Tall, Dark and Handsome
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The Evolution of Folklore
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Tales from th
Saif Asif Khan explores why our love stories by Saif Asif Khan
The one thing that d romantic folklore of few exceptions, almo Heer Ranjha, Sohni M Majnu and you will s the ill-fated lovers ei mad and die or are d earthquake and die. My c I
What is celebrat people w bliss” is h stories a
beyond doubt as the which they eventual being told these stor how they might bree h unrequited love, tak un for a member of the in comparison to rom inaccurately in our c ride off into the suns What is worse tha people who are deni are to today’s Pakist denied the right to c the mercy of their pa drafted centuries ag chart an intolerant a of our society gradu freedom of choice b that the hackneyed resonates with the m enjoyed by the love s Yet the more I tho to be some other ex long time ago — per impossible that the that the idea of love
Are these stories n comparison to rom (immortalised som our country by Di and princess ride “happily ever afte
line. So it must be a coincidence that the tales they conjured back then reflect our present day realities so well. This was when it struck me that these stories probably valorise unrequited love for an entirely different reason: they have little to do with love between two people but are allegories for a completely different type of love, not meant to be interpreted literally. Each of the stories subliminally alludes to the mystical love between man and his Creator. Indus is, after all, the land of Sufism — a belief system with divine love as one of its basic tenets. For Sufis, man must love his Creator wholeheartedly without being united with Him in the physical sense. This is why the annual urs of Sufi saints is celebrated rather than mourned as it marks their transition into the next world and their union with the Creator. So perhaps whilst these love stories were being narrated orally to sleepy children and being absorbed into the pages of our cultural heritage, they had been celebrating an entirely other form of love altogether.
By concluding these stories on such a dreadful note, our folklore, intentionally or otherwise, has hailed unrequited love as the highest and purest form of love! On the other hand, Sufism has been relegated to Bollywood qawwali songs and Coke Studio so we may have begun to contextualise our folk tales differently as the lens through which we are viewing them has changed. We now perceive them in the literal sense, as love stories between man and woman, whereas another interpretation might have been possible in earlier times, sans the commercialisation Sufism has suffered in recent years. At the same time, I also feel that owing to this tendency to construe the tales in contemporary terms, we may also have unintentionally sanitised and stripped them bare of their socially unpalatable aspects from the modern point of view. A classic example of this is the story of Sohni and Mahiwal wherein the former swims across a river every night, even after getting married, to secretly meet the latter until she is ousted by her jealous sisterin-law. The original story, however, hints at what can only be described as cannibalism when Mahiwal allegedly cooks part of his own meat for a starving Sohni when he runs out of fish. Also, I imagine that the two probably don’t just sit and have a passive discussion about how Sohni’s day went post her gruelling swim across the river either. I would suspect, or rather hope, that their tryst would be far more ‘action-oriented’ if you catch my drift. But in the modern, sanitised version, most of us simply overlook this possibility and focus instead on the next part where Sohni drowns in the river and Mahiwal too loses his life trying to save her. For us in contemporary Pakistan, this is the ‘natural’ outcome to their romance as good people do not indulge in infidelity. If they were married against their will and are still hung over a previous affair, they can atone for their sinful thoughts by dying. For us, the highlight of the story should be that they apparently never enjoyed any physical intimacy and more importantly, that they did not end up together. In fact, they died trying to be together. In another era, perhaps one without such rigid social norms, this might not have taken away from the story. Rather, the focus could have been on the spiritual love the Sufi’s sought — much deeper than the worldly love of the hero and the heroine. Of course, I don’t mean to imply that we have consciously done this; there is (hopefully) no bored old officer sitting in the Ministry of Culture, sugarcoating our folklore into a more PG-13 version whilst twirling his moustache. But one thing is evident, that the course our society has taken over the years has cast a major influence on our folklore. I suspect we may have made a pact with the Devil by ensuring the stories remain as pertinent today as they were a hundred years ago. I would call this a survival tactic in the Darwinian sense: the only way to stick around in Pakistani society is to mould yourself into a shape that will be accepted by your target audience.
Each of the storiess y subliminally e alludes to the e mystical love d between man and his Creator. Induss e is, after all, the land of Sufism — a h belief system with e divine love as one of its basic tenetss
DUSKY DUET
collection of sharp cuts and dark silhouettes for your next evening gathering
Passion
by Eiman Masroor
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Mango
It is finally mango season and you must indulge in this deliciously tangy Thai Mango Salad before the raw, green mangoes vanish off the fruit carts. Addiction guaranteed!
Method • Boil the water in a pot and add the sugar and fish sauce to it to make the syrup. • Allow the syrup to cook for 2 to 3 minutes and then take it off the heat, allowing it to cool for about a minute. • In a bowl, place the mango pieces and onion and pour the syrup on top. • Sprinkle the salad with the peanuts and chillies. • Refrigerate the salad for an hour before serving it so that all the flavours mix together. Your salad is now ready!
Ingredients:
Green mangoes (peeled and shredded) 1 — 2
Water 3 tbsp
Small onion (sliced) 1
Sugar 2 tbsp
Peanuts ½ cup
Fish sauce 1 tsp
Chillies (grounded) ¼ tsp
Status Born
Single
Lahore, P
Birthday
7th M
Hissam Hyde Who is he? It is a pity that Pakistan doesnt give Polo the attention it deserves, especially if our Polo players are as pleasing to the eye as Hissam Hyder! This dapper gentleman was born into the royal family of Pakistani Polo and began his professional career in 2001. However, at that time, little did we know that the then 19-year old would outclass everyone and achieve the many accolades that he has won since then. Now, 12 years later, Hissam remains not only Pakistan’s no 1 jockey but is also amongst the top 5% of Polo players worldwide! He has represented the nation at numerous international events and has played alongside some legendary personalities from across the world, most recently at the prestigious Royal Windsor Cup 2013. Needless to say, all this travelling and exposure has moulded him into the perfect combination of down-to-earth and dignitary and we would jump at the chance to sit and hear about this hottie’s experiences first hand!
Why we love him
Much like the sport itself, this handsome jockey is the embodiment of class, discipline and intellect. So much so that if Pakistan had its very own prince, he ought to be just like Hissam! His regal appeal, coupled with his soft-spoken, ‘nice guy’ image has been warming the hearts of the nation and we at Ms.T just want to give him a big bear hug! Mind you, beneath all this splendour lies a strong personality not afraid to get its hands dirty to achieve what it wants! Hissam prides himself on his determination and believes that there can be no substitute for hard work and perseverance in life. A jack of all trades, he applies this motto to everything he does and is always seeking business opportunities, aside from his sporting career, to utilise his entrepreneurial spirit. And in addition to that, he is currently running an agricultural project alongside his father in support of Pakistan’s largest industry! He also took part in various exhibition matches in Jordan to help the victims of the 2010 floods and is always willing to provide a helping hand to worthy causes. Sportsman, business man, philanthropist, environmentalist and socialite... is there anything this guy can’t do? There is something strangely attractive about a man who knows what he wants and how to get it. That man is Hissam!
What you didn’t know about him Hissam is a closet Bollywood fan — he can listen to Indian music for hours on end and certainly has us wishing for a little sari-in-the-rain romance number with him! An independent, career-oriented girl with her own interests and hobbies is on top of his list of ‘future projects.’ Come on girls! We say you score this gentleman before someone else does!