From Waris to Heer

I am the story of the perennial lovers, Ranjha and Heer. I am the story of Waris Shah, of Bulleh Shah’s dhammal, the rise of the Sikh misl and the fall of the Mughal Empire. I am a story told in two parts, in two different narrative styles. On the one hand, I am the story of a young Waris, displaced from his home and his journey to Kasur, Pakpattan and Malka Hans, where he finally composed this most iconic love legend of Punjab. On the other hand, I am the story of Heer and Ranjha, being written by Waris Shah. Throughout the novel, I flow between these two narratives, these two worlds—of eighteenth-century Punjab and a timeless Punjab.