''The Tale of the Four Dervishes'' ( ''Qissa-ye Chahār Darvēsh'', ), known as ''Bāgh-o Bahār'' (, ) in

Urdu Urdu (; , , ) is an Indo-Aryan languages, Indo-Aryan language spoken chiefly in South Asia. It is the Languages of Pakistan, national language and ''lingua franca'' of Pakistan. In India, it is an Eighth Schedule to the Constitution of Indi ...

, is a collection of allegorical stories by

Amir Khusro Abu'l Hasan Yamīn ud-Dīn Khusrau (1253 – 1325 AD), better known as Amīr Khusrau, sometimes spelled as, Amir Khusrow or Amir Khusro, was an Indo-Persian culture, Indo-Persian Sufi singer, musician, poet and scholar, who lived during the per ...

written in

Persian Persian may refer to: * People and things from Iran, historically called ''Persia'' in the English language ** Persians, the majority ethnic group in Iran, not to be conflated with the Iranic peoples ** Persian language, an Iranian language of the ...

in the early 13th century. While legend says that Amir Khusro was the author, the tales were written long after his death. Legend has it that

's master and

Sufi Sufism ( or ) is a mysticism, mystic body of religious practice found within Islam which is characterized by a focus on Islamic Tazkiyah, purification, spirituality, ritualism, and Asceticism#Islam, asceticism. Practitioners of Sufism are r ...

saint

Nizamuddin Auliya Khawaja Syed Muhammad Nizamuddin Auliya (sometimes spelled Awliya; 1238 – 3 April 1325), also known as Hazrat Nizamuddin (), Sultan-ul-Mashaikh () and Mahbub-e-Ilahi (), was an Indian Sunni Muslim scholar, Sufi saint of the Chishti Order, a ...

had fallen ill. To cheer him up,

started telling him a series of stories in the style of the ''

One Thousand and One Nights ''One Thousand and One Nights'' (, ), is a collection of Middle Eastern folktales compiled in the Arabic language during the Islamic Golden Age. It is often known in English as ''The Arabian Nights'', from the first English-language edition ( ...

''.

Style

The book is in some ways similar to the ''

Thousand and One Nights ''One Thousand and One Nights'' (, ), is a collection of History of the Middle East, Middle Eastern List of fairy tales, folktales compiled in the Arabic language during the Islamic Golden Age. It is often known in English as ''The Arabian Nigh ...

'' in its method of framing and linking unfinished stories within each other. The central character is a king, Azad Bakht, who falls into depression after thinking about his own mortality, and so sets out from his palace seeking wise men. He comes upon four

dervish Dervish, Darvesh, or Darwīsh (from ) in Islam can refer broadly to members of a Sufi fraternity (''tariqah''), or more narrowly to a religious mendicant, who chose or accepted material poverty. The latter usage is found particularly in Persi ...

es in a cemetery, and listens to their fantastical stories. Each Dervish narrates his own story, which is basically on love and fidelity in their own past lives. When the fourth dervish finishes his tale, the king Azadbakht suddenly learns that one of his wives has just born the son to him. Overwhelmed with joy, the king orders to arrange a great feast. With the help of the great king of jinns, Malik Syahpal, Azadbakht marries all the separated lovers to one another: the merchant's son from Yemen to the princess of Damsyik, the prince of Fars to the princess of Basra, the prince of Ajam to the princess of Farang, the prince of Nimroz to the princess of jinns, and the prince of China to the daughter of the courtier, who was kidnapped by Malik Sadik. Everyone happily achieves the fulfillment of his or her desire.

Translations

These stories were originally written in

as ''Qissa-ye Chahār Darvēsh''. It was initially translated by

Mir Husain Ata Tehseen ''Mir'' (, ; ) was a space station operated in low Earth orbit from 1986 to 2001, first by the Soviet Union and later by the Russia, Russian Federation. ''Mir'' was the first modular space station and was assembled in orbit from 1986 to ...

into

as ''Nav Tarz-e-Murassaa'' (, "New Ornate Style") but the language was a highly literate one and was not understood by general public to enjoy. In 1801,

College of Fort William A college (Latin: ''collegium'') may be a tertiary educational institution (sometimes awarding degrees), part of a collegiate university, an institution offering vocational education, a further education institution, or a secondary school ...

in Calcutta started a project translating Indian literature. Mr.

John Borthwick Gilchrist John Borthwick Gilchrist (19 June 1759 – 9 January 1841) was a Scottish surgeon, linguist, philologist and Indologist. Born and educated in Edinburgh, he spent most of his early career in India, where he made a study of the local languages. In ...

, a famous scholar of literature, asked

Mir Amman Mir Amman (1748–1806) was an employee of Fort William College at Calcutta, variously also known as ''Mir Amman of Delhi'', ''Mir Amman of Dilhi'', ''Mir Amman Dihlavi'', and ''Meer Ummun''. He was best known for his translation of Amir Khus ...

, an employee of the college, to translate it into the

language. Mir Amman translated it from

into everyday

, under the title ''Bāgh o Bahār''. Later, in 1857, Duncan Forbes retranslated it into English. The translation of Mir Amman is still enjoyed as a classical work of

Urdu Literature Urdu literature (, ) comprises the literary works, written in the Urdu language. While it tends to be dominated by poetry, especially the verse forms of the ''ghazal'' () and '' nazm'' (), it has expanded into other styles of writing, includin ...

for the common daily language of its time. In 1859 it was translated into Polish by

Aleksander Chodźko Aleksander Borejko Chodźko (30 August 1804 – 27 December 1891) was a Polish poet, Slavist, and Iranologist. Early life He was born in Krzywicze, in the Minsk Governorate of the Russian Empire (present-day Belarus) and attended the Imperial ...

as "Padyszach i czterech derwiszów".

Adaptations

The Indian films ''Char Darvesh'' (1933) by Prafulla Ghosh and '' Char Dervesh'' (1964) by

Homi Wadia Homi Wadia (22 May 1911 – 10 December 2004) was an Indian film director and producer in Bollywood (Hindi cinema). He was the co-founder of Wadia Movietone productions, established in 1933 and later after the closure of Wadiatone, he founded Ba ...

were based on the stories.

References

External links

''Bagh O Bahar'', or ''Tales of the Four Dervishes'' Online

''Bagh O Bahar'' for download
Sufi literature Dervish Chishti Order Indian folklore Persian-language literature Persian fairy tales Urdu-language literature Indian fairy tales Indian legends Indian short story collections Fantasy anthologies Collections of fairy tales 13th-century Persian books {{Sufism-stub

Style

Translations

Adaptations

See also

References

External links