Heer – Ranjha story in English

Heer – Ranjha is a tale of woe and despair written by Waris Shah, telling the tragic story of two young lovers. Deedo lately known as Ranjha was a lucky man in some ways, but unlucky in so many others. As the youngest of four brothers in a small farming community, he was exempt from the duties that his brothers were responsible for. His father favoured him over the others and so he allowed Ranjha to live a peaceful life, playing the flute while his brothers toiled day and night on the farm. Naturally this caused resentment between Ranjha and his three brothers. The four of them argued bitterly over the question of who would inherit the land on the farm when their father died. Ranjha, being the favourite, was of the opinion that he deserved his fair share. His brothers thought differently, telling him that he did not deserve any of the land because he never helped them work on it. Eventually, his brother’s wife poisoned his mind and began refusing to prepare food for him so he left the village of Takht Hazara in search of better fortunes. Unfortunately, his journey would only bring him heartbreak and sorrow in the end.

Just as he was beginning to give up hope, he came across a village similar to the one he had left behind. He walked into a nearby farm and laid eyes on the most beautiful woman he had ever seen. At this moment, he decided that all of this would be worth it if he would make her love him as much as he loved her. Her name was Heer. Her father offered Ranjha a job herding cattle and he stayed with the family. He did manage to make Heer fall in love with him by playing his beautiful flute music to her. She loved those subtle melodies so much she knew that she had to be with the man who created them.

They began a secret affair for they knew Heer’s father would not approve. For a few wonderful years, they enjoyed their time together, not minding that they could not tell anybody of their love because they had each other. But this could not last forever. One day, Heer’s uncle Kaido discovered their secret love and told her parents of it. They decided to force her into marrying another man and Ranjha was banished from the village.

Lost once again, Ranjha continued his aimless wandering around Punjab. After what seems like an eternity, he meets the Kanphata sect of Jogi’s that decided to take him in and help him. Upon arriving, Ranjha joins these priests in relinquishing the material world and dedicating his life to the Lord, Rab.

With his new found piety, he returned to Heer’s village. Her parents agree to the marriage and Ranjha rejoices in the knowledge that he can finally be with the only woman he has ever truly loved. But it was not to be. Kaido still did not approve of the wedding and so he came up with a plot to stop it. He poisoned the food in the hope that the wedding would be cancelled and Heer ate some of it. Upon hearing this, Ranjha rushed to save her, but he did not make it in time and she had already succumbed to the poison. Looking at her lifeless corpse, Ranjha made a decision. There was no way that he could live without her, he wouldn’t want to. The moment she had died he had lost everything worth living for and so he reached out and took the food on the plate. Placing it in his mouth gently, he sat down and closed his eyes. Waiting for the inevitable. The two were buried in the hometown of Heer i.e. Jhang. Their graves are regularly visited by couples.