Ghanimat Kunjahi

Little is known about his life with certainty, except that he descended from a family of muftis originating from the village of Kunjah, in Gujrat District.^[2] He was a disciple of Sayyid Muhammad Salih, himself a favourite disciple of Naushah Ganj Bakhsh, a well known saint associated with Qādiriyya Sufi order.^[3] He is reported to have travelled to Kashmir, Kabul and Delhi.^[4] The date of death of Kunjahi is not known: but since he praises Farrukhsiyar (enthroned 1713) in his Golzār-e moḥabbat and his death is mentioned in his nephew Moḥammad Māh Ṣedāqat-e Konjāhī's Ṯawāqeb al-manāqeb (written 1714), he probably died towards the end of 1713.^[5] He is buried in his native village of Kunjah.^[6]

Kunjahi wrote in Persian using the sabk-i hindī style, characterized by a fondness for the ghazal form and an interest in realistic and sometimes erotic themes. His works reflected complex imagery, themes, and syntax.^[7] Notable works of Kunjahi include a Dīvan consisting of 233 ghazals and 12 robāʿīs; Golzār-e moḥabbat, a mathnawi of 591 lines and the Nayrang-i ʿishḳ ('Talisman of Love'), a sentimental and romantic mathnawī of 1500 lines set in Punjab during Kunjahi's time.^[5][7]

Nayrang-i ʿishḳ was written in 1685, and was highly esteemed in India.^[2] The poem starts with the formal praise to the land of Punjab where the story is set. It then tells the tale of love between prince Aziz and a dancer named Shahid.^[2] The poem was translated into several languages in the subsequent centuries. Notable translations include that of Abd al-Hamid Mohmand (in Pashto),^[8] Bhagwant Rai Rāhat (in Urdu) and Mian Muhammad Bakhsh (in Punjabi).^[9]

In popular local memory, Kunjahi was remembered as a miracle worker associated with improving mental faculties, curing insanity, and aiding aspiring poets.^[10] His tomb was revered for its alleged powers, and it became a site for interring other poets, including Shareef Kunjahi.^[11] The Bazm-i-Ghanimat literary organization in Pakistan was named after him.^[12]