na musafir/ na oh momin na oh kafir / jo aha so aha.” The narrative however is beautifully constructed that transports you to another level. It has a flow that carries you along. It’s one of a kind that will inspire readers and provoke creative minds. Let it be stated that the rebellious life the poet/ mystic lived didn’t delve into arcane secrets but was premised on the rejection of a society based on caste, class and creed. The society was as hypocritical as it was oppressive. That’s why as an act of defiance he shaved his head and beard, donned a red robe, sang and danced in the streets of Lahore. He was perhaps the only one other than Emperor Akbar who could confront the chief Qazi (chief judge) of the Mughal. He became a dynamic metaphor of an ineffable joy of emancipated life.

Sarbpreet is not only a powerful storyteller but also a competent translator: “Let me be your songbird / In your garden let me stay / Let me please my lover/ I’m sated this way / Look, at your doorstep lies Hussain! / Humbler than dirt and clay.”

He reconstructs a character from a counterculture that has the potential to vivify our humdrum existence. The book should be on the shelves of all private and public libraries.

“Silent Revolution in Pakistan: From Othering to Belonging” has been published as a Kindle version by The Little Book company. It’s co-authored by Fayyaz Baqir, Mahnoor Zaman and Maryam Hussain Khan. Fayyaz Baqir “teaches and writes on development practice. He has taught at the School of International development and Global Studies, University of Ottawa and served as an O’Brien Fellow at MaGill University.”

Mahnoor Zaman “is the President of the MaGill International Development Studies Students’ Association. Currently she works as a research assistant at the Indiana Ocean where Maryam Hussain Khan “is currently serving as a visiting lecturer at Karakoram International University. She holds an MPhil from Government College University, Lahore and BS (Hons) in Defence and Diplomatic Studies from Fatima Jinnah Women University, Rawalpindi.”

The book, says the preface, ‘takes an unconventional and thought-provoking journey of international development visions and development practices. The book seeks to document the largely hidden and community-based development practices in Pakistan…’ It explores the visions and development practices of some of the development actors through carefully conducted interviews who have contributed in their respective fields during the last 40 years. Some of the prominent names included are Seema Aziz of CARE, Pakistan, Shoaib Sultan Khan, Chairman National Rural Support Programme, Adul Bari Khan, Founder, Indus Hospital and Health Network, Amjad Saqib, Founder Akhuwat, Shama Khan, Village Director, SOS Children’s Village, Islamabad, Sumiara Gull and Hamidullah, CEO and Director, Akhtar Hameed Memorial Trust, Arif Hasan, Architect, Fouzia Saeed, Social Activist and Richard Leftley, CEO and President MicroEnsure.

How development initiatives transform communities and how the spirit of belonging is created are two of the main themes. “Working within the system and living within means” is what Fayyaz Baqir stresses in the introduction. He especially encourages youth…to listen to these hidden and untold stories of hope and freedom,” writes Kauze Takamura from the MaGill University in the preface.

“Ironically, failure has many fathers, and success is an orphan in Pakistani society. The mainstream disowns people like the Nobel laureates Abdus Salam and Malala Yousafzai...Development practitioners have worked in an inconspicuous way and their work has not been documented and presented in the form of stories accessible to idealist young people. This has created a sense of hopelessness, an inclination to find an explanation of Pakistan’s failure in conspiracy theories, and a siege mentality that always blames the ‘other’ for one’s own fault. It has deprived youth of the opportunities to harbour change at the local level by harnessing the potential of local communities and reversing the under-performance of government at various levels,” writes Fayyaz Baqir.

The book would be an enlightening read for those who believe in the gradual development of our society rather than a radical rupture that creates more problems than it solves. — soofi01@hotmail.com

Published in Dawn, December 23rd, 2024