Punjab is divided into two distinct language areas: Hindi in West Punjab and Punjabi in East Punjab. This Eastern Punjab dialect developed into a literary language around the beginning of the 17th century whereas Hindki still remains a group of dialects.
During medieval times, Punjab repeatedly bore the brunt of Afghan invaders and internal battles, and these warring times were not exactly feasible for any sort of literary or cultural expansion.
Punjabi literature as such came into existence only from the end of the 16th century when Punjabi was already in its Middle Period.Gurmukhi script, created from the Nagari script, is claimed by Sikhs as the only proper script for Punjabi. Punjabi was evolving and Guru Nanak, the founder of the Sikh religion, gave a new lease of life to the language although it was still not in its pure form.
The fifth Guru, Arjun Dev compiled the Sikh scripture, the Adi Grantha or Grantha Sahib, but this again was not strictly in Punjabi. Guru Govind Singh (1666-1708), the tenth and last Guru, wrote a number of religious works mainly in Old Hindi with the exception of Candi-di-Var which is in Punjabi.
Earlier, Punjabi language had no script of its own and was written in Landha or Mahajani script, which had no vowel sounds but had to be imagined. With the birth of Sikhism, a new alphabet was needed urgently for the language to define a separate cultural identity and a vehicle for the new religious teachings.
Landha or Mahajani scripts were derived from Sanskrit but did not represent all the sounds contained in Punjabi language. Muslim poets wrote their Punjabi writings in Persian script and it was called Shahmukhi script or `the script uttered from the mouth of Shah or the king`.
The second Sikh Guru, Angad Dev, did a great service to Punjabi people by inventing a new script called Gurmukhi or `utterings from the mouth of the guru`. It had thirty-five letters in its alphabet to incorporate all the sounds, not found in other languages. Muslim Punjabi writers have always had an inbuilt prejudice against Gurmukhi script, even up to the present day, and still carry on with Shahmukhi script, especially in Pakistan. The same things used to happen among Punjabi Hindu writers, who wrote their Punjabi in Hindi script.
The birth of Khalsa or Sikhism is deeply entwined with Punjabi poetry, as almost all the Sikh Gurus were accomplished poets/musicians and created moving verses set to classical music, thus laying the foundation for new religious utterings combined with a quest for Punjabi identity. In a sense Guru Nanak was the first real `Punjabi` who gave its inhabitants a pride in reclaiming their separate identity.
The period between 1600-1850 covers the entire Middle Punjabi literature. Hindu and Sikh writers wrote in Punjabi, but it were Muslims were the most creative in producing rich literature in Punjabi.The best-known Hindu Punjabi scholar and Persian poet of the 17th century was Chandar Bhan of Lahore.In the 17th century Punjabi split up into three scripts - Perso-Arabic, Nagari and Gurmukhi.
A Muslim poet named Abdullah`s (1616-1666) Bara Anva or the `the Twelve Topics` is a thesis on Islam. During this age many Muslim Sufi poets came to the forefront, and their compositions, entirely Punjabi in spirit and content, form an integral part of Punjabi literature. Bullhe Shah (1680-1758) is the greatest Sufi poet whose Kafis or short poems of about six stanzas are very popular.Ali Haidar (1689-1776), one of his contemporaries, wrote a large number Si-harfis or poems of 30 stanzas, each stanza beginning with a letter of the Persian alphabet.
|
