Rewriting Shah Abdul Latif Bhittai's Lilan Chanesar as Poetry - The Sindhi Folktale from Shah Jo Risalo

The love story famously known as 'Naulakha Har' | ليلا چنيسر

Hello dear readers!
I’m well aware that this is a much-awaited post, but for all those who are new here, this is a short introduction for you!

Lilan Chanesar (also known as Laila, Leela) is a well-known, traditional story dating back to the time of one of the Soomra rulers, Jam Chanesar, in 14th century Thatta, Sindh. This story appears in the collection ‘Shah Jo Risalo’ also known as The Seven Queens of Sindh or the Seven Heroines of Shah Abdul Latif Bhittai, the writer and Sufi saint. It is a widely recorded folktale in Sindhi and Persian.

I summarize this folklore in just enough detail in one of my previous Substack posts on how ‘Naulakha Har’ is the backbone behind the storyline of ‘Indecent Proposal’ and many other stories today. Read it over here:

Thank you for supporting this blog! Without further ado, let’s get into my attempt at retelling the story in a rhyming poem!

The Tragic Love Story of Jam and Lilan Chanesar

Lilan:

How bright it gleams!
The love in my gaze,
A light that never falters.
All aglow for thee,
With pride and grace,
I could leave thee for none other.

Jam:

Thou art my wife, my light, my love, 
the sun, the moon and stars,
I love thee to the ends of Sindh,
And to lands beyond our bazaars.

Lilan:

Thou fillest me with wit and rule,
My cup never runs dry,
May no brighter light ever prevail
To part us, heart from heart and 
eye from eye.

Jam:

I vow to thee, my Shahin Shahni,
As the days slip by,
Our hearts beat as one entity,
For even nature's forces cannot tear 
my heart apart from thine.

Lilan, turning to face the world:

Behold the treasures of the earth,
My soul seeketh nothing more -- 
Ah, what gleams and glows thus afar?
A sight I've not seen before.

Kaunru, with decietful tears as she faces Lilan:

I seek nothing but rest 
for my weary heart
and if I could have Raja Chanesar,
with the Naulakha Har, I will part. 

Lilan, stunned yet contemplative:

He is my heer, 
My Shaah, 
My pyaar --
More dear than the Naulakha Har, 
but won't thee Kaunru, name thy price?
I yearn for it's beauty
but at thine cost of this vice?