A Tale of Four Dervishes

by Mir Amman

???A Tale of Four Dervishes' (Bagh-o-Bahar) is a classic of early Urdu literature. Bagh-o-Bahar, also known as Qissa-e-Chahar Darvesh, is believed to have been composed in Persian sometime in the fourteenth century. Though the first Urdu translation appeared in 1775, it was Mir Amman's translation in colloquial Urdu, completed in 1803, that made the work popular. Structurally similar to the Arabian Nights, this book is a collection of five main stories and several sub-stories loosely strung together, with all the ingredients of a traditional oriental epic??"beauty, valour, love and adventure with elements of the supernatural. The principal characters are four wandering dervishes??"three princes and a rich merchant??"who have renounced the world on account of their failure in love. In their journeys they meet characters more unfortunate than themselves who tell stories more fantastical than their own... Wonderfully entertaining as fiction, the stories should be of added interest because of the rich descriptive detail they provide of the customs, beliefs and people of the time.

Genres: Classics, Fiction, Fantasy, Literature, Indian Literature, India, 19th Century

Paperback

First published January 1, 1804

Reviews

[Afifa Afreen · Rating 4 out of 5]

Unabridged one turned out to be wayyy better than the illustrated abridged one I read as a kid. No new lessons were learnt, but the nostalgia wins the points.

[Tarun · Rating 5 out of 5]

سوار ہونا پوَن پنکھی گھوڑے پر اور لکھنا تبصرہ باغ و بہار پر

طبعِ میر امّن نے لگائی جو زقند , ہر مرد و زن کو ملا پھر یہ خاص پند
کتب ایسی ستاروں کی محتاج نہیں , پانچ نگینوں سے کم تخمینہ آج نہیں
منسلک کیے جن میں لعل و گہر بے بہا , عقل کا اسپ وحشی دیا صفحوں پر دوڑا
پایا خار کہاں ایک بھی گلزار میں , داغِ خزاں بھی نہیں دکھتا باغِ سدا بہار میں

بیا ترُن این قصّہ کوتاہ کن
دال روٹی کھا اور پانچ ستارہ چن

[ahmad afridi · Rating 2 out of 5]

کتاب کی تفصیل میں درج ہے کہ " داستان اردو نثر میں ایک سنگ میل کی حیثیت رکھتی ہے۔ اس لئے کہ اردو نثر میں پہلی مرتبہ سلیس اور آسان عبارت کا رواج ہوا". کتاب پڑھنے کے بعد سوچا اگر یہ سلیس ہے تو اس سے پہلے تخلیق کیا گیا ادب کتنا ثقیل ہو گا .انھیں مشکل جملوں کی وجہ سے کہانیوں میں ربط قائم نہیں رہ سکا ، اپر سے کہانیوں کے اندر کہانیاں اور مزید کہانیاں اپ کو قدم قدم پر اکتاہٹ کی وجہ سے کتاب آدھے میں چھوڑنے پر مجبور کر سکتا ہے.

[Osama Siddique · Rating 4 out of 5]

Mir Aman's Bagh o Bahar is a famous retelling of the older and well known Qissa Chahar Dervesh that was originally written in Persian by Ameer Khusrau. Another output of the Fort Williams College days it is regarded as a classic of Urdu prose. While it definitely has its moments I find that the prose pales in comparison with the brilliance of Mirza Rajab Ali Beg Suroor's Fasana-e-Ajaib. No wonder this book was mocked by Suroor as containing the pebbles of the roads of Delhi - given the more earthy, everyday, somewhat clunky and not so sonorous and fluid language of this tale.

With five stories (and sub-stories) within the frame of a single story the tradition being followed is very much that of Alif Laila - how resounding is its impact on so much literature. The story revolves around King Azad Bakht who distraught at having no heir seeks solace and holy guidance while meditating in a graveyard on the advice of his wise Vizier Khirdmand. There, late at night, he comes across four dervishes also spending the night in the solitude. The opening scene where he hesitantly approaches them, fearing they may be ghouls or devs, looking from afar at a faint lamp miraculously burning despite the stormy wind, remains etched in my memory since childhood for its sense of the atmospheric, the mysterious and the evocative.

It turns out that like the distraught king, all four dervishes are also members of the royalty from different countries and harbor the grief of having lost a beloved through a combination of unfortunate circumstances. They exchange tales and counsel and comfort each other and eventually through the good offices of the King and the intervention of the benevolent King Malik Shehbal (who oversees various successful recoveries and rescue missions), all eventually turns out well for everyone. The stories revolve around passion, avarice, bad judgment, ingratitude, treachery, lust, fantastical experiences and adventure. Often they contain moral fables as lessons of gratitude, prudence and forbearance are conveyed.

The most celebrated story in the volume is that of that famous dog-lover Khawaja Sag Parast who greatly honors and lavishes luxury and attention on a dog that is adorned with a collar of rubies, while imprisoning his two brothers in a miserable cage. Appearances are not what they seem and as it turns out repeated wickedness, ingratitude and betrayal by the brothers and steadfast loyalty by the dog, drove home to him the lesson of the fickleness and ingratitude of men in contrast to the selfless devotion of the beast. Khawaja Sag Parast remains one of the well known and oft-cited characters from Urdu classical literature.

Though the stories of the dervishes are not extraordinary or very craftily woven, they contain many scenes that are powerful and stay with the reader. In my case for instance, the following were impactful: the scene of the large chest mysteriously being lowered in the darkness of the night from a castle wall, that divulges the wounded body of a comely young woman (the story of the First Dervish) - this story also endeavors to shock by showing a handsome young man lasciviously inclined towards a hideous, dark woman and ends with blind jealousy and vengeance resulting in brutality and bloodshed; the scene where an unusual flower grows and develops into a human face and turns out to be a fairy who dotes on a king's son who is living in seclusion and under guard to protect him from these very kind of influences and invasions (the story of the Second dervish); a talismanic city with a satanic creature in the belly of an idol who foretells the future, a just and indomitable wise old woman referred to as Madar-e-Brahminan or Mother of Brahmins, and the morbid sequence of events where the ritual of a kingdom forces the protagonist to be imprisoned with his wife's corpse in a castle with rations for 40 days. There he discovers others too left to fend for their selves in the same manner, accompanied by corpses, and festering away. He survives by killing any newcomers and stealing their rations (Tale of the King); the summary execution of a spying Kutni by hanging her upside down from a tree (the tale of the Third Dervesh); and, the revelation of the horde of Djinns by applying Sulemani Surma to the eyes, as well as their appearances with faces of men but the feet of goats.

This is a superb Majlis-e-Taraqi-Adab edition with the usual extensive glossary, explanations, and essays on the author and his times, notes on the development of the text, its various editions, several other annexes focusing on other aspects of this work and also a critical literary assessment of its language, craft and themes.

In Mir Aman Dehlvi's Bagh o Bahar we find the maturing of classical Urdu literature which appears to be transitioning from Dastan to novel form. In the tradition of Alia Laila it mixes realistic adventure with fantasy, and tells often morbid and brutal tales of passion, jealousy, indiscretion, lust, ingratitude, and vengeance.

[Imran · Rating 3 out of 5]

A classic of its times, but I failed to understand why the end was abruptly ended. The writer seemed in unknown rush and the end destroys the overall impact of the book. There was a lot of repetitions that almost each story started sounding same.

Enjoyed the classic Urdu used two hundreds years ago.

[Munaza Kazmi · Rating 3 out of 5]

This book took me to my childhood, when my daddy was narrating us about the stories of kings and fairies, the only thing i don't like about the book was that, people fell in love in very often, plus they faint again and again, it was really annoying.

[Steven "Steve" · Rating 5 out of 5]

A translation of a book written in 1803 in Urdu that was itself a translation of a book written around 1325. A collection of tales similar to “The Arabian Nights” but showing an influence from the Mughal Empire in India. The ending is somewhat sudden but the tales themselves are enthralling.

[Sean · Rating 3 out of 5]

“A Tale of Four Dervishes” (Bagh-o-Bahar) by Mir Amman was an enjoyable, light Urdu classic. Similar in tone to the Arabian Nights, the stories are silly, colorful, and fantastical—complete with djinns, demons, brave princes, clever princesses, and lots of topsy-turvy complications. The frame narrative concerns King Azad Bhakt in Turkey is deeply concerned that he has no heir. One day, he encounters four unlucky dervishes who are wandering the world having lost their loves. The stories are fun and move quickly. Many of the stories are nested inside multiple stories. Beyond enjoying the work, one gets an insight into some of the aspects of Indo-Islamic culture and identity. If you find a copy, it is worth picking up on a weekend.

[Saima Ahsan · Rating 3 out of 5]

I enjoyed the book, a translation so can’t say much if the original was this short or not. This particular book, sounded much like an abridged version or better summary of the Qissa. The imagery & verbose was restricted and that’s not how to get about with Qissa. Good to get an idea how the Qissa might sound but far from the actual tradition of “Qissa Goi”.

[Mounira H. · Rating 4 out of 5]

I loved the enchanted landscapes he beautifully illustrated with words.

[Malvika · Rating 3 out of 5]

2.5

So I found this book pretty interesting for a lot of reasons. One thing that struck me was how the Indian/Hindu culture was intermingled with the Muslim tradition. There's a lot of condemnation of pagan religion and idol worship, however interestingly the translation didn't condemn the Hindu Gods even though there's a lot of idol worship going on. I mention the translation specifically because it might as well be a political move on the part of the translator.

The translator has continuously mentioned Brahmans and several Hindu ideas. I don't really know if this was used as merely ideas or if the translator aimed at some sort of cultural connection (?) I'm probably rambling but I hope I make sense.

Stories were... Uh... Bad. I didn't like them. It started out pretty good, but then it zoned down to one thing. The man fell in love with a princess, she was taken away by the djinn, he wanted to kill himself, a rider came and asked him to go to Persia where he'll meet Azad Bakht and his desires would come true. We are not told who this rider is but I presume it is a messenger of God. Now, my point is... What in the actual * is happening here? Like... You just see somebody and you fall in love? And you want to sacrifice yourself. I mean, trust me. When they were getting married right and left at the end of the book, I wanted to beat all of them senseless. What even in good Lord's name was that. Like why...? People would literally be dying and all this little shites care about is their bElOVedS. Language wasn't very interesting either so I didn't really enjoy the book much.

[Namit H · Rating 3 out of 5]

Bagh-O-Bahar by Mir Amman is a book that transports you back in time. The original author and when the book was written are unknown. Mir Amman's translation in 1802 made the book popular and, after more than 200 years, I read another translation of the book, this one in English. This solitary fact made it a fascinating experience for me. It is a collection of five stories, and many other sub-stories, linked together. The narrative moves in a linear fashion. But, what's most magical is the details in the stories. The author uses exaggeration as a tool of portraying magnanimity or impact. This is a common theme one can notice across stories written during that era. This also gives a peek into how people perceived time back then when their lives were not curated around the 24-hour clock. The story also shows us how different cultures merged with each other in India at that time. The Hindu references within a largely Muslim story are interesting to find. One thing that was off-putting for me was the emphasis on religious conversion and portrayal of people who worshipped idols. Overall, if you have modern expectations while reading a classic like this, then you will be disappointed. Better read it with an open mind and allow yourselves a new experience.

[Noor · Rating 5 out of 5]

I first encountered a chapter from The Tale of the Four Dervishes as part of my school curriculum, but it was the book’s enchanting atmosphere that later drew me back out of sheer curiosity.

The book unfolds through a long chain of stories nested within one another, a captivating narrative technique that echoes the layered complexity of oral storytelling traditions and keeps the reader spellbound.

Mir Amman’s adaptation of the Persian original attributed to Amir Khusrau is a richly woven tapestry of romantic and mystical tales, narrated by four wandering dervishes—Fazal, Bahram, Qamar, and Khwaja—in the court of King Azad Bakht. Each recounts a tale filled with love, separation, and miraculous reunions, often set in enchanted realms and involving hidden identities and divine intervention.

[Anisha Das · Rating 4 out of 5]

A tale of four Dervishes is a translation of Bagh-o-bahar, which itself was a translation of a Persian version of Qissa-e-Chahar Darvesh, which Mir Amman(the Urdu translator) prescribes to Amir Khusrau. The stories follow a similar pattern to that of the Arabian Nights. It's all imagination and fancy and belongs to a genre of Urdu storytelling, Dastan.
One can tell from even the translation that the text is a genuine nod to the Urdu language. Even the introduction and prologue has a sense of romanticism in it.
It is said that when Amir Khusrau narrated this story to a bedridden Nizamuddin Aulia, he gained his health back. Nizamuddin quotes 'Whoever hears this tale,will, by grace of God, remain in health.'

[Tara Bhatnagar · Rating 4 out of 5]

I came across one of the dervish stories while reading ‘A Mirrored Life’ and dived right into this one sitting pretty on my shelf. Narrated by Amir Khusro to distract an ailing Nizamuddin Auliya, the book follows the frame structure of storytelling just like the Arabian Nights. Each of the dervishes tells their individual story of maddening love, heart-break, giving up hope and renewed faith. ‘The Tale of Four Dervishes’ is a very quick read, peppered with Djinns, Fairies, thousands of gold sovereigns, lots of food, wine and murder.

[Salman · Rating 5 out of 5]

This Urdu classic is a melancholic escape into tales of love, mysticism, and the ceaseless search for meaning. Each story within resonates with the ache of lost dreams and fleeting hope. Perfect for days when reality feels too heavy and you need a reminder that beauty can still be found in the shadows.

[Cain S. · Rating 4 out of 5]

Misspellings are present.

[Hasnain Syed · Rating 5 out of 5]

The translation is excellent , one of the few books that I have started and couldn’t get up until finished. This book is one those few.
It’s a must read.

[Seyma · Rating 3 out of 5]

It was slightly difficult to follow the story throughout, perhaps because the meaning/culture of the story was lost in translation.

[Amit Vishwakarma]

The stories will transcend you to Arabian nights and the layers of mystery intertwined in each chapter is amazing.

[Thais Warren · Rating 5 out of 5]

Magicallll I loved these stories so much.. princesses, fairies, rubies, kings like what else does one need in life:)

[Iffat · Rating 4 out of 5]

I feel nostalgic. My grandmother used to read it to me (the Urdu version) and I had forgotten parts of it. Reading it was like a sweet walk down the memory lane.

[Aaron]

Quite fun. The tough part is keeping all the nested stories straight.

[Umar Farooq · Rating 3 out of 5]

آج سے تقریباً ٢٠٠ سال قبل یعنی اٹھارہویں صدی میں انگریز برصغیر پر قبضہ جمائے ہوئے تھے، اُنہوں نے یہاں پر حکومت تو حاصل کرلی تھی مگر لوگوں کو سمجھنے کے لیے اُن کا کلچر، زبان، اور روزمرہ زندگی میں استعمال ہونے والی اشیاء کے متعلق جاننا ضروری تھا، اور کسی قوم پر حکومت برقرار رکھنے کے لیے اُس قوم کی تہذیب و ثقافت کو جاننا بھی ناگزیر ہے. اس مقصد کے لیے کلکتہ میں جولائی 10 سنہ 1800 کو "فورٹ ولیم کالج" وجود میں آیا، اس کالج کا مقصد انگریزوں کو اردو زبان سکھانا تھا. اس کالج کے پرنسپل کا نام " گِل کرسٹ" ہے ، گل کرسٹ کا تعلق میڈیکل کے شعبے سے تھا مگر ہندوستان میں تعیناتی کے دوران انہوں نے اردو میں کافی دلچسپی لی اس لیے انہیں فورٹ ولیم کالج کا پرنسپل بنایا گیا، "ولیم کرسٹ کے بارے میں یہ بھی کہا جاتا ہے کہ انھوں نے اردو زبان کے معروف شاعر مرزا محمد رفیع سودا کی شاعری اور قصائد سے سیکھی جبکہ آج کے دور میں اردو کے استاد بھی سودا کے قصائد کو بہت آسانی سے نہیں سمجھ سکتے ہیں" ( بی بی سی اردو)
چنانچہ مختلف مقامی لوگوں کو ملازمت میں رکھا گیا کہ وہ پرانے اردو ادب کو آسان اردو میں بدل دیں تا کہ انگریز آسانی سے وہ پڑھ اور سمجھ سکیں." میر امن دہلوی" کو بھی اسی مقصد کے تحت ٤ مئی ١٨٠١ء کو چالیس روپے ماہانہ تنخواہ پر تعینات گیا. انہوں نے فارسی زبان کا مشہور قصہ "قصہ چہار درویش" کو سلیس اردو میں ترجمہ کر کے "باغ و بہار" کی صورت لکھا. انہوں نے باغ و بہار کو ١٨٠١ء میں لکھنا شروع کیا اور ١٨٠٢ء میں مکمل کیا. اس کتاب میں میر امن کا انداز بالکل ایسا ہی ہے جیسے وہ ہمارے سامنے موجود ہیں اور ہمیں داستان سنا رہے ہیں. اس کتاب میں بہت سارے الفاظ کا ذخیرہ ملتا ہے، اگر ایک جگہ ایک لفظ استعمال ہوا ہے تو دوسری جگہ اس کا متبادل لفظ استعمال کیا گیا ہے. ہر کردار کی گفتگو کا لہجہ مختلف ہے، جس سے معلوم ہوتا ہے کہ میر امن چیزوں کو گہرائی سے دیکھنے کے عادی تھے.
میر امن کتاب کے دیباچے میں لکھتے ہیں کہ یہ قصہ امیر خسرو دہلوی نے اپنے پیر حضرت نظام الدین اولیا زربخش کو سنایا تھا اور وہ شفا یاب ہوگئے تھے، تب انہوں نے یہ دعا دی کہ جو بھی اس قصے کو سنے گا وہ خدا کے فضل سے تندرست رہے گا. لیکن اس سلسلے میں کوئی ثبوت یا روایت موجود نہیں، بلکہ ناقدین کہتے ہیں کہ کسی قصّے کی مقبولیت دیکھتے ہوئے اس کی اہمیت کو دوبالا کرنے کے لیے اسے کسی بڑی شخصیت سے جوڑ دیا جاتا ہے تا کہ سننے والے کے دل میں عقیدت پیدا ہو.
اس کتاب کو مرتب پروفیسر ابن کنول نے کیا ہے جو کہ صدر شعبہ اردو دہلی یونیورسٹی ہیں. اس کتاب کی اشاعت ٢٠١٣ میں ہوئی تھی. مرتب نے بڑی باریکی سے اس کتاب پر تبصرہ لکھا ہے جو کتاب کے شروع میں شامل ہے، اس تبصرے کو پڑھ لیا جائے تو اس کتاب اور میر امن کا مکمل پس منظر سمجھ آجاتا ہے. اس کتاب کو پڑھتے دوران میں ایک منفرد احساس میں تھا کہ دو صدیاں قبل لکھی جانے والی کتاب پڑھ رہا ہوں.
یہ کتاب " باغ و بہار" ہمارے سلیبس (یونیورسٹی آف سرگودھا) میں بھی شامل ہے، جو کہ پانچویں میقات میں پڑھائی جاتی ہے، میں نے اپنے ایک سینئر سے اس کتاب کے متعلق پوچھا تو انہوں نے بتایا کہ یہ داستان کے انداز میں ہے، شاید آپ کو سمجھ نہ آئے، مگر میں اس سے قبل "داستان الف لیلیٰ" بھی پڑھ چکا ہوں، ان دونوں میں ایک چیز متماثل ہے کہ ایک قصے سے اگلا قصہ اور پھر اس سے اگلا قصہ نکلتا ہے، جیسے دو بادشاہ بیٹھے ہیں اور ایک کہانی سنا رہا ہے تو اس کی کہانی میں کوئی کردار بھی کہانی سنا رہا ہوگا اور اس کی کہانی کا کردار پھر کہانی سنا رہا ہوگا، تو بعض افراد تو اسی میں ہی الجھ سکتے ہیں کہ کہانی شروع کہاں سے ہوئی تھی اور شروع کی کس نے تھی؟ ایک روز یونیورسٹی روڈ سے گزر رہا تھا تو وہاں ایک کتب میلے سے یہ کتاب خرید لی اور اب پڑھ بھی لی، یوں میں نے پانچویں سمیسٹر کے سلیبس کی کتاب تیسرے سمیسٹر میں ہی پڑھ لی (فیلنگ پراؤڈ) ….
اگر آپ کو یہ کتاب ملے تو ضرور پڑھیں، بہت کچھ سیکھنے کو بھی ملے گا، اور اس کے علاوہ ہلکا پھلکا رومانس بھی موجود ہے، باتوں کو بے دھڑک لکھ دیا گیا ہے، لفظ مباشرت بھی پانچ، سات مرتبہ پڑھنے کو ملتا ہے. حالانکہ یہ کتاب انگریزوں کو اردو سکھانے کے لئے لکھی گئی تھی مگر ہم اردو سمجھتے ہیں پھر بھی اس کتاب میں بے شمار اردو کے الفاظ ایسے ہیں جن کے متعلق ہمیں علم ہی نہیں تھا کہ یہ اردو کے الفاظ ہیں، جب پانچویں سمیسٹر میں دوبارہ پڑھیں گے تب مزید گہرائی میں جا کر پڑھیں گے ان شاءاللہ. اسی کے ساتھ اختتام کرتا ہوں، اگر آپ کو شوق پیدا ہوا ہو تو ضرور پڑھئیے گا…..
کتاب کے اختتام پر میر امن کے کچھ بہترین اشعار بھی موجود ہیں، اُن میں سے دو شعر ملاحظہ فرمائیں :

مجھے بھول جاویں گے سب بعد مرگ
رہے گا مگر یہ سخن یادگار
اسے جو پڑھے یاد مجھ کو کرے
یہی قاریوں سے مرا ہے قرار

عـــــمـــͬــᷧـــᷟـــͧــــر فاروـــᷭــᷳــᷳــᷢـــᷧـــᷫــق
١٧ جنوری ٢٠٢٢

[Lulu]

These stories were originally written in Persian by Amir Khusro (early 14th, before 1325) as Qissa-ye Chahār Darvēsh [now lost?]. It was initially translated by Mir Husain Ata Tehseen into Urdu as Nav Tarz-e-Murassaa (نو طرزِ مُرصّع, "New Ornate Style") but the language was a highly literate one and was not understood by general public to enjoy. In 1801, College of Fort William in Calcutta started a project translating Indian literature. Mr. John Borthwick Gilchrist, a famous scholar of literature, asked Mir Amman, an employee of the college, to translate it into the Urdu language. Mir Amman translated it from Persian into everyday Urdu, under the title Bāgh o Bahār in 1803. Later, in 1857, Duncan Forbes retranslated it into English. The translation of Mir Amman is still enjoyed as a classical work of Urdu Literature for the common daily language of its time.

https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/2...

Another trans “BAGH O BAHAR OR THE GARDEN AND THE SPRING BEING THE ADVENTURES OF KING AZAD BAKHT AND THE FOUR DARWESHES LITERALLY TRANSLATED FROM THE URDÜ OF MIR ANMAN, OF DIHLi
WITH COPIOUS EXPLANATORY NOTES, AND AN INTRODUCTORY PREFACE BY
EDWARD B. EASTWICK, F.R.S., M.R.A.S.” 1852

Another trans “THE BAGH-O-BAHAR TRANSLATED INTO ENGLISH BY BAWA CHHAJJU SINGE” 1912

[Syed Ali Hussain Bukhari · Rating 5 out of 5]

باغ و بہار
از: میر امن دہلوی

'قصہ چہار درویش' سے ماخوذ یا کتاب 'نو طرز مرصع' کا ترجمہ، یہ شاہکار داستانوں کا ایسا مجموعہ ہے جو نا صرف بچپن کی یادوں کو کھینچ کر واپس لاتی ہے بلکہ بعض اوقات تو یوں گمان ہوتا ہے کہ قاری بذات خود ہر درویش اور بادشاہ آزاد بخت کا ہمراہی ہے۔
دہلوی اردو کی چاشنی لئے میر امن نے اسے قاری کیلئے واقعی باغ و بہار بنا دیا ہے کہ جب چاہے اس سدا بہار باغ کی سیر کرے اور انوکھے دیس، پردیس، بلاد، دشت، صحرا، پہاڑ، دریا کا چپہ چپہ ملاحظہ کرتا پھرے اور زندگانی کی ایسی ایسی صورتوں کی عقدہ کشائ اور مہم جوئ میں جٹا رہے، جن کا حقیقت کے ساتھ باطنی تعلق ہے۔
یقینا ایسی کتب 'سرمایہ ء اردو' کہلائے جانے کی سزاوار ہیں، جو مطالعہ کے ذوق اور لطف کے ساتھ زبان سے آشنائ اور قرب کا باعث بنتی ہیں۔ اور یہ ہی نہیں بلکہ پڑھنے والے کی باطنی تربیت کا بھی موجب بنتی ہیں کہ مرد کو ہمیشہ راست بازی سے کام رکھنا چاہیئے اور دنیا داری کے بھٹکاووں اور بہکاووں سے اپنے تئیں بچنا چاہیئے۔
اور بلاشبہ 'باغ و بہار' ان میں صف اول موجود ہے۔

[Aditi · Rating 3 out of 5]

stories within stories within stories! :D
two things: i think such mystical tales were used basically as an important tool in the propagation of Islam, weren't they? also, again, the problem with the notes all clubbed in the end, cause of which I had to keep turning back n forth to keep reading interesting side-trivia (most stuff was known since I'm an Indian, still.)
in any case, bagh-o-bahar is esp amazing since I didn't know I still could be sucked in by such ridonculous and periodically-ancient (and hence, obv sexist and racist) nonsense! I think this calls for yet another reread of A.K. Ramanujan's Folk Tales, or other such childhood(ignorance)-faves I have. :D

[fizz I · Rating 3 out of 5]

Culturally rich and succeeds in the creation of an otherworldly atmosphere. Its tales were curious, riddled with mystery that even the supernatural could not account for. I wish there was more communication between the four dervishes, so that a genuine relationship could be built and explored in the text. Perhaps they could make connections between their grief rather than merely listen and wait for their turn to storytell.

[Zakir Aatish Khan · Rating 1 out of 5]

They faint again and again. The book doesn't stand the test of time as women portrayed in the book are objectified again and again as though there's nothing in a women apart from their physical beauty. They have epitomized the physical beauty to unnecessary extent. I don't see any trace of mysticism in the dervishes. They seem to be suffering from blue balls and thats all.

[Stantontas · Rating 3 out of 5]

Gentle introduction to non-western storytelling tradition.