THE%20SINDH%20STORY

of the Khaljis. But more revealing than the chronicles of kings are the epics of
men which throw a flood of light on the life and culture of a society. As Arnold
Toynbee puts it in his Study of History: “History, like the drama and the novel,
grew out of mythology, a primitive form of apprehension and expression in
which --- as in fairy tales listened to by children or in dreams dreamt by
sophisticated adults --- the line between fact and fiction is left undrawn. It has,
for example, been said of the Iliad that anyone who starts reading it as history
will find that it is full of fiction but, equally, anyone who starts reading it as
fiction will find that it is full of history.” The same is true of the tales of Sindh
which combine history with story to produce literature that reflects life intensely
and reflects it whole.
The oldest extent tale of Sindh is the Rai Diyach, with its locale in lower Sindh
and Saurashtra. The Samma Rajputs of Sindh had migrated to Saurashtra
(“Sorath” in Sindhi) after the Arab invasion. In the first decade of the eleventh
century, Rai Dewas (or Diyach), belonging to the Chuda tribe of the Sammas,
was ruling in Girnar, Junagadh. His sister gave birth to a male child who, the
astrologers said, would slay his maternal uncle. The mother asked her maid to
dispose of the unlucky child, but the latter was so charmed by the baby’s looks
that she put him in a box and let it float down the river. The box was picked up
by a charan (minstrel) in the territory of King Anirai and the child was named
Bijal. Bijal grew up to be a great singer. At this stage, Sorath, the daughter of
potter Ratna, in Girnar, was engaged to Anirai. When the marriage procession
was on way, Rai Diyach intercepted it, carried away Sorath, and married her.
Anirai was furious over this humiliation. He announced a big platter of precious
stones for whoever would avenge his insult and bring Rai Diyach’s head. Bijal’s
wife, who was sure her husband could achieve anything with his bewitching
voice, accepted the jewellery on promise of doing the needful. She persuaded
Bijal to go and sing in front of the palace of Rai Diyach --- and when the king
would ask him for “any favour”, to ask for his head. That was exactly how it
worked out. The king chivalrously agreed to offer his head and said: “If I had a
hundred thousand heads, I’d cut them one by for every song of yours.” Shah
Abdul Latif [Shrine], the Mahakavi of Sindh, has made the story immortal in his
“Sur Sorath”. It makes four great points: justice must be done; fate is inevitable;
women have a fatal weakness for finery; and Music has more power over men
than anything else.
Another incident of the same period is the story of Lila-Chanesar. Chanesar was
the Soomra ruler of Devalkot near Thatta. He was happily married to Lila.
Kounroo, the daughter of Rai Khangar, the Solanki ruler of Lakhpat, fell in love
with Chanesar, but she could not seduce him. Thereupon Kounroo hit upon an
idea. She dressed up as a maid servant and joined Lila’s service. After some time
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