Bulleh Shah
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Bulleh Shah (Punjabi: ) was a Punjabi Sufi poet, believed to have lived from 1680 to 1758. As is a common practice in South Asian poetry, his poems include a signature line which contains his name. Bulleh Shah was settled in Kasur, now in Pakistan. His spiritual master was Shah Inayat Qadiri of Lahore.
The ancestral village of Bulleh Shah was Uch Gilaniyan in Bahawalpur, now a part of Pakistan, though his ancestors had migrated from Bukhara in modern day Uzbekistan. From there his family first shifted to Malakwal (Multan District, Pakistan) and then to Pandoke, which is about 14 miles southeast of Kasur, Pakistan. Bulleh's real name was Abdullah Shah, but Bulleh was his nickname at home, and that is the name he chose to use as a poet. His family background was religious, his father being a highly religious person. Bulleh wrote primarily in Punjabi, but also in the locally spoken language, Siraiki, which is often considered a dialect of Punjabi. His style of poetry is called Kafi, which was already an established style with Sufis who preceded him. Several of his songs are regarded as an integral part of the traditional repertoire of Qawwali, the musical genre which represents the devotional music of the Sufis. The tomb of Bulleh Shah is in Kasur, and he is held in reverence by all Sufis of India and Pakistan.
M. Ahsan Iqbal Qadri Naqshbandi said these words with great love for his soul teacher, Hazrat Abdullah Shah Qadri Shattari (Bulleh Shah):
Bulleh Shah dey rang niraalay aisa rang chahraaway
Saaray rang ooh ikko kar kay seenay paar langhaaway
Modern Renditions
In 2004, Rabbi Shergill turned the abstruse metaphysical poem Bullah Ki Jaana into a Rock/Fusion song, which became hugely popular in India. Another version was performed by Lakhwinder Wadali titled simply Bulla.
Junoon, Asia's biggest Sufi rock band, has also rendered such poems as Aleph (Ilmon Bas Kareen O Yaar) and Bullah Ki Jaana.
See also
External links
- [Articles on Bulleh Shah's life and poetry (apna.org)]
- [Article on Bulleh Shah's life and poetry (kasur.20fr.com)]
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