![]() ![]() She has been epitomized as the Nightingale of Kashmir. Even after some four hundred years after her death, some of her songs remain quite popular in Kashmir. She lived with an unyielding passion for life rather than by faith, which is what her fellow human beings lived by. Also, creating in it a new style called lol, which is a form intense lyricism wrapping a single thought. She is forever enshrined in Kashmiri ethos as an epic poetess, who ushered a new culture of realism and romanticism in Kashmiri poetry. Habba Khatoon spent her last 20 years living in a hut on the banks of Jhelum river, enduring the pain of love-separation from her husband. This opened the door for Moguls to reign in Kashmir from 1586 thru 1752, one hundred and sixty-six years. Upon reaching there he was taken to Bengal and later moved to Biswak, in Bihar, imprisoned for the rest of his life, dying there in 1592. Yusuf Shah was invited to Delhi for a consultation with the emperor. Her fairy tale life ended excruciatingly when her husband was imprisoned for life by the Mogul emperor Akbar through a fraudulent scheme. She was married to Yusuf Shah Chuk (ruled 1579-1586), the last Kashmiri ruler, after a chance encounter. She was born a commoner but rose to become a queen of Kashmir by dint of her poetry, singing, and stunning beauty. Her poems were grounded in the sufferings of the women in her time, especially those of love-separation and harshness of life for their gender. She broke the long tradition of spiritual and mystic poetry of Kashmir by her romantic poetry. But because it resembles the themes and lyrical style of the legendary Habba Khatoon (1554-1609), many Kashmiris attribute it to her. That is, it has been in existence over a long stretch of time, its compositional and authorship history unknown. The song is classified as a traditional popularly. But before we resolve that problematic situation, let’s focus on its authorship. ![]() Muslims take it to be a powerful romantic song of a woman for her beloved, while Pandits take it as Parvati’s love-hymn for Lord Shiva. Harmukh Bar Tal Zaagaie Madano is an epic and enduring Kashmiri song, both revered by Muslims and Pandits alike, though for different reasons. ![]()
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