Re: Bulleh Shah and Punjab University
This is because Heer Ranjha is a folk tale, told by many poets of Punjab including Waris Shah. People can relate to characters more than general poetry. In Sindh, one of the reason of popularity of Shah Lateef are Seven Folk stories and their characters. I got an idea to discuss, how names and lives of these characters are used in Sindh. Just an example here. When Benazir returned home in late 80s, a slogan echoed in Sindh ’ Marvi Maleer Ji, Benazir Benazir’ referring to famous character of Shah Latif ’ Marvi’ who was abducted by Soomro king Omar and then had to accept defeat from poor girl due to her commitment with land and people.
Waris Shah’s poetry got media support as more than a dozen movies have been made on Heer Waris Shah in India and Pakistan. Pakistan Radio did same coverage to Waris Shah as Bulleh Shah. The lines of Waris Shah you mentioned are also part of the famous indian song ‘Sab ki Baraten aai’ from the movie ‘Janam Samjha Karo’ 