Umer Maruee




Umer Maruee. Courtesy - IIS, Adipur




(Condensed by Menka Shivdasani from Sindhi Folk Tales by Pritam Varyani. Translated by Mohan Gehani. Published by Indian Institute of Sindhology.)
The Seven Queens

Shah Abdul Latif, sometimes known as the Shakespeare of Sind, immortalized heroines of Sindhi folklore. The Seven Queens, as they are known, have been given the status of royalty in his Shah Jo Risalo, celebrated for their honesty, integrity, loyalty and pious nature. These women - Maruee, Moomal, Sasuee, Noori, Sohini, Sorath and Lila - were also symbolic of courage and their willingness to risk everything for love.

Tales of all these seven Queens are included in this feature in a condensed manner.


UMER – MARUEE
A Symbol of Patriotism

At the time when Umer Soomro ruled over the Thar, a beautiful girl named Maruee was born to a shepherd in the village of Maleer. Charmed by her beauty as she grew older, Foghsen, a farm boy, asked for her hand in marriage. Her infuriated father, Palini, immediately dismissed the boy and Maruee was betrothed instead to Khetsen. Foghsen retaliated by approaching the ruler, inciting the king’s lust through vivid descriptions of Maruee’s beauty, and telling him that such a lady truly belonged only to the palace.

Umer Soomro went to Maleer in disguise and was intoxicated by her beauty. He took her forcibly to Umerkot, where she was kept a virtual prisoner. Umer tried everything in his power to accept him, but neither cajoling nor threatening worked. Maruee spurned the luxurious clothes, food, status and all the luxuries, stating that she belonged to her own clan and would not marry anyone but the man to whom she had been bethrothed; in the words of Shah Latif:

“I would not use your oil; my heart is attached to my kin,
Why should I listen to any one, ultimately I belong there.
This is not the way of my kin folks,
To exchange daughter for the sake of gold.”

Eventually, Umer let her go, but when she returned, it was only to find that her family no longer accepted her. She could prove her chastity only when she faced the test of a red-hot iron rod being placed on her palm; she emerged unscathed. Maruee and Khetsen then lived happily ever after. 

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