Suhini Mehar

Suhini swims to meet her lover (c 1780). Credit - newworldencyclopedia.org

(Condensed by Menka Shivdasani from Sindhi Folk Tales by Pritam Varyani. Translated by Mohan Gehani. Published by Indian Institute of Sindhology.)

SUHINI-MEHAR (SOHINI-MAHIVAL)

During the Moghul rule in India, there was a prosperous potter named Tula Kumbhar, whose vessels were used by aristocrats and kings. His only daughter was called Suhini (Beautiful).

During this period in the city of Bukhara in Turkistan, there lived a businessman named Mirza Ali. Though he was rich and renowned, he had one unfulfilled desire – to have a child. Once, when a holy man visited his city, he confided this and was granted the boon of a baby, but with it came a warning that at the age of 16, the son would be separated from his father.

When Izzat Beg was born, his father showered him with all the luxuries, and as the boy grew, he learned about the riches and wisdom of India, and wanted to satisfy his curiosity and visit the country. Mirza Ali tried his best to restrain him, but the boy was adamant. He took some merchandise and set sail.

In Delhi, he indulged in all sorts of luxuries and then thought of going to Lahore. On his way, when he saw the beautiful city of Gujarat at the confluence of Ravi and Chenab, he decided to spend some time there. He befriended many people of nobility here, and learned of Tula Kumbhar’s beautiful pottery. When he sent his servant to Kumbhar’s house to purchase a souvenir, the servant saw Suhini and told his master about the beautiful girl. Izzat fell in love with her, without setting his sight on the girl; the next day he visited her home and instantly, the two were entranced by each other. Izzat decided to settle down in Gujarat, where he opened a shop to sell Tula Kumbhar’s wares.

Seeing his oblivion to everything else, his servants soon took away his money and Izzat was forced to take earthenware on credit from Tula Kumbhar. When it reached a point where he could no longer pay his debts, he asked Tula to employ him as a servant. Izzat, however, was not used to this rigorous life of bringing clay from the river bank and Tula took pity on him; he asked Izzat to look after his buffaloes, thus earning the name of ‘Mehar’ (caretaker of buffaloes).

When Suhini came into the buffalo shed on the pretext of having milk, she came to Mehar and soon their relationship blossomed. Her mother learned of this and tried to dissuade her daughter but Suhini would not listen; Tula Kumbhar sacked Mehar and got his daughter married to Damma, a young man of the village.

Suhini prayed to God to remain untouched and miraculously every night Damma would fall into a deep slumber. Suhini and Mehar continued to think of each other; eventually Mehar renounced the world, and became a fakir. Searching for Suhini, he found himself outside her home one day. Suhini came out to meet him on the pretext of giving him food and told him she had been pining for him all this while and had remained virtuous.

Mehar, recognizing the reality of the situation, decided to go away into the jungle, where he came upon the guru Gorakhnath. His appearance and good manners impressed the guru and as Mehar was admitted into their fold, he was granted a boon – that he would be able to meet his beloved.

Mehar settled as a Jogi on the banks of the Chenab on the other side of the river from Suhini’s house; soon his fame spread and reached Suhini’s ears. From the description of the Jogi, she was sure he was Mehar. When they met, they were both very happy and soon, Mehar would cross the river every night to meet his lover, bringing a fish for them to eat. Suhini’s friends tried to dissuade her from this dangerous behavior.

One day, a severe storm raged and Mehar was unable to get any fish. He did not want to go empty-handed, so he cut some flesh from his upper leg, cooked it and took it as a gift to her. The loss of blood and the exhaustion of swimming in the river made him almost unconscious. Suhini took to meeting Mehar, floating to him on a baked pitcher at midnight, and returning before dawn.

Her sister-in-law found out about this, followed Suhini and informed her brother about the situation. When Suhini still did not listen, they decided to do away with her, and the sister-in-law replaced the baked pitcher with an unbaked one that would dissolve in the water. The unsuspecting Suhini made her way into the swollen river in a raging storm and found herself drowning when the pitcher dissolved. Mehar’s attempts to rescue her proved futile, thanks to the wound in his leg and both went down embracing each other under the water.

Shah Latif wrote:

While on the banks many call out for the beloved,
Only those who dare to pay with their life would take the plunge,
The Beloved will meet only those who enter the river without support.