Remembering the "real" Zoonie

Yousuf recalls the spirited life of yet another Kashmiri poetess and rebel

(Mr. Yusuf Jameel, 50, was born and raised in Srinagar. He completed his B.A. (Humanities) from the Kashmir University and went on to complete a Master's degree in Political Science from the same University in 1980. He served as an Assistant Editor of the Urdu daily, Aftab, during his student days, and afterwards did some freelancing before joining the Daily Telegraph in 1983. Since 1993, he is a special correspondent with the Asian Age and its sister publication, the Deccan Chronicle. He has been a frequent contributor to the BBC, the New York Times, the Voice of America, the Agency France Presse (AFP) and a number of other national and international news agencies. He received the International Press Freedom Award from the Committee to Protect Journalists (CPJ) in New York in 1996, and the SAFMA Best Reporter Award in 2005. Mr. Jameel is noted for his fearless reporting that has earned him the ire of both authorities and militants, but takes his leasure time in stride with photography, fishing and trekking.)

Remembering legendary poet Habba Khatoon

Srinagar: Preparations are under way to remember the legendary Kashmiri poetess whose songs are still sung in the Valley.

Beneath the makeshift army outpost at Athwajan, the highway township on the outskirts of Jammu and Kashmir's summer capital Srinagar, lies the tomb of Habba, also known as Zoon (moon in Kashmiri language). She may well be called the Philomel of Medieval Kashmir. The tomb needs to be secured.

Habba's paramour Yusuf Shah Chak, the last king of Kashmir, was externed as Mughal Emperor Akbar annexed Kashmir in 1585 AD. The most illustrious poetess from the Valley must have eaten her heart away in disgust and dismay. The Kashmiri nation at that time was groaning under internal exploitation and external aggression.

Zoon was born to a poor peasant Abdi Rather and his wife Janam, in Chandrahara village in the Valley on the bank of Kashmir's major river Jhelum in 16th century. The legend goes that a wandering Sufi mystic gave her the name Zoon. There is no mention as to when she became Habba, but it is generally believed that Yusuf fell in love with her during a visit to the plateaus of Pampore.

In her prime youth, Zoon or Zooni began to compose lyrics under the guidance of her Sufi mentor. As she also had a melodious voice, she would sing her own compositions. Her songs soon became popular in the surrounding villages. And it is said that Yusuf heard her sing and fell in love with Zoon. According to the legend, Yusuf, without ascertaining who she was, decided to marry her. She was married to Aziz Lone, one of her collaterals. The proverbial animosity between the mother-in-law and the daughter-in-law dampened the marital relations between Zoon and her spouse. She was forced to live with her parents. Zoon at such a tender and impressionably age could not recover from the rebuff she received at the very threshold of her marital life. Her despondency flowed out in the form of poetry.

Her another name (Zoon) can be inferred from this:

"I am bemoaning my lot in plaintive cries, the Moon (Kashmiri Zoon) has been devoured by an eclipse."

It is said that though married, Zoon refused to allow her husband Aziz the conjugal life. She was thrashed and thrown out of her home and made to live in the sheep pen in the courtyard. After a while, she ran away during a snowstorm to her parent's home. Aziz refused to divorce her. Then came Yusuf in her life.

Prof. K.N. Dhar says, "Habba's songs are musical in essence and pathetic in spirit." According to him, her popularity is also due to the fact that her songs are not only a replica of Kashmiri sense but also a potent vehicle of Kashmiri music. Her originality in this sphere is undisputed. Even though she has appropriated a sizeable chunk of Persian words, she has refrained from owning Persian code on metres. As the talk of her charisma travelled to the nook and corner of the subcontinent, noted Indian filmmaker Muzaffar Ali had in late 1980s started making a film on her life. But with the Kashmiri insurgency bursting into a major violence in 1989-90, he abandoned the project.