Shamus Rahman Faruqi’s The Mirror of Beauty, they say, ‘captures Delhi so vividly that you can imagine yourself there.’ Reading this, I was wondering why hasn’t anybody attempted to write about Shah Hussain‘s life and times in Lahore as a novel?
The man freely roamed around in the streets of Lahore, practically challenging and breaking every social norm. He fell for a Hindu guy and openly courted him—much to the dislike of his family and people. He was possibly a witness to the state execution of Dulla Bhatti, the great folk hero of Punjab. He wrote and sang breathtakingly beautiful poems in the streets of Lahore. Dara Shikoh knew him and mentions him in his book.
It sure was a vibrant time for Lahore. There’s so much a novelist can use as the base material. Imagination could handle the rest. You could have Dulla Bhatti as a character. How cool would that be!