MIRZA AND SAHIBAN: A TRAGIC LOVE STORY

You must have heard about 'Romeo & Juliet', written by William Shakespeare. Two lovers caught up in the feud among their families and met a tragic end. India too has its share of love stories that can give old William a tough competition! 'Mirza & Sahiban' is one of the four well known and tragic romances of the state of Punjab in India, and is celebrated in both India and Pakistan. The other three are those of 'Heer & Ranjha', 'Sohni & Mahiwal' and 'Sassi & Punnu'. They all follow the same pattern of attraction, total devotion, family persecution and death by murder or suicide as 'Romeo & Juliet'. After their death the lovers were idealised and made the subject of folk songs and poetry, and in some case even worshipped.

Mirza and Sahiban were cousins. Mirza was a handsome youth and a noted archer. Sahiban was so beautiful, farmers stopped work to stare her when she walked past. They fell in love when Mirza was sent from Danabad to Khewa, the village where Sahiban lived. Sahiban's family opposed the match and arranged for her to be married to a man from the same tribe, called Tahir Khan.

Sahiban sent a message, worded as a challenge to her lover who lived a day's ride away:"Come and paint the bridal henna on my hands, I am to be married." Mirza came on his horse Bakki, stole the bride on the eve of her wedding and rode away to what he hoped was a safe distance. The pair were, however, being followed by Sahiban's angry brothers who were in hot pursuit.

The pair stopped on the road for a rest. Mirza had complete confidence in his ability to outshoot the opposition and fell asleep. The watchful Sahiban feared her lover's marksmanship and hid his quiver, thinking to save her brothers' lives and hoping they would spare Mirza. But Sahiban was wrong; she miscalculated as they killed the defenceless Mirza. Unable to do anything, poor Sahiban committed suicide.

The tragic nature of these folktales serves to fix the tale in popular memory, win enormous sympathy for the unfortunate pair, and inspire art & song. Sometimes the stories are even treated as spiritual allegory. However, they also serve as a warning; in a society where marriage is a social arrangement, the culture disapproves of lovers who dare to go against family prejudice and ignore barriers of caste, tribe and region. Paradoxically, the treatment of such tales in art, particularly films, has done a great deal to change such social norms.