During the reign of Akbar Damodar composed the first romance (Qissa) on HirRanjha the famous lovers of medieval Panjab. This book revolves around its English translation in a prose format. It places Damodar’s work in the larger context of iconic love tales emerging from the Islamic lands and similar literary efforts rooted in medieval north India. The historical developments in medieval Panjab (14001600) form a suitable backdrop to the experiences of HirRanjha and the composition of Damodar’s poem. While analyzing Damodar’s narrative this book examines the painful struggle of HirRanjha against heavy odds. It delves into the organization of the Jat clans with reference to their internal cohesion marriage alliances and local dominance. It throws ample light on agrarian economy patriarchal norms frequent warfare and depressed castes. It pays equal attention to fluid religious traditions and superhuman entities that played a crucial role in medieval times. The translated text and its analysis have been supported with detailed notes from contemporary sources and modern researches. In order to assess Damodar’s contribution the present study navigates through the variant versions of HirRanjha story that appeared during 16001900. It shows that Damodar compared to preceding and succeeding poets has remained unsurpassed for documenting the medieval society in its complexity. Overall Damodar’s narrative is now available as a rich source for understanding the medieval past of undivided Panjab. It will be of interest to the students of History Literature Culture Sociology and Anthropology. About the Author Surinder Singh (formerly with the Department of History Panjab University Chandigarh) is the author of The Making of Medieval Panjab: Politics Society and Culture c.1000c.1500 Medieval Panjab in Transition: Authority Resistance and Spirituality c.1500c.1700 and Situating Medieval India: Polity Society and Culture. He has coedited Sufism in Punjab and Popular Literature and Premodern Societies in South Asia.
