Ghanimat Kunjahi

Muhammad Akram Ghanimat Kunjahi (died c. 1713 CE) was a Punjabi[1] poet of Persian language and Sufi in the Mughal Empire.

Biography

Little is known about his life with certainty, except that he descended from a family of muftis originating from the village of Kunjah, in Gujrat District.[2] He was a disciple of Sayyid Muhammad Salih, himself a favourite disciple of Naushah Ganj Bakhsh, a well known saint associated with Qādiriyya Sufi order.[3] He is reported to have travelled to Kashmir, Kabul and Delhi.[4] The date of death of Kunjahi is not known: but since he praises Farrukhsiyar (enthroned 1713) in his Golzār-e moḥabbat and his death is mentioned in his nephew Moḥammad Māh Ṣedāqat-e Konjāhī's Ṯawāqeb al-manāqeb (written 1714), he probably died towards the end of 1713.[5] He is buried in his native village of Kunjah.[6]

Works

Kunjahi wrote in Persian using the sabk-i hindī style, characterized by a fondness for the ghazal form and an interest in realistic and sometimes erotic themes. His works reflected complex imagery, themes, and syntax.[7] Notable works of Kunjahi include a Dīvan consisting of 233 ghazals and 12 robāʿīs; Golzār-e moḥabbat, a mathnawi of 591 lines and the Nayrang-i ʿishḳ ('Talisman of Love'), a sentimental and romantic mathnawī of 1500 lines set in Punjab during Kunjahi's time.[5][7]

Nayrang-i ʿishḳ was written in 1685, and was highly esteemed in India.[2] The poem starts with the formal praise to the land of Punjab where the story is set. It then tells the tale of love between prince Aziz and a dancer named Shahid.[2] The poem was translated into several languages in the subsequent centuries. Notable translations include that of Abd al-Hamid Mohmand (in Pashto),[8] Bhagwant Rai Rāhat (in Urdu) and Mian Muhammad Bakhsh (in Punjabi).[9]

Legacy

In popular local memory, Kunjahi was remembered as a miracle worker associated with improving mental faculties, curing insanity, and aiding aspiring poets.[10] His tomb was revered for its alleged powers, and it became a site for interring other poets, including Shareef Kunjahi.[11] The Bazm-i-Ghanimat literary organization in Pakistan was named after him.[12]

Editions

  • Dīwān, ed. Ghulām Rabbānī ʿAzīz (Lahore 1958)
  • Nayrang-i ʿishk, ed. Ghulām Rabbānī ʿAzīz (Lahore: Panjabi Adabi Akademi, 1962)

References

  1. ^ Bausani (1974), p. 106, as reproduced in Chaghatai (2014), pp. 12–36.
  2. ^ a b c Naficy (1965), p. 1006.
  3. ^ Shackle (1999), p. 445.
  4. ^ Bausani (1974), p. 107; Shackle (1999), p. 446
  5. ^ a b Naushahi (2000).
  6. ^ Chaghatai (2014), p. 14.
  7. ^ a b Chaghatai (2014), p. 19.
  8. ^ Shackle (1999), pp. 457–459.
  9. ^ Shackle (1999), pp. 459–462.
  10. ^ Shackle (1999), p. 435.
  11. ^ "Sharif Kunjahi laid to rest". Dawn. 22 January 2007. Retrieved 4 April 2025.
  12. ^ Arif, Iftikhar; Khwaja, Waqas (2010). Modern Poetry of Pakistan. Dalkey Archive Press. p. 288. ISBN 978-1-56478-605-0.

Sources

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