''Sassui Punnhun'' or ''Sassi Punnu'' is a traditional
Sindhi,
Balochi, and Punjabi
tragic folktale. Set in
Sindh
Sindh ( ; ; , ; abbr. SD, historically romanized as Sind (caliphal province), Sind or Scinde) is a Administrative units of Pakistan, province of Pakistan. Located in the Geography of Pakistan, southeastern region of the country, Sindh is t ...
and
Makran, the tragedy follows the story of a faithful lover who endures many difficulties while seeking her beloved husband who was separated from her by rivals.
It is one of the seven popular tragic romances of
Sindh
Sindh ( ; ; , ; abbr. SD, historically romanized as Sind (caliphal province), Sind or Scinde) is a Administrative units of Pakistan, province of Pakistan. Located in the Geography of Pakistan, southeastern region of the country, Sindh is t ...
. The other six are ''
Umar Marvi'', ''
Momal Rano'', ''
Sohni Mehar'', ''
Lilan Chanesar'', ''
Sorath Rai Diyach'', and ''
Noori Jam Tamachi''. In
Punjab
Punjab (; ; also romanised as Panjāb or Panj-Āb) is a geopolitical, cultural, and historical region in South Asia. It is located in the northwestern part of the Indian subcontinent, comprising areas of modern-day eastern Pakistan and no ...
, it is among four of the most popular romances. The other three are ''
Heer Ranjha
'' Ranjha'' () is a classical Punjabi folk tragedy with many historic poetic narrations; with the first one penned by Damodar Gulati in 1600s, on the preexisting oral legend; and the most famous one, ''Heer'', written by Waris Shah in 17 ...
'', ''
Sohni Mahiwal'' and ''
Mirza Sahiban
''Mirza Sahiban'' () is a classical Punjabi folk tragedy, originally recorded in literary form by the 17th-century poet Pilu. Set in a village in Jhang, the tragedy follows the romance between two youths, belonging to chieftain families ...
''.
Origins
The earliest mention of this tale is in the texts of
Qazi Qadan. Later it is mentioned in
Karim Jo Risalo of
Shah Abdul Karim of Bulri, the great-great-grandfather of the legendary poet of Sindh,
Shah Latif of Bhit. The story appears in
Shah Jo Risalo and forms part of seven popular tragic romances from
Sindh
Sindh ( ; ; , ; abbr. SD, historically romanized as Sind (caliphal province), Sind or Scinde) is a Administrative units of Pakistan, province of Pakistan. Located in the Geography of Pakistan, southeastern region of the country, Sindh is t ...
, commonly known as
the Seven Queens of Sindh, or the Seven heroines of
Shah Abdul Latif Bhittai.
Later it was retold by
Hashim Shah in Punjabi.
Sassui and Punnhun
Punnhun (also spelt as Punnu) was the son of Jam Aali or Ari, a
Baloch ruler of
Kech,
Balochistan
Balochistan ( ; , ), also spelled as Baluchistan or Baluchestan, is a historical region in West and South Asia, located in the Iranian plateau's far southeast and bordering the Indian Plate and the Arabian Sea coastline. This arid region o ...
.
Sassui (also spelt as Sassi) was the daughter of the Raja of
Bhambore
Banbhore, Bambhore, Bhanbhore or Bhambhore (; ) is a city dating to the 1st century BCE located in modern-day Sindh, Pakistan. The city ruins lie on the N-5 National Highway, east of Karachi. It dates back to the Scytho-Parthian era and was ...
in
Sindh
Sindh ( ; ; , ; abbr. SD, historically romanized as Sind (caliphal province), Sind or Scinde) is a Administrative units of Pakistan, province of Pakistan. Located in the Geography of Pakistan, southeastern region of the country, Sindh is t ...
(now in Pakistan). Upon Sassui's birth, astrologers predicted that she was a
bane on the royal family's honour. The Raja ordered that the child be put in a wooden box and thrown in the
Sindhu Darya. A washerman of the
Bhambore village found the wooden box and the child inside. The washerman believed the child was a blessing from God and took her home. As he had no children of his own, he decided to adopt her.

Sassui grew up to be as beautiful as the fairies of heaven. Stories of her beauty reached Punnu and he became desperate to meet Sassui. The handsome young Prince, therefore, travelled to Bhambore. He sent his clothes to Sassui's father (a washerman) so that he could catch a glimpse of Sassui. When he visited the washerman's house, they fell in
love at first sight
Love at first sight is a personal experience and a common theme in creative works: a person or character feels an instant, extreme, and ultimately long-lasting romantic attraction for a stranger upon first seeing that stranger. It has been desc ...
. Sassui's father was dispirited, hoping that Sassui would marry a washerman and no one else. He asked Punnhun to prove that he was worthy of Sassui by passing the test as a washerman. Punnhun 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.
Punnhun's brothers
Punnhun's father and brothers were against his marriage to Sassui (Punnhun being a prince and she being a washerman's daughter) and so, for their father's sake, Punnhun's brothers travelled to Bhambore. First, they threatened Punnhun but when he didn't relent, they tried more devious methods. Punnhun 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 Punnhun 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

When Sassui woke up the following morning, she realized that she was cheated by her brothers-in-law. She became mad with the grief of separation from her beloved 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 "Punnhun, Punnhun!". The journey was full of dangerous hazards. She was thirsty when she saw a shepherd coming out of a hut. He gave her some water to drink. Seeing her incredible beauty, he tried to force himself on Sassui. Sassui escaped and prayed to God to hide her. God listened to her prayers, the land shook and split and Sassui found herself buried in the valley of mountains. When Punnhun woke in
Makran he could not stop himself from running back to Bhambore. On the way, he called out "Sassui, Sassui!" to which the shepherd told Punnhun the whole story. Punnhun 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 the divine.
But according to the retold
Punjabi tale by
Hashim Shah, Sassui dies while crossing the desert.
Kech Makran
The
Kech Makran is located along the Makran Coastal Highway in
Baluchistan
Balochistan ( ; , ), also spelled as Baluchistan or Baluchestan, is a historical region in West and South Asia, located in the Iranian plateau's far southeast and bordering the Indian Plate and the Arabian Sea coastline. This arid region of de ...
,
Pakistan
Pakistan, officially the Islamic Republic of Pakistan, is a country in South Asia. It is the List of countries and dependencies by population, fifth-most populous country, with a population of over 241.5 million, having the Islam by country# ...
. The fort of Punnhun whose construction dates back to 6000-8000
BC is located there.
Tombs of Sassui Punnhun

Sassui and Punnhun's alleged graves are located near
Lasbela, Balochistan, 45 miles west of
Karachi
Karachi is the capital city of the Administrative units of Pakistan, province of Sindh, Pakistan. It is the List of cities in Pakistan by population, largest city in Pakistan and 12th List of largest cities, largest in the world, with a popul ...
.
In popular culture
Films
The folk tale has been filmed many times including:
* ''Sassi Punnu'' (1928),
Indian silent film by Harshadrai Sakerlal Mehta; starring
Master Vithal and Zebunissa.
*''Sassi Punnu'' (1932), Indian
Hindi
Modern Standard Hindi (, ), commonly referred to as Hindi, is the Standard language, standardised variety of the Hindustani language written in the Devanagari script. It is an official language of India, official language of the Government ...
-language film by S. R. Apte and Chimanlal Luhar; starring Eiden Bai and Haider Bandi.
*''Sassi Punnu'' (1946), Indian Hindi-language film by Jagatrai Pesumal Advani; starring Eddie Billimoria and Geeta Nizami.
*''
Sassi'' (1954), Pakistani
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 ...
-language film directed by Dawood Chand; starring
Sabiha Khanum and
Sudhir.
*
''Sassi Punnu'' (1958), Pakistani
Sindhi-language film directed by Akbar Ali, produced by Syed A. Haroon.
*''Sassi Punho'' (1960), Indian Sindhi-language film directed by Ram Rasila.
*''Sassi Punnu'' (1965), Indian
Punjabi-language film by Shanti Prakash Bakshi.
*
''Sassi Punnu'' (1983), Indian Punjabi-language film directed by Satish Bhakhri, starring
Satish Kaul and
Bhavana Bhatt.
* ''
Sassi Punno'' (2004), Pakistani Urdu film directed by Hassan Askari.
Music
The British musician
Panjabi MC references the tale of Sassi in his 2003 song ''
Jogi''. The "King of
Qawali",
Ustad
Ustad, ustadh, ustaz or ustadz (abbreviated as Ust., Ut. or Ud.; from Persian language, Persian ''ustād'') is an honorific title used in West Asia, North Africa, Central Asia, South Asia and Southeast Asia. It is used in various languages, incl ...
Nusrat Fateh Ali Khan
Nusrat Fateh Ali Khan (, ; born Pervez Fateh Ali Khan; 13 October 1948 – 16 August 1997), also known by his initials NFAK, was a Pakistani singer, songwriter, and music director. Khan was primarily a singer of qawwali, a form of Sufi devot ...
, mentions Sassi in a verse of one of his most famous songs ''Tum Ek Gorak Dhanda Ho'' written by the poet
Naz Khialvi. The Pakistani singer-songwriter
Bilal Saeed also mentions Sassi in his son
12 Saal
Literature
''Sasui Puno'' is a play written in
Sindhi by Indian writer
Ram Panjwani.
See also
*
Tomb paintings of Sindh
*
Trilok Singh Chitarkar, created a beautiful painting of Sassui Punnhun in 1954
*''
Sri Charitropakhyan''
References
;Printed sources:
* {{cite book , title=Sassi Punnun , author=Hasham Shah , translator=Christopher Shackle , publisher=Vanguard Books , date=1985
External links
Sassui and Punhun in SindhiSusuee and Punhoon in English*Sassi Punnu in Punjab
Love stories
Fictional duos
Punjabi folklore
Sindhi folklore
Sindhi people
Shah Jo Risalo
Pakistani folklore
Pakistani literature
Indian folklore
Indian literature
Punjabi literature
Sindhi literature
Balochi literature