Bulleh Shah

In his juvenile years, his family moved to Malakwal, and later Pandoke, in the Subah of Lahore; where he got his early education from his father, while working as a herder, in the village.

Bulleh Shah’s poetry resonated with a wide audience due to the use of colloquial language; employing metaphors and imagery to convey complex spiritual ideas to those outside formal religious circles.

His poetry marked a new era in Punjabi literature and spread a wave of reformist ideas throughout the Punjab, which included calls for social, religious and political reforms.

[5] His poetry has been ingrained in Punjabi proverbs, qisse, and folk traditions; and has been recited at many cultural events, particularly his kafis, including one organized by UNESCO.

Some historians claim that Bulleh Shah received his education at a highly reputed madrassa run by Hafiz Ghulam Murtaza, where he taught for some time after his graduation.

[7] There is a fort-like Gurdwara in Daftuh that was built in the 18th century by the Sikh Chieftainess Bibi Isher Kaur, who donated 80 squares of land for its construction.

[17] Many people have put his Kafis to music, from humble street-singers to renowned Sufi singers like Nusrat Fateh Ali Khan, Fareed Ayaz, Pathanay Khan, Abida Parveen, the Waddali Brothers and Sain Zahoor, from the synthesised techno qawwali remixes of UK-based Asian artists to the Pakistani rock band Junoon.

For his criticism of replication of beliefs (blind faith and following), the "Oxford Textbook of Spirituality in Healthcare" compared Bulleh Shah with Percy Bysshe Shelley.

[17][29] In Bulleh Shah's poetry, Sufism can be seen as an indigenous philosophy of political activism and class struggle[30] and resistance to powerful institutions like religion and imperialism.

Thus, his version of Sufism is usually considered opposite to that of Ali Hajweri and other 'more spiritual' sufis who were confined to their libraries and schools and rarely participated in public discourse.

[13] Bulleh Shah was a "revolutionary" and "rebel" poet who spoke against powerful religious, political and social institutions of his time[1][4][31] and, thus, his influence can be seen on many noted socialists, progressives and workers and women rights activists like Jam Saqi,[30] Taimur Rahman,[35] Bhagat Singh,[31] Faiz Ahmad Faiz,[36][37] Madeeha Gauhar,[38] and Major Ishaque Muhammad.

[40] In the 1990s, Junoon, a rock band from Pakistan, rendered his poems "Bullah Ki Jaana" and "Aleph" ("Ilmon Bas Kareen O Yaar").

[41][42] The Wadali Bandhu, a Punjabi Sufi group from India, have also released a version of "Bullah Ki Jaana" in their album Aa Mil Yaar...

They also worked with British-Punjabi music composer, Mukhtar Sahota, to create their own rendition of a famous Punjabi folk song, "Charkha" which was released in May 2007.

[citation needed] Dama Dam Mast Qalandar, a qawwali composed in honour of Shahbaz Qalandar, has been one of Bulleh Shah's most popular poems and has been frequently rendered by many Indian, Pakistani and Bangladeshi singers including Noor Jehan, Ustad Nusrat Fateh Ali Khan, Abida Parveen, Sabri Brothers, Wadali brothers, Reshman and Runa Laila.

[15] In 2008, a version of Bulleh Shah's famous verse, Aao Saiyo Ral Deyo Ni Wadhai, was sung by Shafqat Amanat Ali Khan, for his debut solo album, Tabeer.

[citation needed] The 1973 movie Bobby song by Narendra Chanchal starts with the verse Beshaq mandir masjid todo, Bulleh Shah ye kahta.

[47] The 2016 Bollywood films "Sultan" and Ae Dil Hai Mushkil feature the song "Bulleya", sung by Papon and Amit Mishra respectively, which is short for Bulleh Shah.

[15] A song "Hun Kis Theen" based on his poetry was also featured in Punjabi animated film Chaar Sahibzaade: Rise of Banda Singh Bahadur.

[49] In 2010, the season 3 featured "Na Raindee Hai" and "Makke Gayaan Gal Mukdi Nahi" performed by Arieb Azhar.

[61][62] In 2023, the National Assembly of Pakistan passed a bill, proposed by Asiya Azeem, for the establishment of "Bulleh Shah International University" in Kasur.

[63] The renowned Pakistani businessman Syed Babar Ali mentioned Bulleh Shah in his autobiography, and the role played by his team in publishing his works.

[65] Bhutto used the term “Dama Dam Mast Qalandar” (a song adapted by Bulleh Shah) in 1973 to predict the political turmoil ahead.

"[71] In August 2023, the caretaker chief minister of Punjab Mohsin Raza Naqvi laid the foundation stone of the extension project of the dargah of Bulleh Shah.

The version composed by Bulleh Shah was sung by Nusrat Fateh Ali Khan, Abida Parveen, Laal (band) and numerous other singers from India and Pakistan.