View source for Ajj Aakhaan Waris Shah Nu

{{Infobox poem
|name                = <!-- Poem name, If other than the Article name or if using Wikisource link -->
|image               = <!-- Image (prefer 1st edition - where permitted)
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|image_size          = <!-- custom size for image (defaults to 220px)   -->
|caption             = <!-- Image caption
                            (should describe the edition used)          -->
|subtitle            = <!-- Subtitle or descriptor                      -->
|author              = [[Amrita Pritam]]
|original_title      = '''ਅੱਜ ਆਖਾਂ ਵਾਰਸ ਸ਼ਾਹ ਨੂੰ'''
|original_title_lang = pan
|translator          = <!-- Translator(s), if original not in English   -->
|written             = <!-- Written: (date or year range)               -->
|first               = <!-- First published in                          -->
|illustrator         = <!-- Illustrator used consistently throughout
                            (where illustrations are a major feature)   -->
|cover_artist        = <!-- Cover Artist                                -->
|country             = <!-- Country of original publication             -->
|language            = [[Punjabi language|Punjabi]]
|series              = <!-- Series (if any)                             -->
|subject             = <!-- Subject(/s)                                 -->
|genre               = <!-- Genre(/s) (only use for fiction)            -->
|form                = <!-- Form (i.e. Sonnet, Quatrain, Ode...etc)     -->
|meter               = <!-- Meter: (i.e. iambic pentameter)             -->
|rhyme               = <!-- Rhyme scheme: (i.e. abba cddc effe gg)      -->
|publisher           = <!-- Publisher of main publication
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|publication_date    = <!-- Date published (1st edition). Use 
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|publication_date_en = <!-- Published in English (1st English edition)  -->
|media_type          = <!-- MMedia type (paperback, hardback)           -->
|lines               = <!-- Number of lines in the poem 
                            (prefer 1st edition)                        -->
|pages               = <!-- Pages (prefer 1st edition)                  -->
|size_weight         = <!-- Size and Weight                             -->
|isbn                = <!-- [[International Standard Book Number|ISBN]] -->
|oclc                = <!-- [[OCLC]]                                    -->
|preceded_by         = <!-- Preceded By
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|followed_by         = <!-- Followed By
                            Title of subsequent poem in series          -->
|wikisource          = <!-- Title of work if in the public domain and hosted at English Wikisource -->
}}
'''Ajj Aakhaan Waris Shah Nu''' (English: "Today I Invoke Waris Shah"<ref name="Dalal2017">{{cite book|author=Roshen Dalal|title=India at 70: snapshots since Independence|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=JYswDwAAQBAJ&pg=PT186|date=23 August 2017|publisher=Penguin Random House India Private Limited|isbn=978-93-86815-37-8|pages=186–}}</ref> or "I Say Unto Waris Shah",<ref name="Tiwari2005">{{cite book|author=Shubha Tiwari|title=Indian Fiction in English Translation|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=XAc-7MEyrJgC&pg=PA29|year=2005|publisher=Atlantic Publishers & Dist|isbn=978-81-269-0450-1|pages=29–}}</ref> [[Punjabi language|Punjabi]]:  {{nq|اَج آکھاں وارث شاہ نُوں}}, '''ਅੱਜ ਆਖਾਂ ਵਾਰਸ ਸ਼ਾਹ ਨੂੰ''') is a famous [[dirge]] by the renowned [[Punjabi people|Punjabi]] writer and poet [[Amrita Pritam]] (1919-2005) about the horrors of the partition of the [[Punjab region|Punjab]] during the 1947 [[Partition of India]].<ref name="ref11gaqeq">{{Citation | title=My reminiscences | author=Gur Rattan Pal Singh | publisher=Gur Rattan Pal Singh, 1999 | url=https://books.google.com/books?id=izpuAAAAMAAJ | quote=''... referring to the famous lines of Mrs. Amrita Pritam, the celebrated Punjabi writer, about the partition of India: "Aj aakhan War is Shah nu kiton ... tenu Waris Shah nu kahen Uth dard mandan diya dardia Tu tak apna Punjab Aj bele ...''}}</ref> The poem is addressed to the historic Punjabi poet [[Waris Shah]] (1722-1798 CE), who had written the most popular version of the Punjabi love tragedy, [[Heer Ranjha]] ('''ਹੀਰ ਰਾਂਝਾ''', {{nq|ہیر رانجھا}}).<ref name="ref04riveq">{{Citation | title=Agriculture cooperatives: a case study of Punjab | author=Manohar Singh Gill | publisher=Vikas, 1983 | isbn=978-0-7069-2371-1 | url=https://books.google.com/books?id=H9wsAAAAMAAJ | quote=''... Her cry of sorrow and despair, to Waris Shah the immortal bard of the Punjab, finds an eternal echo of shame in both Punjabs. She wrote: Aj aakhan Waris Shah nu kiton kabran vichon bol te aj kitabe Ishaq da koi agla ...''}}</ref> It appeals to Waris Shah to arise from his grave, record the Punjab's tragedy and turn over a new page in Punjab's history.<ref name="ref01gayuz">{{Citation | title=Longman anthology of world literature by women, 1875-1975 | author=Marian Arkin, [[Barbara Shollar]] | publisher=Longman, 1989 | isbn=978-0-582-28559-0 | url=https://books.google.com/books?id=3Zu1AAAAIAAJ | quote=''... Aj Aakhan Waris Shah Nu Speak from the depths of the grave, to Waris Shah I say and add a new page to your saga of love today. Once wept a daughter of Punjab your pen unleashed a million cries, a million daughters weep today ...''}}</ref>

== Summary ==
In the poem the poet invokes Waris Shah, a historic Punjabi poet, who wrote a popular version of Punjabi love tragedy ''Heer Ranjha''. Pritam asks to record and witness the miserable condition of Punjab and its people after partition (1947) and open a new page of his book of love. In the story of ''Heer Ranjha'', Shah narrated the misery of a woman (Heer), but a million of daughters of Punjab, Pritam feels, were crying to Shah.

The fields are lines up with dead bodies, and [[Chenab River|Chenab]] is filled with blood. Someone unknown poured poison in the water of the five rivers, and the deadly water is destroying the land. The land, which used to be fertile, is sprouting venom, and the sky has turned red from endless cries and tears.

==Lyrics==
These are the lyrics of the poem:<ref>[http://apnaorg.com/poetry/amrita-r/ Amrita Pritam] Academy of the Punjab in North America (APNA).</ref><ref>[http://www.apnaorg.com/audio/amrita/ Ajj Aakhan Waris Shah Nu- Poetry in Amrita's Own Voice] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20110615040900/http://www.apnaorg.com/audio/amrita/ |date=2011-06-15 }} Academy of the Punjab in North America (APNA).</ref>

{| cellpadding="6"
!'''Punjabi - [[Gurmukhi]] script'''
!'''Punjabi - [[Shahmukhi]] script'''
|- style="vertical-align:top"
|
ਅੱਜ ਆਖਾਂ ਵਾਰਸ ਸ਼ਾਹ ਨੂੰ ਕਿਤੋਂ ਕਬਰਾਂ ਵਿਚੋਂ ਬੋਲ।<br />
ਤੇ ਅੱਜ ਕਿਤਾਬੇ ਇਸ਼ਕ ਦਾ ਕੋਈ ਅਗਲਾ ਵਰਕਾ ਫੋਲ।<br />
ਇਕ ਰੋਈ ਸੀ ਧੀ ਪੰਜਾਬ ਦੀ ਤੂੰ ਲਿਖ ਲਿਖ ਮਾਰੇ ਵੈਣ।<br />
ਅਜ ਲੱਖਾਂ ਧੀਆਂ ਰੋਂਦੀਆਂ ਤੈਨੂ ਵਾਰਸ ਸ਼ਾਹ ਨੂੰ ਕਹਿਣ।<br />
ਉੱਠ ਦਰਦਮੰਦਾਂ ਦਿਆ ਦਰਦੀਆ ਉੱਠ ਤੱਕ ਆਪਣਾ ਪੰਜਾਬ।<br />
ਅਜ ਬੇਲੇ ਲਾਸ਼ਾਂ ਵਿਛੀਆਂ ਤੇ ਲਹੂ ਦੀ ਭਰੀ ਚਨਾਬ।<br />
ਕਿਸੇ ਨੇ ਪੰਜਾਂ ਪਾਣੀਆਂ ਵਿੱਚ ਦਿੱਤੀ ਜ਼ਹਿਰ ਰਲ੍ਹਾ<br />
ਤੇ ਉਹਨਾ ਪਾਣੀਆਂ ਧਰਤ ਨੂੰ ਦਿੱਤਾ ਪਾਣੀ ਲਾ

ਇਸ ਜ਼ਰਖੇਜ਼ ਜ਼ਮੀਨ ਦੇ ਲੂੰ ਲੂੰ ਫੁਟਿਆ ਜ਼ਹਿਰ<br />
ਗਿਠ ਗਿਠ ਚੜ੍ਹੀਆਂ ਲਾਲੀਆਂ ਫੁੱਟ ਫੁੱਟ ਚੜ੍ਹਿਆ ਕਹਿਰ<br />
ਵਿਹੁ ਵਲਿੱਸੀ ਵਾ ਫਿਰ ਵਣ ਵਣ ਵੱਗੀ ਜਾ<br />
ਉਹਨੇ ਹਰ ਇਕ ਵਾਂਸ ਦੀ ਵੰਝਲੀ ਦਿੱਤੀ ਨਾਗ ਬਣਾ

ਪਹਿਲਾ ਡੰਗ ਮਦਾਰੀਆਂ ਮੰਤ੍ਰ ਗਏ ਗੁਆਚ<br />
ਦੂਜੇ ਡੰਗ ਦੀ ਲੱਗ ਗਈ ਜਣੇ ਖਣੇ ਨੂੰ ਲਾਗ<br />
ਲਾਗਾਂ ਕੀਲੇ ਲੋਕ ਮੂੰਹ ਬੱਸ ਫਿਰ ਡੰਗ ਹੀ ਡੰਗ<br />
ਪਲੋ ਪਲੀ ਪੰਜਾਬ ਦੇ ਨੀਲੇ ਪੈ ਗਏ ਅੰਗ

ਗਲਿਓਂ ਟੁੱਟੇ ਗੀਤ ਫਿਰ ਤ੍ਰਕਲਿਓਂ ਟੁੱਟੀ ਤੰਦ<br />
ਤ੍ਰਿੰਜਣੋ ਟੁੱਟੀਆਂ ਸਹੇਲੀਆਂ ਚਰੱਖੜੇ ਘੂਕਰ ਬੰਦ<br />
ਸਣੇ ਸੇਜ ਦੇ ਬੇੜੀਆਂ ਲੁੱਡਣ ਦਿੱਤੀਆਂ ਰੋੜ੍ਹ<br />
ਸਣੇ ਡਾਲੀਆਂ ਪੀਂਘ ਅੱਜ ਪਿੱਪਲਾਂ ਦਿੱਤੀ ਤੋੜ

ਜਿਥੇ ਵਜਦੀ ਸੀ ਫੂਕ ਪਿਆਰ ਦੀ ਵੇ ਉਹ ਵੰਝਲੀ ਗਈ ਗੁਆਚ<br />
ਰਾਂਝੇ ਦੇ ਸਭ ਵੀਰ ਅੱਜ ਭੁੱਲ ਗਏ ਉਸਦੀ ਜਾਚ<br />
ਧਰਤੀ ਤੇ ਲਹੂ ਵੱਸਿਆ ਕਬਰਾਂ ਪਈਆਂ ਚੋਣ<br />
ਪ੍ਰੀਤ ਦੀਆਂ ਸ਼ਾਹਜ਼ਾਦੀਆਂ ਅੱਜ ਵਿੱਚ ਮਜ਼ਾਰਾਂ ਰੋਣ

ਅੱਜ ਸੱਭੇ ਕੈਦੋ ਬਣ ਗਏ, ਹੁਸਨ ਇਸ਼ਕ ਦੇ ਚੋਰ<br />
ਅੱਜ ਕਿਥੋਂ ਲਿਆਈਏ ਲੱਭ ਕੇ ਵਾਰਿਸ ਸ਼ਾਹ ਇਕ ਹੋਰ

ਅੱਜ ਆਖਾਂ ਵਾਰਸ ਸ਼ਾਹ ਨੂੰ ਤੂੰਹੇਂ ਕਬਰਾਂ ਵਿਚੋਂ ਬੋਲ!<br />
ਤੇ ਅੱਜ ਕਿਤਾਬੇ ਇਸ਼ਕ ਦਾ ਕੋਈ ਅਗਲਾ ਵਰਕਾ ਫੋਲ!<br />
|
{{nq|اجّ آکھاں وارث شاہ نوں، کِتوں قبراں وِچّوں بول!<br>
تے اجّ کتابِ عشق دا کوئی اگلا ورقہ پھول!<br>
اِک روئی سی دھی پنجاب دی، توں لِکھ لِکھ مارے وَیݨ<br>
اجّ لکّھاں دھیاں روندیاں ،تینوں وارث شاہ نوں کہݨ:}}

{{nq|اُٹھ دردمنداں دیئا دردِیا! اُٹھ تکّ اپݨا پنجاب<br>
اجّ بیلے لاشاں وِچھیاں تے لہو دی بھری چناب<br>
کِسے نے پنجاں پاݨیاں وچ دِتی زہر رلؕا<br>
تے اوہناں پاݨیاں دھرت نوں دِتا پاݨی لا}}

{{nq|اِس زرخیز زمین دے لُوں لُوں پُھٹیا زہر<br>
گِٹھ گِٹھ چڑھیاں لالِیاں ،پُھٹ پُھٹ چڑھیا قہر<br>
وِہو ولِسّی وا پھر وݨ وݨ وگّی جا<br>
اوہنے ہر اِک وانس دی ونجھلی دِتّی ناگ بݨا}}

{{nq|پہلا ڈنگ مداریاں، منتر گئے گواچ<br>
دوجے ڈنگ دی لگّ گئی جݨے کھݨے نوں لاگ<br>
لاگاں کِیلے لوک مونہہ، بس پھر ڈنگ ہی ڈنگ<br>
پلو پلی پنجاب دے نیلے پَے گئے انگ}}

{{nq|گلیؤں ٹُٹے گیت پھر، ترَکلیئوں ٹُٹی تند<br>
ترِنجݨو ٹُٹیاں سہیلیاں، چرکھڑے گُھوکر بند<br>
سݨے سیج دے بیڑیاں لُڈݨ دِتیاں روڑھ<br>
سݨے ڈالیاں پینگھ اجّ پِپلاں دِتی توڑ}}

{{nq|جِتّھے وجدی سی پُھوک پیار دی، اوہ ونجھلی گئی گواچ<br>
رانجھے دے سبھ وِیر اجّ بُھل گئے اُسدی جاچ<br>
دھرتی تے لہو وسّیا، قبراں پئیاں چوݨ<br>
پریت دیاں شاہزادیاں اجّ وِچّ مزاراں روݨ}}

{{nq|اجّ سبّھے قیدو بݨ گئے، حسن عشق دے چور<br>
اجّ کِتھوں لیائیئے لبّھ کے وارث شاہ اِک ہور}}

{{nq|اجّ آکھاں وارث شاہ نوں، توں ہی قبراں وِچوں بول!<br>
تے اجّ کتابِ عشق دا کوئی اگلا ورقہ پھول!}}
|}

== In popular culture ==
The poem found resonance in both Punjabs - [[Punjab, India|Indian]] and [[Punjab, Pakistan|Pakistani]].<ref name="ref04riveq"/> It featured in the Pakistani Punjabi film, ''[[Kartar Singh (1959 film)|Kartar Singh]]'', where it was performed by [[Inayat Hussain Bhatti]]. It is one of the most widely read poems in modern Indian literature.<ref>{{Cite web|url=https://duckduckgo.com/?q=Indian+poems|title=Indian poems at DuckDuckGo|website=duckduckgo.com}}</ref>

Pakistani band, [[Mekaal Hasan Band]] included a 7-minute, 27 second song "Waris Shah" on their albums [[Sampooran]] and [[Saptak (album)|Saptak]]. [[Javed Bashir]] was the vocalist. The band also released an animated video for this song, which was directed by Zeeshan Pervaiz.<ref>{{Cite web|url=https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=cBtHFFBAZbE |archive-url=https://ghostarchive.org/varchive/youtube/20211221/cBtHFFBAZbE |archive-date=2021-12-21 |url-status=live|title=Mekaal Hassan Band, Waris Shah}}{{cbignore}}</ref>

==See also==
*[[Indian poetry|Indian Poetry]]

==References==
{{reflist}}

[[Category:Punjabi literature]]
[[Category:Indian poems]]
[[Category:Partition of India in fiction]]