Sohni Mahiwal

Suhni was married to Dam (Sindhi: ڏم), by caste Wahucho. During the rituals of the marriage of Suhni & Dam, their parents forgot to offer them milk as a tradition and when the married party was returning and was delayed to cross the river; while staying on a river bank, a few old ladies felt unpleasant not to offer the milk to the married couple and asked to perform the same ritual and nearby was Mehar's cattle farm who offered them milk which was drunk by Suhni. As soon as she drank the milk, she got disturbed and was attracted to Mehar. She used to visit Mehar daily while crossing the river. But she soon was exposed to her parents, who forbade her to meet Mehar but all in vain. This practice continued and her mother-in-law one night replaced the baked earthen pot with an unbaked one. Suhni did not check the pot as usual and started swimming in the river. When she reached the deep waters, the unbaked pot was destroyed and she was drowned. While she was crying, Mehar heard her and called the fisherman to save her. But it was too late and finally, the dead body of Suhni was recovered. Mehar himself buried her and got constructed a tomb over her grave which is still visited by people in Shahdadpur. Later on, after a few years, Mehar also expired and was buried in Shahdadpur City.[14]

Tomb of Sohni in Shahdadpur, Sindh

In Sindh, Suhni's shrine is located at Shahdadpur city of Sanghar District and is still visited by people.[15]

Shahzada Izzat Baig, a rich trader from Bukhara (Uzbekistan), came to Punjab on business and halted in Gujrat. Here he saw Sohni at the shop and was completely smitten. Just to get a glimpse of Sohni, he would end up buying the water pitchers and mugs every day.

Sohni too lost her heart to Izzat Baig. Instead of returning to Bukhara with his caravan, the noble-born Izzat Baig took up the job of a servant in the house of Tulla. He would even take their buffaloes for grazing. Soon, he came to be known as Mehar or "Mahiwal" (buffalo herder since buffalo is called Mai'n/mahi in Punjabi language).

The love of Sohni and Mahiwal caused a commotion within the Kumhar community. It was not acceptable that a daughter from this community would marry an outsider, so her parents immediately arranged her marriage with another potter. On the day the "barat" (marriage party) of that potter arrived at her house, Sohni felt helpless and lost. She was sent off to the husband's house in a Doli (palanquin).

Izzat Baig renounced the world and started living as a faqir (hermit). He eventually moved to a small hut across the river Chenab from Sohni's new home hamirpur. In the dark of night, when the world was fast asleep, the lovers would meet by the river. Izzat would come to the riverside and Sohni would come to meet him swimming with the help of an inverted hard baked pitcher (inverted so that it would not sink). He would regularly catch a fish and bring it for her. It is said that once, when due to high tide he could not catch a fish, Mahiwal cut a piece of his thigh and roasted it. Sohni didn't realise this at first but then she told Izzat that this fish tastes different. When she kept her hand on his leg, she realised what Mahiwal had done and this only strengthened their love for each other.

Sohni swims to meet her lover Mahiwal

Meanwhile, rumours of their romantic rendezvous spread. One day Sohni's sister-in-law followed her and saw the hiding place where Sohni kept her earthenware pitcher. She informed her mother, Sohni's mother-in-law, and instead of telling Sohni's husband (who was away on a business trip), the women decided to take the decision in their own hands and finish the matter. The next day, the sister-in-law removed the hard baked pitcher and replaced it with an unbaked one. That night, when Sohni tried to cross the river with the help of the pitcher, it dissolved in the water and Sohni drowned. From the other side of the river, Mahiwal saw Sohni drowning and jumped into the river to save her and drowned as well. Thus, the lovers were reunited in death.