In thirteen to fourteen century , there lived a princess in Sinhalese kingdom. She was known for her exceptional beauty. Her eyes were like the beautiful lotus petals, her lips resembled bloomed red lips. Her slender waist were like those plumped deers who used to wonder about in the forest. She was princess Padmini, also known as Padmavati, daughter of King Gandharvasena and Queen Consort Champavati. She had a red parrot whose name was Hiramani. It was her closest compatriot. She loved it dearly but her father was against her obsession with that parrot. He ordered his knights to kill it. When she got to know this, she silently at night flew it from the window.

Oneday, a brahmin came to the courts of the King of Mewar Kingdom. He had a beautiful red parrot encaged in his hand. He gifted it to the King, Rawal Ratan Singh, to get some money in return. The red colour of it's feather and it's talking ability attracted him and he took it to his palace afterwards. At first he thought it was an ordinary parrot but when he was alone with him at night he started singing. A song mixed with praises of the beauty of princess Padmavati. The song was actually taught to it by on of her maids. When he heard the song, a natural curiousity struck in his heart.  ' Is that lady really that much pretty? '

He was curious and his curiousity led him to the voyage to the kindom of Sinhala. When he arrived their he got to know about her from a merchant.

Princess Padmavati , the princess of Sinhala, was a well trained fighter. She was educated in war strategies and skills for a battleship.

When he arrived their, a Swayambar was being organized for her marriage. He thought that it would be the right opportunity to see her and check whether she is really that beautiful.

When he arrived at the Swayambar, he found that there were many Kings and Princes already present their to win her hand in marriage. However it was not a simple Swayambar. She herself, set out a condition for her marriage. If anyone could defeat the designated knight in sword battle, she would marry him.

One after the another, the Kings and Princes were defeated by that knight. At last Ratan's turn came. Though he only came there to just see her, he participated in that battle as found it amusing how nobody could defeat that knight. After a hefty battle, he defeated that knight.

After the battle was over, suddenly that knight opened his head armour. Everyone was shocked as behind that armour was a lady with long lustrous black hair.

Ratan who was standing their, was dazed by her beauty. He was mesmerized with her heavenly beauty and instantly asked her name. To everyone's shock it was none other than Princess Padmavati herself.

After that both of them got married. On reaching Chittor of Mewar she was bewildered to find her Hiramani . Later he told her how he got to know about her from it.

King Ratan Singh loved her dearly which became a reason of enmity between her and his first wife, Nagmati.

Raghav Chetan was an artist in the royal court of Chittor and was secretly a sorcerer who killed many for his purposes. Once, Ratan Singh caught him red-handed and he was banished from the kingdom. Humiliated and angry Raghav took shelter in Alaudin Khilji's palace. Alaudin Khilji was the Sultan of Delhi. He was known for his warfare and brutality. Fire of revenge was lingering inside Raghav , so he started singing praise of Padmavati's beauty infront of him. He got bent on obtaining her and launched an attack on Chittor.

He failed in beseiging Chittor as he found the fort to be heavily guarded. So he proposed a fake peace treaty and went inside the palace to get a glimpse of her beauty. When he demanded to see her, he was bluntly denied. He became furious and demanded that there would be no treaty if he could not see her.  Showing the face of the Queen to another male was a disgrace to him. However, in order to maintain peace and avoid loss of lives, Ratan consulted with his advisors and agreed to show her reflection on a mirror to him. Rani Padmavati was very intelligent. He draped her brother in her saree and showed his reflection on a mirror to Alauddin. Both the siblings were pretty much alike in appearance so there was no problem in fooling him.

Finally Alauddin feigned a peace treaty and deceitfully captured Ratan and took him to Delhi with him. When Khilji captivated the Rana, demanding the queen's surrender in return for her husband's life, the queen feigned submission and sent seven hundred knights dressed as maids in her palkis. She sought help from Ratan Singh's loyal feudatories Gora and Badal, who reached Delhi with their followers, disguised as Padmavati and her female companions. While Gora and Badal were killed fighting the Delhi forces, Ratan Singh reached Chittor safely.

In the meantime, when King Ratan Singh was escaping from Delhi, Devpal, the Rajput king of Kumbhalner proposed Rani Padmini for the marriage. And when Ratan Singh returned back to Chittor, he heard the news and fought with Devpal after which both Devpal and Ratan Singh killed each other. He died while saving his love.

Nagamati cursed her because according to her, it was Padmavati's beauty which brought misfortune to everyone.

Now that Ratan was dead Alauddin invaded Chittor once again to capture Padmavati. This time he also got to know about the mirror incident. Widowed Padmavati had her own pride. She could never surrender her dignity to him. When Alauddin was near to approach the fort, she with other ladies of the fort committed Jauhar.

It is said that Padmavati and the other women wailed for their men and sang praises of their bravery and together they jumped into the fire. Rani Padmavati was the first one to jump into the Jauhar Kund. The entire palace was echoed by their cries. When Khilji, after defeating the knights, came to the fort, the heat and sounds coming out from the Jauhar Kund were so fierce that Khilji ordered to permanently close the tunnel passage.

Alauddin could never see Padmavati's face for which he did so many hideous crimes.

Some says that Rani Padmavati is a work of fiction while others praise her bravery. Women of the palace who committed Jauhar perished but their memory has been kept alive till today by songs and tales which immortalized the story of their sacrifice. Some hundred years ago, the passage was reopened by the then King of Chittor who honoured these brave women.

End

Ranjha was the son of a landlord and lived in Takht Hazara by the river Chenab. Heer was the daughter of another prosperous person from Jhang. Both were young, both were beautiful and both were destined to fall in passionate love and suffer, as suffering has ever been the destiny of genuine lovers.

The young Ranjha did not have much of the worldly skills but he was a good shepherd and a fine flute player. After the death of his father, he was considered a burden on the family. His brothers ill-treated him and denied him proper share in ancestral land. In anger, he walked out of his home.

While at home, Ranjha had a dream and in his dream he had the vision of an exceptionally beautiful girl. He was enamoured by her and wished to meet her. So, when he left his home, he decided to move towards Multan to seek solace from the famous five pirs and find the whereabouts of his dream girl from them. Wandering from place to place, he happened to reach a mosque where he thought of spending the night. To assuage himself, he played his flute there but the imam of the mosque objected to this saying that music was not allowed in Islam. When he offered his logic that music knew no religion and could assuage a suffering soul, the imam saw sense and allowed him to spend the night there.

Following this, Ranjha kept wandering from place to place in Jhang like a love-lorn being. It was during his wanderings that he happened to meet the five pirs who told him about Heer's whereabouts. As he moved on in search of his destination, he came to a lush green field of crops. It was owned by one Chochak Khan who happened to be the chief of the Siyal tribe. He liked the young Ranjha and thought of employing him as one who could take care of his cattle and also play his flute to keep everyone happy. He took him to his home and to his utter surprise it was here that he met Heer. As love stories have it, they instantly recognised each other as their complimentary beings and fell in love instantly. Being together day and night, they grew closer and closer -day after day.

When Heer's parents got to know of their intimacy, they imposed severe restrictions on her but Heer defied the bondage and started meeting Ranjha during the nights. Heer's uncle, Kaido, spotted them meeting in privacy one night and objected fiercely. This made the parents still more oppressive and they put Heer in solitary confinement. With this, began the immeasurable suffering of Ranjha once again.

Since Heer's father could by no means think of giving her daughter's hand to a shepherd with hardly any means, he thought of finding a suitable match for her. He ultimately found a young and affluent man called Saida Khera from Rangpura. Heer did not agree to enter into this marital bond and argued with the qazi at the time of her nikah. But the nikah had to be solemnised and it was performed under duress brining much pain to Heer. She was sent to her new home with her husband and all the wedding gifts including a herd of buffaloes. The buffaloes had become so friendly with Ranjha that they did not budge without him. With no choice left, Ranjha had to be sent with the buffaloes to look after them. Even after being put in a marital bond, angry Heer did not show any concern for her husband and kept meeting Ranjha secretly. When the word spread and people started gossiping, Ranjha was sent out of Rangpura. With this, Heer's suffering grew many folds. She started shedding tears and suffering in separation.

Ranjha again started wandering in forlorn places. One day, he met some yogis in the jungle and chose to become one like them. One day, he entered Saida's village in the guise of a yogi with ears pierced and rings hanging byhis earlobes. Heer could easily sense who this yogi was. She sought help from Saida's sister who had been sympathetic to both Heer and Ranajha. With her help, she found an opportune moment to flee from Rangupra with Ranjha. Both were, however, caught on the way. The matter was brought before a qazi who directed that Heer be brought back and reunited with her husband, Saida. This made both Heer and Ranjha curse him which led to a disastrous fire. Now, the matter reached the town's headman who gave his verdict in favour of Ranjha. After this, as per Damodar, both Heer and Ranjha left for an unknown destination.

Some other narrators of this story like Aaram and Waris Shah carry this account further. According to Aaram, both Heer and Ranjha were brought to Heer's home after the verdict of the town's headman where her parents agreed to put them in wedlock. This was, however, only a deception. On the day of their wedding, Heer's uncle, Kaido, put poison in Heer's sweets which would lead to her death than to her wedding. Kaido succeeded in his nefarious plan and Heer died as soon as she tasted the sweet. A heartbroken Ranjha was also made to taste the same sweet and to meet the same end.

According to another narrative, after the town's headman gave his verdict in favour of Ranjha, he was sent to Hazara to make preparations for his wedding and come to Heer's home as a bride. While preparing for his wedding, he came to know of Heer's poisoning. A devastated Ranjha rushed to Jhang but only to see her dead. Unable to bear this immensely tragic moment, Ranjha took no time to taste the same sweet that Heer had been deceptively made to taste. A true and genuine lover that Ranjha was, he fell by her side and breathed his last to meet Heer in death.

Heer and Ranjha could not really unite with each other in life but they actually did in death. They lie buried in Jhang, Heer's hometown. They are visited by lovers and admirers of love in life and life and love.

... ...

...'Mera byaah ab maut ke saath hai mera Raanjhana hi mera naath hai. '...

...( My marriage is now with death, my beloved is now my God.)...

...Today, the grave of Mai Heer and Mian Ranjha is sought by young lovers, who want to get married to the partner of their choice. They offer prayers by tying threads at the iron gates at the dargah, and young girls offer colourful bangles at the tomb of Mai Heer. Women also tie up tiny cradles at the shrine and pray for progeny. And then, there are heartbroken lovers and sheer admirers of Heer and Ranjha, who visit the tomb to get peace of mind or out of pure devotion....

End

Love, they say, has lost its sanctity. In the age of Tinder, where finding love is just a matter of a few swipes, the emotion seems to have lost its worth. Like someone? Swipe right. Don't like someone? Swipe left. Don't like the person you liked earlier? Start swiping again. It's as simple as that and it's as messed up as that which is precisely why modern love stories have lost their charm.

But deep down, we pine for a love story that shakes us to the core. And for that, we need to look no further than the folk tales of Punjab. They have some iconic love stories from the ages and the last of the lot is the heartbreaking story of Mirza-Sahiba ...

Mirza and Sahiba grew up together in a small town, Khewa in erstwhile Punjab, now Pakistan. Mirza was the son of Fateh Bibi while Sahiba was the daughter of Khewa Khan . Mirza 's parents had sent him to a nearby village for his education and that is how he came to live at Sahiba's house.

Everyone in Sahiba 's family - except her father - was against him staying there. They were not comfortable with a stranger living in their midst. While the rest of the family was hostile towards Mirza, Sahiba was indifferent. She wasn't rude towards Mirza , nor was she friendly. They were classmates and soon became friends.

As they grew up, Mirza became a valiant archer, the likes of whom had never been seen before. Stories of his unfailing aim spread far and wide, and everyone came to accept him as the mightiest warrior around. Sahiba, on the other hand , turned into a beautiful young maiden. Such was her beauty, that men around couldn't take their eyes off her.

One fine day, when Mirza saw Sahiba buying vegetables from a local vendor, he was blown away by her beauty and fell madly in love. It was as though the entire world around him had ceased to exist. All he could see was her!

Soon, they fell in love. And the two of them were lost in their own world. Nothing else seemed to matter to them anymore. But as is the case with such love stories, this didn't last long. There was a twist in the tale!

Sahiba 's father and brothers found out about the two and they were furious. They were distraught with her for keeping them in the dark. They were upset with Mirza too, for whom they had opened their home. They sent him back to his village because they felt cheated.

The problem lay in the fact that as far as the families were concerned, Mirza and Sahiba were cousins. This was because Mirza 's mother and Sahiba's father had been nursed by the same woman. Hence, they were 'milk siblings' and by that logic, Mirza and Sahiba could not be together.

This broke Sahiba 's heart and she wept inconsolably. But her family was unperturbed. They immediately planned her wedding with Tahir Khan . Sahiba resisted but no one would listen to her. The moment Mirza found out about this, he got on his horse, Bakki and he rode to Sahiba 's village.

Dressed in a bright red joda, Sahiba looked like a dream. Her hands were covered in mehendi.

Meanwhile, Sahiba 's brothers realized that she was missing and they were filled with rage. They swore to kill Mirza and rode out looking for the couple.

Eventually, after riding for hours, Mirza got tired. He decided to take a nap under a tree even though Sahiba begged him to keep riding until they were far enough.

But being the mightiest archer around, Mirza was arrogant. He knew that no one could touch him as he would see them all off. He refused to listen to Sahiba and went off to sleep.

But Sahiba was worried. She knew that if her brothers arrived and attacked Mirza , he would kill them. So she took his arrows out of the quiver one by one and broke them all in half. She knew that she could plead to her brothers to spare him as she believed that they wouldn't hurt the man who was the love of her life.

Unfortunately for Sahiba, that's not how things panned out.

The moment her brothers caught sight of Mirza, they shot an arrow that pierced his throat. Waking up from his slumber, Mirza reached out for his bow and arrow, only to find them broken. He felt deceived. His eyes begged for an answer from Sahiba as another arrow came flying in Mirza's direction and pierced him in his stomach. Sahiba was speechless at the turn of events!

Aghast at what had happened, she jumped on to Mirza's dead body, letting the arrow pierce her as well. As the arrows closed in on them, both Mirza and Sahiba died a silent death.

In every other folk romance from Punjab - Heer-Ranjha , Laila-Majnu - the girl's name comes first. But since Sahiba betrayed Mirza , his name precedes her name.

End.