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Sassi Punnu

Sassui Punnhun is one of the famous love folklores of Pakistan, known amongst the entire region of Sindh in particular. This love story related to a wife who is faithful to her husband and wills to face any kind of trouble, in order to seek her husband back, rivals having kept her husband separate.

This particular love story has also been mentioned in the Shah Jo Risalo and also finds a place in seven of the famous romantic tragedies emerging from Sindh. The rest of the six love stories are Sohni Mehar, Umar Marui, Noori Jam Tamachi, Lilan Chanesar, Momal Rano and Sorath Rai Diyach, these female protagonists also well known as Shah Abdul Latif Bhittai.

For Shah, this particular story seems like a tale of a seeker on a path which is mystical, all the while having to face various tests in the path to find God, perhaps at the end of the road, primarily at the level of the heart. Sassui is like roaming amidst the wilderness, while at the same time talking to animals, and thus creating similar features like one more example in Majnun, who became mentally unstable in his quest for Layla, the tale of which is considered an example of true love in the Turkish and Persian tradition.

Love Story And Its Characters


Punnhun

Mir Punnhun Khan was Mir Aali’s son, who was the son of a king named Mir Hooth Khan, one of the Hooth dynasty ancestors, which was considered to be a renowned tribe of Baloch in Balochistan. King Hooth was the son of the 12th century ruler of Balochistan, Mir Jalal Khan and King Hooth had children Hooth, Lashari, Rind, Korai and Jatoi.

Sassui

Sassui belonged to Bhambore in Sindh, whose father was the Raja of the region. When Sassui was born, there were predictions by the astrologers that she would be proving to be a curse on the prestige of the royalty. Therefore, on the order of the raja, this child was put inside a box made of wood and the box was thrown into the river Sindhu. This box came across a washerman belonging to the village of Bhambore, with the child inside it. Believing that the child was God’s blessing and took her to his house and adopted her as her daughter, since he didn’t have any child.

As Sassui grew into a young girl, she was considered beautiful like the fairies from heaven. When the legends about Sassui’s beauty were heard by Punnhun, he wanted to meet her desperately. For this reason, he travelled from his place to Bhambore. He used to give his clothes to Sassui’s father for washing, so that he could have a glance of her. When he first visited the house of the washerman, he saw Sassui and both fell for each other in the first sight. The washerman was not enthusiastic as he wanted his adopted daughter to marry a man from his clan. As a test to check his ability to marry his daughter and become a washerman, Sassui’s father once told Punnhun to prove his worth. But, during the washing test, he tore many shirts as he didn’t have the necessary experience and thus failed the test. While returning the dresses himself to the respective villagers, he put gold coins inside, which made the villagers happy and they didn’t complain and so, in the eyes of Sassui’s father, he passed the test.

Punnhun’s Brothers

There was a lot of opposition from the side of Punnhun’s family about the marriage to Sassui, because he was a prince, while Sassui belonged to a washerman’s family. Therefore, the brothers of Punnhun went to Bhambor and first tried to threaten him, inspite of which, Punnhun remained adamant in his decision. Later, the brothers took up more dangerous methods.

It took Punnhun by surprise, when his brothers started supporting his marriage, all of a sudden. One night, they all started enjoying and with a plea to take part in the celebrations of the marriage, made Punnhun drink lots of wine and took him back to Kech, their hometown in an intoxicated state.

The Lovers Meet Their End

The very next day, it realized upon Sassui that she had been cheated, she was overcome with sadness due to the reason of being separated from her lover and went towards the town of Kech Makran on barefoot. She went across the desert for miles. She kept on going alone and along the way, developed blisters on her foot and with constant cries of Punnhun, Punnhun, her lips became parched. Due to the hazardous journey, she died on the way, although the name of her lover was constantly on her lips. While she was thirsty, she asked a shepherd for some water, but his ill intentions made him to force upon her. Sassui tried to run away and prayed god to help her, at which time, the sand parted and split and she was buried deep under the sand. While in Makran, Punnhun woke up and started to run back towards Bambhore, shouting the name Sassui, Sassui constantly. This was heard by the shepherd, who told the consequence of Sassui. Punnhun also prayed to god to lead him to the same fate and the sand split again and Punnhun was buried in the same place. This grave, which according to legends has both the bodies of Sassui and Punnhun, still exists in the desert valley. Their tragic story is sung by Shah Abdul Latif Bhittai in sufi form, which gives the example of unity with the divine and eternal love.

Kech Makran

The place of Kech Makran is presently situated in the Baluchistan region of Pakistan, along the Makran Coastal Highway. The fort of Punnhun can be seen along the Makran Coastal highway, during a drive, the fort having been built in about 6000 – 8000 B.C.

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