SASSI PUNNU STORY

Sassui Punhun (Sindhi: سَسُئيِ پُنهوُن, Sassui Punhun, Punjabi: ਸੱਸੀ ਪੁੱਨੂੰ, Sassi Punnun, Urdu: سسی پنوں, Sassi Punnun), is a famous folktale of love told in the length and breadth of Sindh, Pakistan. The story is about a faithful wife who is ready to undergo all kinds of troubles that would come her way while seeking her beloved husband who was separated from her by the rivals.

The story also appears in Shah Jo Risalo and forms part of seven popular tragic romances from Sindh. The other six tales are Umar Marui, Sohni Mehar, Lilan Chanesar, Noori Jam Tamachi, Sorath Rai Diyach and Momal Rano commonly known as Seven heroines (Sindhi: ست سورميون ) of Shah Abdul Latif Bhittai.

This tragic story becomes for Shah the parable of seeker on mystical path who undergoes all kinds of tribulations in the quest of God whom he will find, at the end of the road, in his own heart, and Sassui, roaming in the wilderness and talking to the beasts, becomes something like feminine counter part Majnun who, demented by his longing for Layla, is taken by the mystics of Persian and Turkish tradition as paragon of true lover.
SASSI
Sassui was the daughter of the Raja of Bhambore in Sindh (now in Pakistan). Upon Sassui's birth, astrologers predicted that she was a curse for the royal family’s prestige. The Raja ordered that the child be put in a wooden box and thrown in the Sindhu. A washerman of the Bhambore village found the wooden box and the child in the box. The washerman believed the child was a blessing from God and took her home. As he had no child of his own, he decided to adopt her.

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Sassui and Punhun meet
When Sassui became a young girl, she was as beautiful as the fairies of heaven. Stories of her beauty reached Punhun and he became desperate to meet Sassi. The handsome young Prince of Makran therefore travelled to Bhambor. He sent his clothes to Sassi's father (a washerman) so that he could catch a glimpse of Sassi. When he visited the washerman's house, they fell in love at first sight. Sassui's father was dispirited, hoping that Sassi would marry a washerman and no one else. Sassui's father asked Punhun to prove that he was worthy of Sassui by passing the test as a washerman. Punhun agreed to prove his love. While washing, he tore all the clothes as, being a prince, he had never washed any clothes; he thus failed the agreement. But before he returned those clothes, he hid gold coins in the pockets of all the clothes, hoping this would keep the villagers quiet. The trick worked, and Sassui's father agreed to the marriage.

Punhun's brothers
Punhun’s father and brothers were against his marriage to Sassui (Punhun being a prince and she being a washerman's daughter) and so, for their father's sake, Punhun's brothers traveled to Bhambor. First they threatened Punhun but when he didn't relent, they tried more devious methods.
Punhun was surprised to see his brothers supporting his marriage and on the first night, they pretended to enjoy and participate in the marriage celebrations and forced Punhun to drink different types of wines. When he was intoxicated they carried him on a camel’s back and returned to their hometown of Kech.

The lovers meet their end

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The next morning, when Sassui realized that she was cheated, she became mad with the grief of separation from her lover and ran barefoot towards the town of Kech Makran. To reach it, she had to cross miles of desert. Alone, she continued her journey until her feet were blistered and her lips were parched from crying "Punhun, Punhun!". The journey was full of dangerous hazards, which lead to her demise. Punhun’s name was on Sassui's lips throughout the journey. She was thirsty, there she saw a shepherd coming out of a hut. He gave her some water to drink. Seeing her incredible beauty, dirty lustful thoughts came into his mind, and he tried to force himself on Sassui. Sassui ran away and prayed to God to hide her and when God listened to her prayers, land shook and split and Sassui found herself buried in the valley of mountains. When Punhun woke he was himself in Makran he could not stop himself from running back to Bhambor. On the way he called out "Sassui, Sassui!" to which the shepherd replied. The shepherd told Punhun the whole story. Then Punhun also lamented the same prayer, the land shook and split again and he was also buried in the same mountain valley as Sassui. The legendary grave still exists in this valley. Shah Abdul Latif Bhittai sings this historic tale in his sufi poetry as an example of eternal love and union with Divine.

Sassi Punnu

In the southern tip of present-day Pakistan in the Sindh province, there once was a raja that mightily ruled the lands of Bhambour. He had had many children but was blessed with only one daughter. She was named Sassi, meaning the moon, for they thought she was as pure and splendid as the moon. When she was born, the raja and his wife went to an astrologer to learn of their daughter’s fate. The wise astrologer prophesied to the parents that their one and only daughter would bring great shame to her parent’s honor. Saddened, the poor parents had no other choice. Sassi could not stay there. They could not bear to kill their child. Instead, they placed their beautiful daughter in a basket to send down the Indus River. Before placing her in the basket, however, Sassi’s mother tied a taweez filled with a prayer around her daughter’s neck for protection.



Downstream, a poor dhobi was washing clothes, a hard day’s labor for a meager wage. This poor man named Atta had a wife but they could not conceive a child. They had prayed for many years but to no avail. While finishing up the last of the shirts he had in his bundle, the dhobi saw something strange floating on the river. He watched as it got caught in some bushes. It was a basket. He took it out of the river and saw that within was the most precious baby girl he had ever seen. The first name to come out of his mouth was Sassi. He took her home to show his wife the answer to their prayers.



So as it is, Sassi grew up the daughter of a poor dhobi. She was happy. She knew no other life. As she grew older, her beauty grew deeper. She became known for her charming looks throughout the land. Hearing about her, the raja of the land sent for this young woman. As summoned, she went to the palace to be before the raja. There, the raja’s wife saw the taweez still around Sassi’s neck and knew at once that this was her daughter. Happy to be together again, the raja insisted that she stay with them in the palace. However, Sassi could not bear to leave the poor old dhobi and his wife, who raised her all these years. Still, the raja made relentless efforts to win her back.



In another one of the raja’s attempts, the raja invited Sassi to a large garden made by a neighboring raja. As she explored the depths of the garden, she saw the most beautiful painting of a young man. She fell in love with his strong stature and noble appearance. She had to meet this man. Word traveled fast. The man in the painting heard of this beautiful woman wanting to meet him so he disguised his true identity as the Prince Punnu and dressed as a trader of art to meet Sassi. They fell in love and began to blossom as lovers.



Sassi, who had disregarded her royal birth and biological parents, continued to live as a dhobi’s daughter and nothing more. Punnu did not know her past and she would not dare to tell it. To him, she was a dhobi's daughter and to her, he was a mere art trader. When it came time for Punnu to ask for Sassi’s hand in marriage, the only parents he knew to ask were the dhobi and his wife. The dhobi knew the importance of a humble husband, whether he be a prince or a peasant. He decided to test Prince Punnu and told him that if he could correctly wash a shirt, then he would be able to wed his daughter, Sassi. Punnu, who had never washed a single article of clothing, was unable to wash the shirt in the river against the rocks like a dhobi. The shirt came back torn. The prince offered large amounts of gold coins to compensate for his failed attempt and grudgingly the dhobi took it, knowing that his daughter’s heart would only be happy with Punnu.



Next came time for Sassi to gain approval from Punnu’s family. Punnu went to speak with his parents. However, when Punnu spoke with his parents about Sassi, they flatly refused because she was the daughter of a dhobi. No way could a prince marry a daughter of a poor man who washes other people’s laundry for a living. Punnu would not be swayed. His heart was set on Sassi. No one else would do.



Seeing this, Punnu’s family decided to pretend to go on with the wedding. In celebration, Punnu’s brothers decided to take him drinking the night before the wedding. His brothers gave him a large glass to drink. Punnu drank and drank until he passed out. Then, Punnu’s brothers took their brother far away from the wedding celebrations to another village. With Punnu in a different state of mind and place, the wedding could not go on.



Sassi heard the sad news on her wedding night, while she was getting dressed for the ceremony. Afraid of what would become of her Punnu, Sassi, while still wearing her wedding clothes, ran across the desert sands toward the village, calling out to her Punnu. Halfway through her journey, she saw a shepherd and asked for some water. The shepherd saw her beauty. He could not rest until she was his. He grabbed her and she cried out to the heavens for help.



Meanwhile, Punnu had regained his senses back in the village he had been taken to. When he realized that his family had tricked him, he too ran just as Sassi had, across the desert, calling out the name of his love. He was about halfway there when he heard Sassi calling out.



Suddenly, through Sassi’s pleas to the skies, the ground shook underneath them and split into two. The earth swallowed up both Sassi and Punnu. Now, in that same place, there are two mountains that remain together for eternity.


Wow,” replied my mother. Out of all the stories she knew, she could not recall this one. She had vaguely heard of Sassi and Punnu but did not know the details.

“Baba, where are these mountains?” asked Reza.

“There are in the Sindh near Balouchistan. It is said that if you listen closely when you are in the valley of the mountains, you can still hear the names ‘Sassi’ and ‘Punnu’ being whispered,” added my husband rather coolly.

“Come on, kids,” I said. “Time for bed.”