Tarjan – Ahmed Rahi: Literary Services and Artistic Research Study

In the modern wave of Punjabi literature, the name of Ahmed Rahi is an identity that strung the sorrows of partition and the cultural soul of Punjab into a new garland of words. “Tarjan” is that masterpiece collection of poetry by Ahmed Rahi that introduced the foundation of Punjabi poetry to new intellectual angles. Ahmed Rahi laid the foundation of modern Punjabi, and his first poem “Van Da Boota” (The Tree of Separation) is recognized as the first marker of modern Punjabi poetry. In his poetry, the blend of Punjab’s soil’s fragrance, women’s emotions, and the tragedy of partition is rarely found elsewhere. Ahmed Rahi began his literary journey with great determination, and the maturity of his art can be gauged from the fact that he started writing in Gurmukhi in 1938, later emerging as a towering personality in Shahmukhi literary circles.

Regarding modern Punjabi, Ahmed Rahi’s importance increases because his collection “Tarjan” was published in 1952, which created a stir in Punjabi literature. After the creation of Pakistan, he is considered the first authentic poet of Punjabi poetry because he did not merely write traditional poetry but made contemporary consciousness a part of his creation. Regarding Ahmed Rahi’s family background and name, his original name was “Ghulam Ahmed”, while his spiritual mentor named him “Khurshid Ahmed”. In the literary world, he became famous as “Ahmed Rahi”, and even today this name is the pride of Punjabi literature. He was born on November 12, 1923, in the historic city of Amritsar, which remained the center of his imagination and emotions.

The roots of Ahmed Rahi’s practical life and political consciousness were embedded in his student days. He was expelled from Amritsar College for participating in freedom movements, which proves that from childhood he had the courage to raise his voice against oppression and injustice. This rebellious spirit is also visible in his poetry. After being expelled from educational institutions, he started selling shawls with a feudal lord and closely observed the bitter realities of life. After 1947, he came to Lahore and made his place in the literary atmosphere here. The title of his book “Tarjan” itself reflects the culture of Punjab. Tarjan is that shared courtyard where young girls and women spin the spinning wheel; this is not just a place name but a symbol of Punjab’s social life and the shared joys and sorrows of women.

The literary value of “Tarjan” can be gauged from the fact that its preface “Ik Do Gallan” (A Few Words) was written by Ahmed Nadeem Qasmi, himself a great name in Urdu and Punjabi literature. Additionally, the flap of this collection was written by Saadat Hasan Manto and Krishan Chander, world-renowned short story writers. The opinions of these great writers testify to Ahmed Rahi’s art. Ahmed Rahi not only made a name in poetry but also wrote immortal songs for films that are still loved. In recognition of his literary and artistic services, the Government of Pakistan honored him with the Pride of Performance (Tamgha-e-Husn-e-Karkardagi). Ahmed Rahi’s poetry is such a document of Punjab’s history, the tragedy of partition, and love for the soil that will remain an asset of Punjabi literature forever.

1- Glimpses of Punjabi Culture and the Young Maiden

The greatest characteristic of Ahmed Rahi’s poetry is his deep connection with Punjab’s soil. In his creations, the colors of Punjabi culture are scattered like the fragrance of earth spreads everywhere after rain. He created a living picture of Punjab’s villages, Tarjan, and the people living there. Especially the joys, aspirations, and emotions seem ingrained in the blood of the human heart, which shows that in Rahi’s poetry, not just words but a whole universe of emotions resides. In his poetry, the expression of the Punjabi maiden’s emotions is done in a very beautiful and unique manner. The way he expressed the maiden’s youth and her inner longing in this poem:

Still new new mango blossoms
Still lips that have not tasted the juice of unopened buds
Still arms swaying with decorated branches
Still unshaped, bangle-like ache in the sides
Still in the steps the force of rising swings

In this poetry, Ahmed Rahi presented the maiden’s beauty in a new aesthetic color by comparing it with natural scenes. Metaphors like “mango blossoms” and “swaying of decorated branches” are rich reflections of Punjab’s cultural and natural life, representing the emerging youth and innocence of a young maiden.

2- Spokesperson of His Era / Mention of Women’s Disrespect

Ahmed Rahi was not just a poet of beauty and love; he also made the worst tragedy of his era — the partition of 1947 and the sorrows of migration — the subject of his poetry. He felt with great pain how Punjab was plundered and humanity was massacred at the time of partition. Especially the mention of women’s disrespect and their sorrows feels like a sharp knife in his poetry. Rahi expressed the sorrows of migration, the plundering of Punjab, and the reign of evils everywhere in the style of folk songs with a painful tone:

My headscarf is torn into shreds, O brother
O my headscarf is torn into shreds
All limits have been crossed

These verses are symbols of that destruction and devastation of Punjab where women’s honor (“headscarf”) was torn to pieces. The metaphor of “torn into shreds” reflects the mental and physical agony endured by the daughters of Punjab at the time of partition. Ahmed Rahi proved that he is a true spokesperson of his era, who made pure human emotions and social tragedies a part of Punjabi literature instead of political sloganeering.

Human Tragedy and Sorrows of Partition in Ahmed Rahi’s Poetry

In Ahmed Rahi’s creation “Tarjan”, the sorrow of the 1947 partition appears like an ulcer. He did not consider this massacre and the agony of migration merely a historical event but portrayed it as a humiliation of humanity and especially the injustice done to women. Just as social relationships and moral values were trampled at the time of partition, Ahmed Rahi preserved them in his poetry. His verses bear witness to that devastation where darkness now reigns and there is no one to care. He expressed these emotions as follows:

Everyone here has become blind
Sisters were plundered by brothers, O brother
O my headscarf is torn into shreds

In this poetry, “becoming blind” is a symbol of that social apathy and brutality where even blood relationships became meaningless. Ahmed Rahi expressed this sorrow with great anguish that those who were protectors of their sisters’ honor saw everything plundered before their eyes. This poetry is an elegy to that destruction of Punjab that turned a prosperous, settled Punjab into a crematorium. Rahi touched upon other aspects of this destruction where everything was wiped out:

Front back right left
Either Kaido or Kheray
Who plundered hundreds of thousands of Heers
Burned hundreds of thousands of Ranjhas
To whom should I tell my laments

Here, Ahmed Rahi used Punjab’s classical characters “Heer”, “Ranjha”, “Kaido”, and “Kheray” as metaphors. According to him, in the partition of 1947, hundreds of thousands of maidens more beautiful than Heer were plundered, and hundreds of thousands of young Ranjhas were burned in the fire of hatred. He says that if only one or two houses had been destroyed, the sorrow could have been shared, but here the whole of Punjab became a house of mourning. Now no one remains to hear the sorrow, so the poet asks to whom should I tell these lamentations?

3- Disrespect of Women: A Horrifying Reality

The most painful aspect of Ahmed Rahi’s poetry is the mention of women’s disrespect. The way women were targeted in the upheavals of partition is a dark chapter in human history. Rahi made this horror the center of his poetry so that future generations may know which innocent daughters paid the price of this “freedom”. An ocean of longing and lamentation is surging in his verses:

My headscarf is torn into shreds, O brother
O my headscarf is torn into shreds
All limits have been crossed
Everyone here has become blind

These verses repeatedly emphasize this sorrow that Punjab’s honor and women’s dignity (“headscarf”) has been torn to pieces. “All limits have been crossed” means that every limit of oppression and brutality has been exceeded. All boundaries of morality and humanity have been erased, and society has become completely blind. The artistic skill and truth with which Ahmed Rahi presented women’s suffering in “Tarjan” is unparalleled in Punjabi literature. This poetry is not just words but those tears of Punjab that can never dry.

Sisters were plundered by brothers, O brother
O my headscarf is torn into shreds

After this, the lament that Ahmed Rahi conveys from a daughter’s tongue to her father feels like an elegy to Punjab’s plundered honor. That daughter who once lived on her father’s pride is now narrating stories of her destruction before him:

Listen O my father, all your pride is broken
Your turban has been trampled in the dust, your dignity mixed in the soil
Seeing your modest daughter today, everyone is ashamed
When it’s a wolf, O father, who will share their pain

Here, “the turban being trampled in the dust” is a great tragedy because in Punjab, a father’s honor is tied to his daughter’s modesty. Ahmed Rahi says that when humanity becomes a “wolf”, then all veils of shame and modesty are torn, and no one remains to share the pain. This poetry is a true picture of that era where innocence was massacred.

4- Expression of Separation: Best Emotional Expression and the Sorrow of Maidens

The second major aspect of Ahmed Rahi’s poetry is the agony of separation. The expression he gave to the emotions of maidens is recognized as a masterpiece of emotional expression in Urdu and Punjabi literature. The longing of the maiden’s heart and her complaint to her beloved — if you had to leave, then why did you create this relationship — is molded in Rahi’s words as follows:

If you had to leave and go
Why did you start this game of love
After giving your word, you had to go
Why did you stake your heart

These verses reflect a common human emotion, but their background is that same migration and separation that made thousands of happy, settled homes desolate. Ahmed Rahi feels the sorrow of that maiden who is pained by the breaking of promises.

Beyond this comes the mention of those girls who left everything behind, but even today their hearts hold fresh memories of their father’s courtyard and brothers. This is that sorrow which migrant women cherished in their bosoms all their lives. As Rahi says:

Those girls who left everything behind, still remember their father and other siblings

Rahi proved that the separation was not just of land; it was a separation of souls and relationships. His poetry is such a cry from that dark period of Punjab’s history that can still be heard in the courtyards of Tarjan.

Whatever happened to me has happened, now to whom should I cry my lament
But listen to one thing, O father, my bud-like sister
Her daily dreams, O father, do not let me have peace
Now those same are your feet, and those same are your eyes

In this poetry, by mentioning “bud-like sister”, the poet highlights the fear that an elder sister feels for her younger siblings. “Daily dreams” point toward the mental trauma that the partition riots inflicted upon the minds of Punjab’s people. The poet says that the environment is no longer the same; rather, the same kind of feet and the same kind of eyes (hatred and brutality) are present everywhere, from which escape seems impossible.

5- Connection with Folk Songs and Cultural Immersion

A great quality of Ahmed Rahi’s poetry is that while writing modern poetry, he kept his feet firmly planted in the soil of folk songs. The sweetness and beautiful use of folk songs found in his poetry is rarely seen in any other contemporary poet. To preserve Punjab’s cultural soul, Rahi used genres like Kikkli, Bolliyan, Mahiya, and Tappe in such a way that they became part of modern poetry. Through these genres, he expressed the emotions of Punjab’s maiden.

Mahiya: In Ahmed Rahi’s Mahiya, there is a beautiful mention of Punjab’s joys and celebrations, where the maiden connects her happiness with her culture:

She has applied henna on her hands
With decorated joys, we have adorned the bed

These verses depict Punjab’s prosperous life and the maiden’s aspirations. The metaphor of “bed of decorated joys” is a symbol of life’s beauty and hope.

Tappe: Through Tappe, Ahmed Rahi expressed the agony of separation and longing of Punjab’s maiden. In Punjab’s history, the period of “twelve years” is considered a symbol of long separation, which Rahi expressed as follows:

He had gone to earn for twelve years, brought back silver
The pain of separations can no longer be endured

In this Tappa, “brought back silver” is a line from a traditional folk song, but in the second line, Ahmed Rahi connects this traditional statement with the agony of “the pain of separations”. This separation, whether for livelihood or due to partition, is in Rahi’s words such a pain that has become unbearable. His connection with folk songs proves him to be a purely popular poet connected to the soil.

We have put locks on our lips and sat down, and no one cares
The fire of love emits no smoke but burns the body and soul
Here people are traders of pearls, and there is no value for tears

In this poetry, Ahmed Rahi, by comparing silence to “locks”, expresses that agony which a person cherishes within themselves. The metaphor of “the fire of love” means that the passion of true love destroys a person from within, but its outward smoke or noise is not heard. The most painful thing is the materialism of the era, where people only value “pearls” (wealth and benefits), and no one values sincere tears. Ahmed Rahi’s emotional expression emerges as a bitter reality of Punjab’s public life.

6- Folk Tales and Ahmed Rahi’s Intellectual Foundations

The foundation of Ahmed Rahi’s poetry is built upon Punjab’s historical and folk tales. These tales are present throughout his poetry, forming an important part of his intellectual system. He did not merely narrate stories but connected the characters of these tales to contemporary tragedies. In his poetry, there is a rich expression of love for the land and the emotions of young men and maidens.

Ahmed Rahi presented human characters as idols of loyalty, where Ranjha is the ambassador of love and Mirza emerges as a symbol of bravery. He used metaphors in his poetry with great artistry, where Kheray is a metaphor for oppression and injustice, while Mirza represents bravery, Sahiban represents love and loyalty, and Sassui represents selfless sacrifice.

Especially in the backdrop of partition, when women were rejected from all sides and their honor was targeted, Ahmed Rahi sought a path of solace for them. For the maiden rejected from all sides, the metaphor of Mirza Sahiban comes as a hero offering comfort. According to him, these folk tales of Punjab were not just stories but those historical imprints of human greatness, love, and loyalty to the land through which Rahi attempted to give a new direction to the destruction and devastation of his era. By making Punjab’s folk heritage a part of his poetry, Rahi proved that the nation that remembers the tales of its soil can face the sorrows of its present.

If you were Mirza-like, O Ranjha, then I would not drink poison
With the pride of your bent bow, O, I would push aside Kaido and Qazi
If you were Mirza-like, O Ranjha, why would I commit suicide
Neither did you come a man, nor did I come to die

In this poetry, Ahmed Rahi contrasts Ranjha’s character with Mirza’s bravery. According to the poet, if the lover had Mirza-like courage and the pride of a “bent bow”, then Heer would never have to drink poison, nor would she need to fear obstacles like Kaido or Qazi. These verses are a whip to Punjab’s honor: if you had come to the field as a man, then today women would not have to choose the path of suicide. Ahmed Rahi proved that folk tales are those springs of our national life that can infuse life into dead souls.

7- Fluency and Continuity: Ahmed Rahi’s Poetic Style

The most prominent characteristic of Ahmed Rahi’s poetry is its remarkable fluency. When reading his poetry, it feels as if river water is flowing with a natural current. His verses are linked to each other like a chain, where one idea is so intertwined with another that the reader never feels boredom. The fluency of this flowing river granted his poetry both public popularity and artistic height.

Regarding this style of Ahmed Rahi, the renowned critic Akhtar Jafari says:

“Ahmed Rahi had complete command over expression and language, which is why his poetry has fluency, integrity, continuity, and eloquence.” (Akhtar Jafari)

This eloquence and rhetoric distinguish Ahmed Rahi from other poets of his era. His language contains the raw authenticity of Punjab’s soil and the roar of its rivers. Look at this short yet impactful example of his poetry:

You do not turn back
You do not move
You do not listen

These simple words, strung in a specific rhythm, are the best example of Rahi’s poetic fluency. This repetition leaves a deep imprint on the reader’s mind and proves that Ahmed Rahi knew well the art of playing with the magic of words and their continuity. His “Tarjan” is not just a collection of poetry but an immortal masterpiece of Punjabi language’s sweetness, fluency, and truth.

Come, extend your hand again
From today, a promise is made
We will drown together
We will live together, we will die together

These verses reflect the strength of promise and covenant that has been a hallmark of Punjabi culture. This oath of living and dying together expresses that passionate intensity that is woven not only between humans but also in the relationship of love with the land. The poet has clarified here that sincerity and loyalty in human relationships are the real asset. After this, the poem turns toward that environment of Tarjan where girls would sit together not only to spin the spinning wheel but also to share the joys and sorrows of life:

The water that crosses the ferry today
Will never return tomorrow
The oar of the boat, the girls of Tarjan
Will never sit together again

This stanza is a lament for the instability of life and the rapid passage of time. The water crossing the ferry and the oar of the boat indicate that time never stays in one place. The moments we have today will not be there tomorrow. This allegory is frequently found in classical Punjabi literature as well, but here it is presented in a new social context. The girls of Tarjan never sitting together again is a symbol of a separation that is not only physical but also cultural.

The second part of the writing is a logical conclusion of the first part, describing the changing conditions after the partition of India and independence. After independence, the horrific problems of migration, social deterioration, and psychological fragmentation changed the maps of human life. This part reflects the sorrow and agony that the inhabitants of this region suffered as a result of Punjab’s partition. The heading of the second part is this important verse that presents the essence of the changing situation. This writing is not just a poem but a historical document of Punjab’s changing geographical and social conditions that forces the reader to think by placing them between the prosperity of the past and the tragedy of the present. The poet skillfully journeyed from romanticism to realism, in which the bitterness of society is expressed with great boldness.

Tarjan Di Jhanger (The Courtyard of Tarjan): Artistic and Intellectual Analysis

In this poem, the poet has beautifully expressed the evolution of life and the transformation of human experiences. A special aspect of the poem is the sorrow of separation and the gathering of memories of the past, which is clearly evident from the following verse:

The separated crane cries out in the branches, O resonant one in the courtyards of Tarjan!

Here, using the symbol of the “crane”, the poet presents that longing and loneliness that arises after being separated from a loved one or from one’s origin. Akhtar Hussain Jafari, while describing the depth of this work of art, made a very insightful statement:

“The first part is about life before marriage, and the second part is about life after marriage.” (Akhtar Hussain Jafari)

This sentence clarifies the structure of the entire poem: how human life moves from playing and laughing with pampering, joys, and friends into the stage of responsibilities and the sorrows of separation. This is not just the story of one woman but the story of every soul that leaves behind childhood innocence and faces the bitterness of youth.

Language and Expression: Linguistic Characteristics

In the poem “Tarjan Di Jhanger”, the poet’s mastery of language reaches its peak. The poet used those words and idioms of Punjabi language that are connected to the soil of Punjab. Regarding its language and expression, some important aspects are:

• Style of expression: The poet’s way of expressing every subject in every color is unique and unparalleled. He makes even an ordinary thing impactful by molding it in a poetic manner.
• Majha dialect: The sweetness and gravity of the pure Majha dialect are present in the poem, which creates fluency and comprehensibility in the poetry.
• Command over language: The poet has complete command over his mother tongue, evidence of which is found in every stanza of the poem, where the choice of words is perfectly suited to the subject.
• Imagery: The rural environment of Punjab, the hustle and bustle of Tarjan, and the scenes of nature are fully depicted in the verses, as if a film is playing before the eyes.

In the final part of the poem, the passage of time and the immutable law of nature are described as follows:

The sun that rises from the east
Goes towards the west
Taking away all the light
Leaving behind darkness

This stanza points to the truth of the universe that light and darkness, happiness and sorrow, life and death are all intertwined, following one another. The rising of the sun is a symbol of hope and ascent, while its going towards the west is a sign of decline and separation. By mentioning the arrival of darkness along with the brightness of light, the poet has clearly illustrated the contrast of human life with great artistry.