You Deserted Me in Rohi

This song is extremely famous and is often heard on the radio in Siraiki-speaking parts of Pakistan.

The term ‘Rohi’ refers to a desert near the poet’s homeland. Hence our play on ‘you deserted me’.

Very little contemporary poetry from Siraiki has been translated into English and we were very lucky that Nukhbah Langah brought these beautiful poems by Shakir Shujaabadi to our workshop.

Note: Rohi is the name of a desert found in the poet’s homeland. This is a popularly used symbol in Siraiki mystical poetry written by Khwaja Ghulam Farid (1845-1901).