Hoshruba

by Musharraf Ali Farooqi

  When Sarsar brought Raad to Afrasiyab’s court he ordered her to take him before sorcerer Musavvir in that very state. Carrying Raad’s bundle, Sarsar headed toward the City of Portraits.

  SORCERESS SURAT NIGAR FACE-MAKER

  Now hear of what passed when sorcerer Musavvir received Afrasiyab’s message and the magic effigy made in Shakl Kush’s likeness arrived in his presence. When Musavvir learned that his son had been killed, he made loud lamentations and wept inconsolably. All his nobles dressed themselves in mourning.

  Shakl Kush’s mother, Queen Surat Nigar, fell unconscious from receiving the shocking news of her son’s death. When she regained consciousness, she rent her collar and cried out, “O my son, you hid yourself from my eyes!

  “When I think of you

  My heart becomes restive

  Where did death take you?

  What evil eye felled you?”

  Such plaints she continuously made

  Her collar she continuously rent

  And like clouds of the spring quarter

  All her family and relatives shed tears

  After crying much and shedding copious tears, Surat Nigar kissed the magic effigy of Shakl Kush, sat him in her lap, embraced him and showed him all the tokens of maternal affection. Then she wrote a note to Afrasiyab, which read:

  “We have cooled our eyes with the sight of our son in the magic effigy. Now we send him back into your keeping. We will muster our armies and arrive soon to avenge our son’s death and destroy the enemy.”

  Surat Nigar Face-Maker dispatched this message to Afrasiyab’s court with the magic effigy. Afterwards she ordered her attendants to make preparations for departure. After a day’s preparations the tents and pavilions of her army were packed and loaded and, with an army of several hundred thousand ferocious sorcerers, Surat Nigar departed toward Empress Heyrat’s camp.

  One of Surat Nigar’s daughters, Almas Fairy-Face, learned of her mother’s departure on the campaign and insisted on accompanying her to kill her brother’s murderer and avenge his death. Surat Nigar tried to dissuade her, saying, “My child, you do not know magic. You are still in your teens. Stay at home and occupy yourself with play and games. Do not insist on accompanying me for war awaits us where I am headed.” Almas Fairy-Face, however, would not be deterred. Surat Nigar could not hold her back in the end and took her along and the army advanced with great majesty.

  After his wife departed, sorcerer Musavvir organized his own army and, leaving one of his advisors in charge of his court’s affairs, departed to aid Heyrat.

  Surat Nigar Face-Maker arrived near Heyrat’s camp first and ordered her army to pitch their tents and pavilions when they were a day’s journey from Heyrat’s camp. She ordered her royal pavilion to be set up and said to her commanders, “Tomorrow we will march from here to Heyrat’s camp!”

  The army bivouacked in the stretches of the forest and the acclivity of the mountains. Cauldrons were put on fire and food was prepared for the warriors. A dance recital began in Surat Nigar’s royal pavilion and everyone occupied themselves with revels.

  In the meanwhile, the trickster girl Sarsar Swordfighter, carrying sorcerer Raad’s bundle, arrived in that forest. Upon regarding the large army camped there and sighting the royal pavilion, she asked one of the campers whose army it was and who was its commander. He replied, “It belongs to Shakl Kush’s mother, sorceress Surat Nigar, who has come to fight Mahrukh.” Sarsar was most pleased to hear the news. She told herself she would not have to journey all the way to the City of Portraits and could hand over Raad to Surat Nigar and turn back. Thus decided, Sarsar headed for the royal pavilion.

  The attendants stopped her and asked her the purpose of her visit. She told them it was to inform Surat Nigar that Sarsar Swordfighter had arrived. When the attendants informed Surat Nigar, she sent for the trickster girl. Sarsar entered and witnessed a music assembly underway. Surat Nigar sat on the throne surrounded by thousands of sorcerers and sorceresses on seats and stations.

  Sarsar saluted Surat Nigar, placed the bundle before her, and said, “I have brought sorcerer Raad Thunder-Clap, your son’s murderer, to present before you!” Surat Nigar was delighted by the news. She conferred a rich robe of honor on Sarsar, offered her a high rank in her court, and sent her away after offering her the best of her hospitality.

  Then Surat Nigar said to her attendants, “Send for Princess Almas Fairy-Face so that she may kill her brother’s murderer with her own hand since she came expressly for this purpose.” The attendants left to

  carry out her orders.

  Princess Almas was strolling in the forest, enjoying the lush green expanse in the company of nine hundred attendants, slave girls and sorceresses when she received her mother’s summons and arrived before her in all her allure.

  Witnessing the resplendent beauty of her daughter, Surat Nigar glanced at her heel134 to ward off the evil eye from Almas. She seated Almas beside her and, after putting Raad under magic incarceration, had him restored to his senses and ordered him to be brought into her presence. Then she targeted Raad with her rebukes and imprecations.

  Almas Fairy-Face beheld a beautiful young man in his early twenties standing before her, wearing magic chains and fetters. His face shone like the moon. She saw his thick eyebrows, his muscular arms and shoulders, and the signs of bravery, serenity, courage and fortitude on his face.

  Was it his stature or a cypress in the garden

  In his perfection he was peerless and beyond belief

  His height was one the calamity of doomsday would acquire

  A ringdove would fall in love with that cypress beloved

  His knitted brows were a calamity for loving hearts

  The mole on his gold-like face the touchstone

  His locks were the snares for lovers’ lives

  His mole a bait for the birds of souls

  His eyebrows from humility were not bent

  But were a mosque’s arches, where lovers prostrate

  Lit up with kohl from the Mount Tur135

  His eyes were the source of divine light

  The pink hue on the whites of his eyes

  Were red clouds over the moon in the sky

  Everyone who glimpsed his eyelashes praised

  Those lattices on the entrance of a friend’s house

  How could one describe the beauty of his cheeks

  How can one encounter two moons at one glance

  His thin and shapely, beautiful lips

  Were two goblets brimful with pure wine

  His smile was the lofty smile of beauty

  His lips, the confidants of his beauty’s secret

  Shaped like an ewer’s, a rarity was his neck

  More lofty than the lofty heavens his neck

  His wrist, his arms, his hands, his feet

  Truly matchless were in the world entire

  In short, from head to toe, he was

  Doubtless the envy and pride of desire

  Seeing his lovely face, Princess Almas fell head over heels in love with him. Entangled in the snare rope of his locks, she felt restive, bit her lips, and regarded his face with longing. Her heart became restless and she began to lose her self possession. From her burning desire she became frenzied and shed tears.

  When Princess Almas Fairy-Face thought of the fruitlessness of such a passion, and realized that the difference in her situation and the circumstances of Raad would make a union between them impossible, she was overpowered by her emotions and broke into tears.

  Her mother embraced her and reckoned that when she saw her brother’s murderer before her eyes she cried from grief remembering her dead sibling. Surat Nigar said to Almas, “My child, your tears will not bring your brother back from the dead, they will only make your heart melt in blood.”

  Witnessing the princess overwhelmed by emotion, everyone attended to her. Some offered her words of comfort. Some offered to take all her calamities on their heads.136 Others offered themselves in sa
crifice to the princess to protect her against any calamities. A hubbub rose in the court.

  Hearing the noises, Raad Thunder-Clap, who stood passively with his eyes lowered and his head bowed, looked up. His eyes beheld that destroyer of life and faith, to wit, Princess Almas Fairy-Face, and the same moment his love was claimed by the hawk of her glance. He saw her marvellous, world-adorning beauty. Her dark locks seemed to be the envy of the dark of the night; the midday sun offered itself as the sacrifice to her refulgent cheeks; her delicate lips robbed the delicate jasmine petals of their pride; the redness of her lips made the heart of the Badakhshan ruby melt into blood with jealousy. Dressed in mourning for her brother, she seemed like the Fount of Life in the Land of Darkness. The worlds of coquetry, airs and dalliance all sacrificed themselves at her least movement. The most alluring beauties of the world submitted her their allegiance for her superior beauty.

  Moon-like, moon-faced and wearing pearls in her ears

  The owner of beauty, in gold clad

  Full of brightness her luminous face

  Even a mirror could not reflect such blinding light

  Her high nose was such

  That it taught her conceit

  Her eyebrows delicately bent

  Were the life of the world entire

  If her eyes were narcissus-like, her ears were like roses

  On one side the proud rose on the other the self loving narcissus

  From the redness of her lips, the bright sheen of her teeth

  The oyster and the pearls to the depths of sea sink

  When in a smile her teeth were displayed

  Pearls offered themselves as their sacrifice

  How to define the dimples on her cheeks

  They were golden citrons made by nature’s hand

  The light of morn her bright neck was

  The mole on her bright face the morning star

  Who could match the matchless hand

  That would such a neck embrace

  The color of henna on her hands the blood of lovers

  Her fingers the envy of coral branches

  How could one describe the clarity of her torso

  Like a mirror her stomach shone bright

  Like two citrons were her two breasts

  Or two apples from Rizwan’s paradise

  Her body was clad all in black

  She was grieving, was most sorrowful

  Clad in her black apparel she was

  The mecca of lovers’ hearts draped in black

  Beholding her beautiful existence

  Raad became like an arrow-pierced prey

  Before, young and old were engrossed by his beauty

  Now, portrait-like, Raad became engrossed by hers

  Overwhelmed by that image of beauty

  With her Raad became besotted

  Seeing her luminous aspect

  Like a mirror he stared wonderstruck

  He said to himself, If fortune should favor me,

  And would confer a beloved like her on me

  If I could have with her but a single tryst

  With my heart and soul my dedication I would show.

  He had this conversation in his heart

  Then became all quiet, helpless as he was

  Sorceress Surat Nigar sent for the executioner to put that poor youth to death. At that moment, God Almighty willed it so that a message arrived for her from sorcerer Musavvir. It read:

  “My princess, I hear that Raad has been brought to you a prisoner. Do not kill him where you are stationed. Instead, you should take him to Empress Heyrat’s camp, which is close by. I will also arrive there. Then we will hang him in full view of the rebels, and also chastise any who come to his aid from the rebels’ camp.”

  After reading the letter, Surat Nigar stopped the executioner from putting Raad to death. She ordered one of her attendants, sorcerer Faulad Iron-Puller, to keep Raad in custody for the day.

  Faulad took Raad into a mountain pass and put magic chains and fetters on him. Afterwards, Faulad recited a spell and a wall of fire encircled the mountain pass. Smoke rose from the fire in such abundance that it completely covered the place where Raad was imprisoned. Sorcerer Faulad set up his own tent at some distance from the wall of fire and rested there with his companions and attendants.

  After Raad was taken away from Surat Nigar’s pavilion, the absence of her beloved made Princess Almas Fairy-Face inconsolable. A few moments later, she said to her mother, “Now I will go to my pavilion and take some rest.” Her mother granted her leave and Almas sent for her conveyance. A palanquin with latticed doors arrived and the princess’s procession made ready. She mounted her palanquin and the group proceeded. A eunuch named Ishrat accompanied it on horseback, supervising the arrangements of the procession.

  While these events were underway, Raad’s attendants returned to their senses in Mahrukh’s camp. When they found their master absent they went to Mahrukh and reported that someone had kidnapped Raad. His mother, sorceress Mehshar Lightning-Bolt, became disconcerted. She cried with grief and gave in to ecstasies of anxiety. Amar comforted her and said, “Trickster girl Sarsar was in wait of an opportunity and she must have kidnapped him. Do not grieve. I will go and secure his release.” Then Amar left on his mission.

  On the way, Amar met Burq the Frank and gave him the news. Burq also headed to look for Raad and, in his search, chanced upon Surat Nigar’s camp. He infiltrated the camp in disguise and witnessed Raad being taken by sorcerer Faulad Iron-Puller to the mountain pass and imprisoned there.

  Burq tried to think of some trickery to secure Raad’s release. He was engrossed in these thoughts when the procession of Princess Almas passed and he accompanied it. After making queries, Burq determined that it was the procession of sorcerer Musavvir’s daughter. Burq continued onward with her procession, waiting for an opportunity to kidnap her.

  In the meanwhile, he saw a servant of the eunuch Ishrat stop to prepare his hookah. Burq approached him and said, “Look here for a moment!” When the servant looked up, Burq made him unconscious with an egg of oblivion. He hid him in the nearby bushes and brought the hookah to the eunuch.

  As he handed it to Ishrat, Burq said, “I would like you to stay behind a moment and let others carry on along their way. I heard terrible news about your employment and wish to inform you of it.” The eunuch became full of anxiety. He stayed behind with the false attendant while the procession moved on. Burq waited until the procession had moved well ahead. Then, with the egg of oblivion, he made Ishrat unconscious too, causing him to fall from his horse. Burq disguised himself as Ishrat and followed the procession of the princess on horseback, joining it before long.

  In the meanwhile, Princess Almas arrived at her camp. It was set up far away from Surat Nigar’s camp to allow the Princess a chance to enjoy the scenery and amuse herself with revels. The princess sent all her attendants, confidantes and slave girls away. She ordered the panels of her pavilion overlooking the forest to be raised.

  She sat looking at the expanse and remembering her beloved. Sometimes she cried, sometimes she complained of the fickle heavens. Sometimes she made frenzied utterances. At other times, she addressed the passing breeze. Thinking of her beloved, she recited:

  “More beautiful than flower orchards is each flower

  in your garden face

  Desire for them grows in my heart like a thorn

  If I behold a rose garden that is not your face

  May its flowers become in my eyes as thorns

  You are as beautiful now as you were in the past

  All beauties have this claim, but none your match

  Your renown fills the marketplace

  Your house is the Egypt of delicate beauty,

  You are like Yusuf of Canaan.

  The news of your sale excites the bazaar

  I am ready to lose my head in your purchase

  As I lost my life in your desire

  For you I humbled myself many times
/>   In this act I proved myself the worthiest

  Every moment I look for you; I am always in your quest

  I wish to die time and time again before your eyes The cypress in embarrassment hides

  As you with your lovely stature step toward the garden

  Every moment I pluck at my breast like a lute with my nails

  Hundreds of cries and lamentations rise vibrating from my veins

  Drink wine in the garden and watch the cypress and jasmine

  And I will attain my happiness to have you before my sight

  O knower of my secrets, do not blame me for what I do

  For I have shunned all honor in my beloved’s quest.”

  While the princess sat engrossed in her beloved’s remembrance, Burq the Frank arrived in the eunuch Ishrat’s guise and noticed her sitting by herself, looking grief-stricken. The false Ishrat concealed himself to hear the princess’s heart-rending lamentations and the tale of grief she narrated.

  The princess sighed and said, “O Raad, you bought my soul for a glimpse of your face. I will now depart this world with the hope of our union unmet.” When the false Ishrat heard this, he realized that the princess had fallen in love with Raad. He came out of his hiding place and approached the princess. Noticing him, she stopped crying, dried her tears, and turned an annoyed face toward him.

  The false Ishrat leaned forward and whispered in the princess’s ear, “O Princess, I know that you are in love. You conceal it from me for no reason. I am your family’s slave. If ordered I would even pluck the stars from the sky for you. Tell me your secret and I give you my word that none will ever hear it from my tongue. And I would do all in my power to unite you with your beloved besides.”

  When Princess Almas found him to be kindly disposed, she narrated her entire plight. The false Ishrat said, “O Princess of the world, let us go to the place where your lover is imprisoned. You should tell the prison guard that you have a question for your brother’s killer. He will let you in and then I will secure Raad’s release, for I am in reality the trickster Burq the Frank come in disguise to secure his release.”