Over 100 reinterpretations of Heer reflect the dynamic and evolving nature of Punjab’s culture by placing this oral folklore in the company of great literary writings. In Waris Shah’s time alone, more than 70 versions of this poem were reimagined to reflect the turmoil society was going through at different time capsules, in Punjab.
News Arena Network - Chandigarh - UPDATED: June 9, 2025, 10:09 PM - 2 min read
Pakistani artist Abdur Rahman Chughtai’s portrayal of Waris Shah’s Heer and Ranjha in his paintings. Image: X
Heer, the oral folklore of Punjab, taken to epic dimensions by Waris Shah, was reimagined in the context of Bengal famine of 1943. Written by late thespian Sheela Bhatia and performed in Lahore in the same year, it has been sung recently by Sumangala Damodaran, a Malayalam speaking professor of economics. Damodaran included this Heer in her study on the music of radical impulses.
Popularity of Heer could be attributed to its spirit of rebellion. For the times when the tragedy of Heer was composed, it carried several radical strains highlighting the quest for true love of two young lovers – Heer and Ranjha — from diverse cultural milieu. When Punjab was under barbaric Islamic invasions, quest for true love by several of its poets in the ‘kissa’ of Heer Ranjha could have offered psychological healing to the masses.
Over 100 reinterpretations of Heer reflect the dynamic and evolving nature of Punjab’s culture by placing this oral folklore in the company of great literary writings. Ramayana was written in different languages and cultures and Shakespeare's drama has been reinterpreted by even Bollywood film makers like Vishal Bhardwaj, who made Maqbool and Omkara based on Macbeth and Othello.
Many retellings
In Waris Shah’s time alone, more than 70 versions of this poem were reimagined to reflect the turmoil society was going through at different time capsules, in Punjab.Later, it was adapted to resonate across cultures.
Each retelling has improved its impact by adding fresh layers of meanings. Initially narrated as Persian poetry, the earliest Punjabi version was created by Damoodar Das Gulati (1542-1605). He introduced the device of an eye witness’s account to lend authenticity and added dimensions of the mundane to spiritual, to the tale.
In 1680, rewritten by Ahmad Gujjar, the tale added to its universal appeal of freedom for the individual from the parochial. About 30 years before Waris, a blind poet Shah Jahan Muqbal, also composed it in a Punjabi dialect. A famous poet from Gujarat, Ahmad Yar Maralvi, (born 1768) composed 183 stanzas of Heer but with a different ending than that of Waris Shah. Imam Bakhsh Qureshi (1778-1863), of Sialkot and many more added to the story.
But Waris Shah (1766) took the narrative to epic proportions — painting the lives of Heer and Ranjha as a series of transgressions –leaving it open to multiple interpretations.
Two centuries later, Amrita Pritam, a modern Punjabi poet called out to Waris Shah in her immortal poem on Partition, ‘Ajj akhan Waris Shah nu.’”
Beyond poetry
Retellings in poetry apart, Heer’s 630 stanzas composed by Waris Shah 250 years ago have been adapted in different genres like films, novels, theatre etc. Kaifi Azmi wrote the entire script of Heer Ranjha in verse for Chatan Anand’s film starring Rajkumar and Priya Rajvansh. Manjul Bajaj’s novel ‘In Search of Heer’, published in 2019, explores the many meanings of love. Heer and Ranjha dream of love not only for themselves but of a kinder, freer and fairer world for all, in her interpretation.
The relevance of Heer is felt more strongly in Pakistan, where vibrant interpretations of Heer are taken up under Project Heer, for several ‘bold and brave’ theatrical performances. In societies where women bear the burden of oppressive patriarchy, its relevance grows with time.
Reimagining as deviance
AK Ramanujan’s famous essay “Three Hundred Ramayanas” created a stir in DU. Ramanujan’s argument that there was no single original text of Ramayana, was not taken kindly by few. The essay was removed from DU syllabus in 2011.
Old texts become part of cultural heritage demanding reverential treatment. Neelam Mansingh Chaudhary, noted thespian, says she faced intense opposition for staging ‘Kissa-e-Heer te Ranjhe da’, based on Dhadhi’s oral tradition that deviates from the literary text that portrays Heer as a virginal, chaste woman. Dhadhis are the repository of Punjabi folk – they have been singing multiple versions of Heer defying the template of order – of caste, economic barriers and patriarchal boundaries. In an argument with her father and the quazi, Heer says, “Hun na mudungi Ranjhe ton chae baap de baap da baap aa jaye…”
“This was not self- generated – this is how dhadhis have been singing it. A gutsy woman who dares to go out in the middle of the night to meet her lover can’t be made out to be chaste. Legends are sanitised; people take out the grittiness to suit traditional values,” she adds.
Madan Gopal Singh, cultural activist and scholar, stopped rendering lyrical retelling of one of the subcontinent’s most beloved epics in his own manner, after he received flak for giving his interpretation of Heer.
Each re-telling of an epic adds to a fresh understanding of a complex cultural tapestry. Rabbi Shergill’s Heer is an angry outpouring to the so-called neutral letter writer about his grievously wounded love. He changes the tone of the lilting melody of love to an angry outburst.
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