Sohni Mahiwal

Sohni Mahiwal (Punjabi: [soː(ɦ)ɳiː məɦĩʋaːl]) or Suhni Mehar is a classical Punjabi–Sindhi folk tragedy. Set in northern Punjab or central Sindh, depending upon the version of the tragedy, the folktale depicts the separation of two lovers and their tragic demise.

In Punjab, it is one of four of the most popular romances, the other three being Heer Ranjha, Mirza Sahiban and Sassui Punnhun. In Sindh, it is one of the seven popular tragic romances. The other six are Sassui Punnhun, Umar Marvi, Momal Rano, Lilan Chanesar, Sorath Rai Diyach and Noori Jam Tamachi.

Sohni Mahiwal is a tragic love story which inverts the classical motif of Hero and Leander. The heroine Sohni, forcibly and unhappily married to a man she despises, swims every night across the river using an earthenware pot to keep afloat in the water, to where her beloved Mahiwal herds buffaloes. One night her sister-in-law replaces the earthenware pot with a vessel of unbaked clay, which dissolves in water and she dies in the whirling waves of the river.