Heer travels from the plains of Punjab, along the Sindhu, and meets the deserts of Sindh to find herself strummed and echoed at the shrine of Shah Abdul Lateef Bhittai. Heer mourns her separation from Ranjha, and begs her beloved tabib (healer) to come and cure her. She says nothing will heal her, no doctor, no medicine, except for her beloved Ranjha.
In Sur Yaman Kalyan, Bhittai uses this metaphor again:
توں حبیب توں طبیب توں ہی دردن دی دوا
You are my beloved, you are my healer, only you can cure me of my pain.
Sur Heer Ranjho is an ode to the legend of Heer Ranjha, originally told by Damodar Das Gulati, then mastered by Waris Shah. It is sung widely across Punjab as Waris Shah’s Heer. Some contend that Sur Heer Ranjho is not Bhittai’s poetry. Yet, whether we attribute it to him, or to the faqeers whose love of the folktale made them include it in the tradition, Sur Heer Ranjho is sung regularly at the shrine.
Raag Credits:
Damboora & Vocals: Qamber Fakir Lanjwani, Rab Dino, Mazhar Hussain
Translation: Musab Bin Noor
Language: Saraiki
Video Credits:
Camera: Hadi Khatri, Sadia Khatri, Javeria Kella
Sound recording: Ahmed Hasan
Mixing and mastering: Mobeen Zahid
Editing: Hadi Khatri
Subtitling: Hadi Khatri
Recorded at Qamber faqeer’s house in Bhit Shah, February 2023