In the 18th century (late
Mughal period), a beautiful girl,
Sohni, was born to a potter named
Tulla. Their family belonged to the
Kumhar community, and lived in the town of
Gujrat in northern
Punjab. At the time, Gujrat, located on the banks of river
Chenab, was a
caravanserai on the trade route between
Bukhara and
Delhi. As Sohni grew up, she helped her father decorate his pots. Their shop is said to have been near
Ram Pyari Mahal by the river. As soon as the
Surahis (water-pitchers) and mugs came off the wheel, she would draw artistic designs on them and set them up for sale.
Izzat Baig Izzat Baig, a rich trader from
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 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 "Mahiwal" (buffalo herder in
Punjabi).
Sohni's marriage 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. 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.
Tragic end 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. ==Sindhi version==