Punjab is one of the earliest civilizations (Indus valley 4-5000 BC) which had well planned streets and a drainage systems. The Aryan (1500 BC) are said to have destroyed this civilization. But the Caucasian Aryans did improve the pigment of the dark skinned local Dasas and introduced horse and chariot to Punjab. Except for the elephant, we still continue to have all those possession in our villages intact till today - churkha, dhol, earthen ware and ox-cart. Those were the days of the Mahabharta and Ramayana.

Punjab has always been a place of small independent principalities and villages living quietly in their own agrarian way of life. The waters of five rivers irrigated its fertile lands providing a stable means of livelihood. But this prosperity invariably proved to be a liability when its peace was broken by the outside invaders – both from the East and from the West. While the rulers often did cave in easily, brave Punjabis did rise and fight for their land. This is the story of those heroes whom our history has forgotten.

When Alexander (325 BC) wanted to cross river Jhelum, he had to face Poros from Mandi Bahauddin. Poros fought bravely. But eventually, Alexander’s horses won against the Poros’s elephants. Thereafter, they became friends. Alexander finally crossed Jhelum hundreds of miles South at Athara Hazari. For some reason, while the Punjabis still name their sons after Alexander, I have yet to hear some one called Poros. Thereafter, Punjab became a part of the Eastern empires of Chandra Gupta and Ashoka with Taxila becoming a center of Buddhism.

As centuries roll by, we hear about the two folk heroes of Punjab - Raja Rasalu and Puran Bhagat, sons of the Raja of Sialkot (100-200 AD). Raja Rasalu was a handsome prince who dallied with the pretty maidens, went hunting, killed giants, robbed the rich and gave it to the poor. He had a horse ``fauladi’’ and a parrot ``Shadi’’ always resting on his shoulder. Puran, the younger brother was more saintly. He rebuffs the advances of his mother-in-law, Leena, and leaves home. He becomes a symbol of goodness and is called Puran Bhagat. And so as the history moves on, Punjab is again broken up into small principalities until conquered by the Gupta empire around 400 AD. This is time of the Puranas.

The next intruders are the Iraqi Arabs (Ommayeds and Abbasis (712 AD) who capture Southern Punjab upto Multan. They rule for 150 years; but Islam comes to Punjab much later through the non-Arab Sufi saints of Turk, Persian and Afghan origin.

After the Arabs, Mahmud of Ghazni (1018 AD) descends from the North West. Raja Jaypal of Shahi Dynasty faces him at Attock. Mahmud has 1500 horses and Jaypal has 300 elephants. It is a bloody fight where Jaypal loses. But Jaypal’s sense of honour and pride is such that instead of returning to Attock, he chooses to burn himself at the funeral pyre. As Mahmood advances, he shows no mercy even the Muslim states of Multan and Talamba. His Turko-Afghan successors like Qutbudin Aiback, Altimush and Razia Sultana are better; and during their time, art and literature flourishes. These are the times of Guru Nanak and Kabir. Data Gunj Bakhsh comes to Lahore with Mahmud Ghazni’s son, who was governor of Lahore.

The next invader Taimur (1370 AD) is held by Shaikha Ghakkar, the Chiefton of Salt Range. Shaikha fights bravely but Taimur prevails. The moment Taimur leaves for Dehli to end the Tughlaq dynasty, Shaikha again captures Lahore. On the way back, Taimur again takes back Lahore but takes with him Shaika’s son Jasrat. On the way to Farghana, Jasrat escapes, returns through the arduous terrain and again re-captures Lahore. During this period, we hear of a peasant revolt led by Sarang (1419).

Then after a 100 years, Babar (1526) comes to defeat the Afghan ruler Ibrahim Lodhi. In his Babar Nama, Babar describes the bravery of the Jats and Gujjars who had fiercely resisted him at Sialkot. Then Dulla Bhatti of Pindi Bhattian revolts and holds against Akbar for ten years. The peasants are asked not to pay the tax and revenue. Finally, Akbar agrees to let the land be a hereditary right, a departure from past where all land belonged to the king.

At the time of petering out of the Mughal empire, Nadir Shah (1736 AD), the Persian ruler, moves into Punjab on his way to Dehli. At the Indus-Jhelum Doab, the Khattars, Ghaebas and Gakkhars fight him. After he crosses Jhelum, the Gondal Rajputs take him on. Najabat, a poet of the time, writes about the accounts of velour by Dhilloo and Saidoo. After crossing Gujrat, when he reaches Chenab, Mirza Qalandar was waiting for him. When he reaches Ravi, Khoja Yaqub is there to fight him. He spares Lahore from rampage. But when he reaches Dehli to put an end the reign of Muhammad Shah Rangeela, he goes to the Jamia Mosque and takes out his sword – a signal for pillage of Dehli. 20,000 are killed and the booty includes the Peacock throne and Koh-e-Nur. Mir Taqi Mir, who was then 16, explains this gruesome brutality in his verses.

Ahmed Shah Abdali (1747), founder of the first Pashtoon state, is the next pesky visitor. Mir Manu fights him and repels him though he manages to capture Sialkot and Pasrur. Finally, Abdali ends the reign of Azuddin Alamgir.

The Punjabis go on aggression only once – when they have their very own empire for forty years under the efficient rule by Ranjit Singh 1799-1839) and the empire extends upto Kabul and Kandhar. After the death of Ranjit Singh, the British find an opportunity to capture Punjab. Ahmed Khan Kharal of Rai Nathoo (Neeli bar between Sahiwal and Multan) at the age of 80 takes up arms against the British in the 1857 mutiny. Then Bhagat Singh (1926) is instrumental in beginning a labour and peasant movement in Lahore. Lala Lajpat Rai, Sher-e-Punjab, loses his life in this struggle. The British radically transform the landscape of Punjab by introducing a canal system, railways and cantonments. They set up seminaries and churches and introduce a new faith in the area.

Punjab became a part of the Western Empires about six times – Greeks, Arabs, Afghans, Turks, Persians and Pashtoons. And it became a part of the Eastern empires about four times – Chandra Gupta, Ashoka, Mughals and British.

Punjab produced brave soldiers like Poros, Jaypal, Ranjit Singh, Shaikha, Jasrat, Dilloo, Saidoo, Ahmed Khan Kharal, Bhagat Singh, Lala Lajpat Rai and Mirza Qalandar. Its romantic heroes like Raja Rasalu, Puran Bhagat, Sarang and Dulla Bhatti live even today in the memory of village folk. Its Sufi saints and poets, who preached a message of love, include Amir Khusrao, Guru Nanak, Kabir, Data Gunj Baksh, Baba Fareed, Bahaudin Zakaria, Bulleh Shah, Sultan Bahu, Mian Mohammad and Shah Hussain. Not only great men but the Punjabi folk lore has strong willed women who dominated their beloveds – in the tales of Heer Ranjha, Sassi Punnu, Mirza Sahiban and Sohni Mahiwal.

All invaders who came to this land had one basic human failing – a greed for wealth. And their wrath was indiscriminate – irrespective of religion, race or creed. The attacks and occupation by the foreign rulers has had a deep impact on the psyche of the Punjabis – their threshold for subjugation has increased. They continue to readily accept a man on the horse back the moment he appears on the horizon.

ik khoj keetee taaN eh Punjabi wich jawaab aayaa. Tuhadi khoj - Choolistan dey qiley -- de naal milda koi panna nahi he ji ਸੁਝਾਵ - Eah Dhian rahe ki sare shabd de akkhar sahi hon - Hor koi shabad vartoo - koee hore aam shabad warto - Thorhae shabad wart kae koshish karo Prem Singh KahloN Jee, sawaad aa geyaa.

Dear Rashid Ji, you may find this link usefull:

http://www.punjabonline.com/servlet/library.language?Action=Main

Dear friends of APNA, just wanted to share this comparision of Landa and Gurmukhi with you. I hope that none of you mind me pasting this here:
_______________________________________________

http://www.ancientscripts.com/landa.html
The Landa script derives from a variant of the Sarada script, becoming graphically distinct by the 10th century CE. It was primarily used in Punjab and Sind to write the Punjabi language, but it was not well suited as due to additional sounds present in the Punjabi language. As a consequence, during the 16th century CE, the Landa script became the template for the Gurmukhi script, which was created to better represent the Punjabi language.

In the mid 19th century, the Landa script was adopted to write the Sindhi language. However, this proved to be short-lived, as Sindhi eventually came to be written in either Devanagari or an Arabic-derived script by the middle of the 20th century CE.

The following is the basic set of signs in the early Landa script.

http://www.ancientscripts.com/gurmukhi.html
The Gurmukhi script is tightly associated with the Sikh religion, as the words guru-mukh� literally mean "from the mouth of the guru". It was created in the 16th century CE by the second Sikh guru, Guru Angad, to write the Punjabi language. Stylistically, Gurmukhi derives its letter shapes from Landa, but considerable influence from Nagari is evident from the top horizontal bar present in most letters.

Punjabi has three tones, but they are not represented in the writing system except for sporadic use of the ha letter (reduced to a subscript) to indicate a high tone.

Vowels and other attachments:

Couple more recent news items which may be of interest to APNA members and Punjabis in general:

World Punjabi conference from January 23
http://www.tribuneindia.com/2004/20040114/main6.htm

Punjabi will jostle with Hindi on signboards (In Delhi)
http://www.tribuneindia.com/2004/20040114/ncr1.htm#4

BTW, i would have thought that the 'Tribune' would be one of the highest ranking regional newspapers considering how long its been around for. Oh well, never mind.

Ps, Happy Lohri everyone. Was very pleased to read that some villages in Punjab where celebrating Lohri for the birth of baby girls!

tuhaadae geet sun sun kae taan bahut mazaa aa rehaa hai... keep up the good work...
rab raakha

You probably misundrstood Suman Jee's comment. You have done excellent job on your efforts to express yourself in Gurmukhi. I happened to have your first draft and every body will tell you that the final draft was truly remarkable considering the short time you had. I am not computer savy and therefore cannot be of much help otherwise I would have volunteered to help. Keep up your efforts and good luck.

Sukhbir ji. Have to agree wholeheartedly. God knows there is no lack, and there has never been any lack ever, of bad writers. But one hopes for a critical eye in an editor. Or what is he/she there for?

Fantastic News Saeed P'ah Ji

MubarkaaN

Sukhbir

The Barkat Sidhu CD (which BTW is available in southern california)is called Rom Rom Vich Tu and is a collection of sufi songs. It was a very pleasant surprise.

In fact, this brings another question to the fore: why does a regional English daily like the Tribune lag so far behind other regional newspapers of India? I am referring here to the South Indian English dailies like the Hindu and the Deccan Chronicle; the East Indian English dailies like the Telegraph and the Stateman? Even smaller English dailies from Assam, Bihar and Kashmir seem to have better informed cultural profile in terms of the quality of critical debate they generate than our East Punjab daily. I do believe that the English dailies like the Dawn and the Nation from Pakistan are qualitatively way ahead of our Tribune. It is not just a lone wrtite-up by Prof Darshan Maini which has saddened me. By and large the critical/cultural foci on cinema, music, architecture, book reviews etc carried in the Daily Tribune inspire little confidence and are, in fact, embarrassingly misinformed at times.

Regards

Sukhbir

how does one go about actually changing a language ? i read, with great interest if i may add, intelligent and some times passioante posts from akhilesh jee, sukhbir jee, suman jee, saeed saheb, sajid jee, rammah jee, bali and and all others on language.. my question is -- do languages change by a few people deciding to change it ( or "improve it" ) or does media play a big role in it ?? do academics have a say in it or is it an evolution process in language that actually reflects the cultural/social journey of the society ??.. is a language better off by borrowing and assimilating freely from various other languages or does it need to stand on its own and resist "adulteration"..

i am not an erudite scholar of literature or language but my casual observation tells me that we have had examples of all kinds in recent years/decades.. let me try to clearly articulate ( or try to! ) what i mean..

----some exemplary personalities had an impact almost single handedly (or so is believed) in shaping a particular language.. examples often quoted are rabindranath tagore and swami vivekananda in bengal, both of whom introduced major changes in the then prevelant writing styles..

---media intervention can be clearly seen here in the usa where language is rapidly (extremely rapidly in some cases) changing specially in some sections of the society.. words like "bling bling", "flipping the camera", "hood rat", "word up!" etc. etc. are in common currency... and so are "yoga", "guru", "mantra", "karma", "pundit" etc. in other circles..

---as sukhbir jee once mentioned i think.. language at a particular time in history reflects the journey in time of that civilization and its trials and tribulations... sukhbir jee did you say it or am i just dreaming it up!! this is very logical and reasonable to expect..

---assimilation from other languages is not a bad thing, or is it? most languages call internet the internet.. router, network protcols and other fast changing technology constructs are called by their english names in most of the countries (even european countries..) ... efforts on the contrary have not borne fruits i think.. for example, hindization of these words did not catch on at all.. nor did its french counterparts (i think!)

similarly many indian languages like bengali, tamil, kannada, malyalam freely assimilte words from hindi and sanskrit and are actually doing pretty well.. every one in those states reads and writes in their language.. and the language is flourishing with english as the only main rival..

---sanskrit has remained very ancient and still follows grammar rules set by "pannini", thousandS years ago(?) and may be that is why it is not a spoken language for the last thousand years... hindi borrows freely from sanskrit and is flourishing on the other hand..

---now to my question ( i sure do take my time don't i??!!).. how can academics and intelligentia (spellling?) "change" a language... what steps if any or what general scheme if any..

meri bhul chuk muaaf karnaa... meri majaal tae naheen vidvaana/ustaadan age sawaal jawaab karan di par beadabi kar rehaan haan... i hope it opens up a discussion and brings evry body back... by the way, how does arabic, farsi and urdu fare on the "change and assimilation" scale ?? rajeev

Here is an article from Chandigarh Tribune's Sunday 'Spectrum':

"Pioneers of modern Punjabi love poetry"
http://www.tribuneindia.com/2004/20040111/spectrum/book10.htm

Sajid Chaudhry Ji, Perhaps you could add this tribute to Madam Noor Jehan on the APNA homepage: (Just a suggestion not a request)

http://pakistantimes.net/2004/01/06/entertainment.htm

rab raakha..

As for Ustad Bade Ghulam Ali Khan Saheb, most of his recordings are available - almost freely available, if I may add - in Delhi, Kolkotta and Mumbai. In Kolkotta, ITC Sangeet Academy is the source. In Delhi Cannaught Place, Palika Bazar, Khan Market are the obvious pick-up points.The organisers of the Jullundur-based Harvallabh Festival have an incredibly large achival footage of Ustad Ji's renditions - some of these in lilting Punjabi - especially his "Aa ja na maahi mele challiye..." in PahaRi. Regards, Sukhbir

you will also find a couple of k l saigal's punjabi songs here.. some treat hunh!! lemme' know if it you like it..

- Title of Punjabi magazine �Lehran�, published in �Shahmukhi� (Persian script) from Lahore which has now started teaching �Gurmukhi script� to its readers. � Photo by Rajiv Sharma

Amritsar, January 11
New bridges are being built to establish people-to-people contact between two Punjabs. While the monthly Punjabi magazine, �Lehran�, published from Lahore took the initiative to publish literature in �Shahmukhi� (Persian script) and its transcription in �Gurmukhi script� simultaneously, many Punjabi writers in Pakistan have started following the trend.

The Editor of �Lehran�, Mr Akhtar Husain Akhtar, has endeavoured to teach alphabet of Gurmukhi to the readers so that gap between Punjabi writers and readers of both the Punjabs could be bridged up.

Dr Joginder Singh Kairon, a noted Punjabi writer and a former Chairman of the Punjab Text Board, said that this trend would help writers of both the Punjabs to study the source material available in �Gurmukhi� and �Shahmukhi� scripts.

Dr Sukhdev Singh Khehra, a Professor of Punjabi School of Studies, Guru Nanak Dev University, said that more than 60 per cent of Punjabi literature of medieval period was available in �Shahmukhi script� only.

Hence, it is the need of the hour to learn both the scripts to study and research. Dr Khehra said that the university had been making sincere efforts to bring both the Punjabs closer by teaching �Shahmukhi to the students of MA (Punjabi).

A subject of �Pakistani literature� is also a part of the academic course. Dr Khehra who had done his Ph.D. on �cultural consciousness in Punjabi literature� had dished out unique information about the robust Punjabi character by reading Punjabi novels of Pakistan.

Many Punjabi novels, authored by Fakhar Zaman, who was a minister during Bhutto�s regime, had used symbols to write about the hanging of Zulfikar Ali Bhutto.

Though his Punjabi novels were published in Gurmukhi script due to the efforts of Dr Karnail Singh Thind, a former Registrar of Guru Nanak Dev University yet Pakistan�s Punjabi literature is being published in �Shahmukhi and Gurmukhi� scripts simultaneously.

Dr Jatinder Jolly, a Reader in GND varsity�s Punjabi Department who had done his doctorate on �Pakistani literature,� said that the publication of Punjabi literature in both the scripts would go a long way in bridging the gap between Punjabi writers of both the Punjabs.

Ms Jagjit Kaur, a research fellow of the department, has been doing research on Pakistan�s Punjabi literature under Dr Jolly these days.

Some of the books which were published simultaneously in �Gurmukhi and Shahmukhi� scripts included �bolde athru� by Amin Malik and �Kurlandi tan� by USA-based Pakistani writer Ashraf Gill.

These books were printed in the press of noted Pakistani Punjabi writer, Illyas Ghumman who is based in Lahore.

A series of books of Urdu writers of Pakistan have been published by Mr Kulwant Singh Suri, the son of famous Punjabi novelist Nanak Singh.

The books are a blessing for literature lovers and have brought priceless poetic art to the doorstep of a common man. For Punjabi singers, musicians and composers the easy-to-read script would open doors for more meaningful milieu of songs compared to the current trend of music scores.

http://homepage.mac.com/patrickmoutal/macmoutal/rag.html

also, sajid saab tae apna mitro.. check out this link and you can download video of a small documnetry type of thing by bade ghulam ali saheb.. as far as i know it is the only video that there is of the great man.. you can also see barkat ali khan performing with him.. its a treat to watch him at work.. http://homepage.mac.com/patrickmoutal/macmoutal/rag.html happy listening.. rab raakha..

Salamat Ali and Nazakat Ali Khan have a few recordings in Punjabi. They were such wonderful singers but the quality of the tapes that I have is really bad - very frustrating. The formers son, Shafqat Ali Khan has some good stuff in Punjabi which is quite easily available. BTW there is a new singer from India, Barkat Sidhu I think, who is not too bad.

O mere veer ji, Rabb de vaste eh saari collection mainu v bhej devo. please contact me at my email address provided. tohadi jo v seva hove mainu jaroor dasna. mainu eh saariyaan cheezaan CD te chahidiyaan han. Sir aapdi bari meharbani hovegi. please do contact me.

Dear friends, please visit the below website. Im sure if possible, all APNA friends living in Pakistan will be able to attend the Punjab Lok Boli Mela:

http://www.lokpunjab.org/mela/
17-22 February; Depalpur, Punjab, Pakistan
Punjab Mother Language Festival 2004
A festival to celebrate linguistic diversity and rich literary and cultural heritage of the Punjab

http://www.lokpunjab.org/mela/English/introduction.asp
http://www.lokpunjab.org/mela/shahmukhi/introduction.asp
http://www.lokpunjab.org/mela/gurmukhi/introduction.asp

************Ghazal***********

oomraaN baadooN wehRRay aya kisraaN yar sanjapay da

sanooN aksar rehnda nahin hunn cheta apnay aapay da

dil dyaaN laggyaaN da koi daroo deway te maiN mannaaN

har koi weid hakeem sayanna yaro kasoo taapay da

jangal belay di wirani mele wargi lagay gi

naqsha khich ke dassaaN tenooN jay apnay aklapay da

ik table de doojay pasay rusya sajjaN beTha ae

kehRRay feetay de naal koi vichlee doori napay da

teray payar ne yar sikander akheeN banhyaN paTTyaN

jehRRay phul nooN wekhaaN ga oh teray werga japay da

Altaf Sikander Busal

Cogratulations. Keep up with your efforts. It will take time but the final draft is excellent.

Patiala, January 7
Eminent journalist Kuldeep Nayyar today sentimentally called for a reunion of both Punjabs, in India and Pakistan, to promote Punjabi on both sides of the border.

In a speech here after accepting the lifetime fellowship conferred on him, Mr Nayyar said the Partition had harmed Punjabi. He said as borders could not be changed, efforts should be made to enlarge the reach of Punjabi on both sides as the ethos and sentiments of the people on both sides was the same.

Earlier in his inaugural speech, religio-social leader Bhai Ashok Singh Bagrian said the Sikh religion did not belong to one section. Rather it represented the entire thought process from the First to the Tenth Guru.

Bhai Bagrian said the war philosophy advocated by Guru Gobind Singh was the first and rarest of its kind, adding the Guru himself sacrificed his two elder sons for the sake of righteousness in war while two others gave their life for the sake of religion.

Former Chief Secretary S.S. Dhanoa in his presidential address emphasised upon the need to look into and give meaning to the existing diversities in Punjabi language.

He said the simplicity of Gurmukhi script of Punjabi language gave straight and beautiful expression to even complex human experiences and abstract feelings.

In his presidential address, Vice-Chancellor Swarn Singh Boparai termed the compilation of Bani by Guru Arjan Dev in the form of Guru Granth Sahib as a �bliss to mankind�.

He said when rapid social change compresses humans to the point of disintegration it is the spirit of Gurbani which helped them to keep their psyche intact and gave a new meaning and strength to one�s life.

Citing the university�s effort for the development of Punjabi, the Vice-Chancellor said so far the Department of Punjabi Development had completed 103 projects and had started 60 new projects in language, literature and culture.

He said the university was in the process of making the entire encyclopaedia of the Sikhs available on the Internet, besides translating major Nobel Prize winning works into Punjabi.

Earlier, historian Dr J.S. Grewal was conferred a lifetime fellowship. Dr Grewal shared his sentiments and views about Sikh history on the occasion.

The Registrar, Dr Param Bakshish Singh, while presenting a vote of thanks dwelt upon the need to preserve Punjabi language, literature and culture in its historical perspective.

Dr Dhanwant Kaur, Head of the department of Punjabi Language Development, said the department inspired scholars and writers to delve deep into the ocean of Punjabi literature available till date.

Read it here: http://pakistantimes.net/2004/01/06/entertainment.htm

Ustad Jee de barey wich ehnaaN sitaaN nooN visit karo please. EhnaaN de print kaDh ke apney parents nooN wikhaa leyaa je. apni site te vee jhaat paa leyaa je. http://www.apnaorg.com/poetry/daman/

http://www.geocities.com/punjabsociety03/ustad_daman.htm

http://www.jang.com.pk/thenews/dec2002-weekly/nos-08-12-2002/lit.htm