The Urs of some of the most prominent poets of the Punjab are observed or celebrated according to the dates of the local calendar rather than that of the hijri. Waris’s Shah Urs on the 4th of sawan, Bulleh Shah’s on the 9th of bhadoan and Shah Hussain’s on the 27th of chet can be quoted as some of the examples.
The diversity could be because of the respect for local customs, practices, rituals and language and even religions. It could also be the yearning to say something spontaneously and with openness than to be tied down by established norms, rituals and practices. The various interpretations of sufism or its multilayered reading lie embedded in the varying times and the needs of the period, reign or time. There could not have been a blind unwavering application of the values and rituals but only in response to the need of the hour.
This flexibility and the inclusive approach contained within it the seeds of creativity and a desire to seek new solutions to new problems. The amorphous body of knowledge and sensibility of the sufis thus is a good and healthy fallback for an approach that is not tied down slavishly to the past or to a belief system that is narrowly and rigidly applied.
It should not be forgotten that the Muslims constituted only twenty five to thirty percent of the population of the Indian subcontinent and they ruled a vast multitude that did not follow their creed and belief. It must have been one of the rare examples of astute governance that made political legitimacy possible for such a long period of time for force alone could not sustained a framework.
One of the pillars of the policy of "sulahe kul" which could be translated as "peace at all cost" or better still "peaceful coexistence" was due to the role played by the sufis, directly or indirectly. They were primarily responsible for fraying the sharp edges of the differences in the belief systems of the rulers and the ruled by striking some middle ground through greater political and cultural manifestations. No wonder the shrines of the sufis became a melting point of cultures, languages and art forms, in the process fertilizing new forms truthfully more reflective of the coming together of these various streams.
Shah Hussain, known to be a sympathiser of Dulla Bhatti, was probably also imprisoned for that act of treason. He was chained but the chains broke every time leading to the creation of the myth that he could not be shackled. Most of the poetry of Khushal Khan Khattak was against the Mughal rule on his land and it can be said to be resistance poetry as it is classified today. Rehman Baba extolled the virtues of being a Pathan, thus consolidating the national consciousness of the people living between the Oxus and the Indus. Poets in Sindh too resented the central rule and supported the movements that called for the liberalisation of their land from foreign yoke.
Waris Shah reminds one of Heer, a common folk tale written in a number of languages, probably its most brilliant manifestation being in Punjabi. Heer is traditionally sung in raag bhairaveen which is sung across the length and breadth of the subcontinent with varying shades. If there is such a thing as Punjabi bhairveen, there is also Bangla bharaveen and even if the notes do not vary, the ang is conditioned by the area or the region that it is being sung in. Bhairveen sung in Banaras/Uttar Pradesh has a different nuance from the one sung in Sindh.
It is very difficult to say when it started being sung in bhairveen and who was the first bard or the minstrel to be held accountable for it. But like so much else in our history it is better left to the many undefinables rather than offer a definite answer based on some agenda-driven quirky research. There is some research and documentation of the higher forms of music call it marg, or shastria or classiky because it mattered more and was the preserve of the religious or cultural establishments.
But where desi, lok or folk music was considered, it was more a matter of practice than of any theoretical and philosophical underpinning. The music of the people so to say was spontaneous not accompanied by the reams of theoretical or theological justification advanced by ideological apologists.
It is also very difficult to say who composed the kafis of the famous poets of the Punjab and these have been sung over centuries by the minstrels and bards. Though certain names of musicians are mentioned, they are only in passing and given no importance; the general assumption being that the poets were the composers of their own work. This assumption holds only as much weight as to say that Aurengzeb was the architect and building contractor of the Badshahi Mosque or that Shah Jehan performed a similar task other than ruling a whole empire.
Bhai Mardana’s could be an exception because his name is taken with a great deal of veneration by those who have followed the life and works of Guru Nanak. Probably because of Nanak being a founder of a religion, even his minstrel is given the ready acceptance and respectability denied to others.
Similarly, the coming together of the tariqat and the shariat was not a fait accompli. It was a constant battle to attain a fine balance but it is difficult to say where the fine balance lay. Probably it differed from sufi to sufi, silsila to silsila and there was no universal acceptance of its finality. And it is for no purpose that the definition of sufism or being a sufi is so illusive. It defies a simple definition or understanding with probably the truth really to be discovered in diversity and pluralism than in uniformity.