Verse 51 - Ranjha on the boat

Ranjha enters the boat and a multitude of travlers follows, the rich and the poor rubbing shoulders comfortably as the mood on the boat becomes festive, almost wedding like. The travelers are all in Ranjha’s thrall and they ply him with sweets, acting like he were the protégé of the legendary saint Al Khizr. Luddan now feels some remorse at denying him passage earlier, but he still has mixed feelings, for he fears that Ranjha has seduced his wives. He feels that Ranjha’s beautiful music, which can charm birds and beasts has magical qualities and thinks that Ranjha is not unlike the cheats of Thanesar who were known to swindle the innocent as they regaled them with fantastical tales of the legendary town. In this verse, Waris Shah presents Ranjha as a groom like figure, welcoming passers by to the boat, charming them with his melodies. While he is on a quest for the beautiful Heer Sial, goaded by sister-in-law’s taunts, he is also undergoing a spiritual transofmration. While some are accepting of this, seeing him almost as a holy figure, others, like Luddan view him with suspicion. At the end of the verse, Waris Shah cheekily declares that Ranjha is a saint, possibly a powerful one, who will have the uncouth boatman beaten. Waris Shah’s narrative is always laced with cheeky humor, echoing the naqals or farces that were enacted during his time for entertainment.