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Four selections highlighted by Saqib Mumtaz in a 2014 Scroll article show how differently performers can carry the Punjabi folk romance of Heer-Ranjha: one is soft and melodic, another energetic, a third quick and spare with ektara and dhol, and a fourth steeped in the qissa’s melancholy. The closing selection brings several Pakistani artists together, so the article’s four entries are not four solo singers.
Heer-Ranjha is a tradition, not one fixed text
Heer-Ranjha is among Punjab’s best-known folk romances, retold in poetry and performance across generations. Waris Shah’s version, dated to 1766 by Hindustan Times and Rekhta, is the best-known literary telling, but it was not the first account of the lovers: earlier versions are associated with Damodar Das and Ahmad Gujjar. Rekhta also notes tellings in different languages.
| # | Preview | Product | Price | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 |
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Heer Waris Shah: Translated by M.Munawar Butt | $15.00 | Buy on Amazon |
| 2 |
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HEER-RANJHA (CLASSIC PUNJABI FOLKTALES COLLECTION) | $5.07 | Buy on Amazon |
| 3 |
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Heer Ranjha | $40.00 | Buy on Amazon |
| 4 |
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Heer Ranjha | $1.78 | Buy on Amazon |
| 5 |
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Heer Ranjha: The Romeo and Juliet of Punjab | $6.77 | Buy on Amazon |
Kulwant Singh Virk’s essay, originally published in August 1966 and reprinted in the Government of India’s Yojana archive in February 2021, describes four notable Punjabi poets, among many others, versifying the story from the 17th century onward. It treats oral folklore as changeable: performers and audiences can add to or alter a telling, and printed texts may include interpolations. Waris Shah’s poem is therefore an influential version, not a single canonical script for every performance.
Why the tragic ending needs a qualification
In the plot summary given by Virk, Ranjha leaves home, meets Heer, and becomes a herdsman for her father. They fall in love, but her family marries her to Saida. Ranjha becomes a yogi in an effort to reach her; after conflict and reunion, Heer’s family poisons her while Ranjha is away, and he dies by suicide when he learns she is dead. That ending belongs to this account, not every version. Rekhta records another possibility in which the lovers leave together for an unknown destination; in another, they are united only in death.
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Virk presents the poem as a rich expression of Punjabi rural social life, customs, language, and literary culture. That makes it valuable as folklore and literature, but not a transparent record proving that the lovers were specific historical people. Virk puts the way stories shift across generations succinctly: “The learning of one generation has a way of becoming the folklore of another.”
Four musical selections, four approaches
The descriptions below follow Mumtaz’s account in Scroll, published August 25, 2014. They are characterizations of the featured performances, not an objective ranking or a standardized comparison of recordings.
| Selection | Sound and performance | What stands out |
|---|---|---|
| Asa Singh Mastana | Soft, melodic delivery | A gentler treatment paired with reflection on Waris Shah’s poem and its popularity. |
| Sain Bodhi | Energetic rendition, with distant bird sounds | Its lively feel contrasts with the softer and more melancholy readings. |
| Saudagar Ram | Swift singing, accompanied by ektara and dhol in a rural setting | The spare instrumental frame and quick pace give this selection a distinct folk character. |
| Madan Gopal Singh | A performance shaped around the mood of the events | Its emphasis is the melancholy associated with the qissa. |
| Closing group track | A shared performance by Pakistani artists, including Ghulam Ali, Mehdi Hassan, Tufail Niazi, Zahida Parveen, and Bashir Ali Mahi | Mumtaz describes each artist as varying the form while retaining the folk tarz. |
Asa Singh Mastana: a softer, melodic entry
Mastana’s rendition offers a gentle point of entry into the selections. Mumtaz links it to the popularity of Waris Shah’s Heer and the tendency to call the poem “Heer Waris Shah.” The emphasis is on melody rather than a forceful or hurried delivery.
Sain Bodhi: energy against a natural backdrop
Bodhi’s version is described as energetic, with bird sounds in the distance adding a sense of setting around the singing. Mumtaz’s 2014 article called it the most popular by YouTube plays at that time; that observation is neither a current measure nor an independently verified popularity ranking, so it is best heard simply as a description of the performance’s appeal.
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Saudagar Ram: voice, ektara, and dhol
Ram accompanies himself with an ektara and a dhol. The rural setting and swift singing make this the most immediately spare and propulsive of the described treatments: a small instrumental frame carrying a fast-moving qissa.
Madan Gopal Singh: the qissa’s melancholy
Singh’s approach is marked by its attention to the emotional weather of the story. Rather than foregrounding speed or a particular accompaniment, Mumtaz highlights a performance that conveys the events’ mood and the romance’s sadness.
Rank #4
The closing selection: a shared folk tarz
The final track is a group selection featuring Pakistani artists Ghulam Ali, Mehdi Hassan, Tufail Niazi, Zahida Parveen, and Bashir Ali Mahi. Mumtaz’s point is not that every voice sounds the same: each changes the form somewhat, while the folk tarz remains recognizable. The ensemble gives the article a closing gesture toward continuity across regions and borders.
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How to listen across the four selections
- Listen for contrast in delivery: Mastana’s softness, Bodhi’s energy, Ram’s speed, and Singh’s focus on melancholy.
- Notice where accompaniment and atmosphere shape the impression, especially the ektara and dhol in Ram’s selection and the distant birds in Bodhi’s.
- Approach the group track as variation within a shared folk style, rather than as a single uniform rendition.
- Keep the story’s textual variety in mind: a performance of Heer-Ranjha belongs to a broad tradition, and may not represent every version’s plot or ending.
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