“You are blessed with a daughter, my king,” said the courtier, bowing to the king Adam Khan of Bhambour.

The king did not seem to be much pleased but he gave a pearl string to the courtier as a gift. In those days, people in most of the Asian countries, did not celebrate the births of their daughters because they were looked upon as a burden.

The king summoned Royal Astrologers after a few days of the daughter’s birth.

“My Lord, this girl is a curse for the royal family,” said an astrologer.

The king was highly disturbed and he wanted to get rid of his daughter at any cost.

“Make a wooden chest and put the girl in that chest. Tie an amulet around her neck and throw the chest in the river Chenab!” the king ordered his men.

As per the king’s orders, the wooden chest was thrown into the water. It began to drift away with the currents of the water.

……………………

There was a small village near the river Chenab. There was a washer-man in that village. One morning, while, Atta, the washer-man, was washing clothes on the bank of the river; he saw the wooden chest floating by him. Out of curiosity, he jumped into the water and began to swim towards the chest. In no time he was on the bank with the wooden chest.

When he opened the chest, he found the baby girl smiling at him. The washer-man accepted the little girl as a blessing from the Lord Almighty and brought her home.

The washer-man and his wife were very happy because they did not have any child of their own. They adopted the little girl as their daughter.

…………………….

The king was grieved because his queen did not give birth to any child after the birth of the daughter whom he had thrown into the river Chenab. The kind decided to get married again.

“A washer-man has a very beautiful young daughter, my lord. They say that she is as beautiful as a fairy!” said a courtier one day.

“Can she become my queen?” said the king.

“My lord, your order is God’s command in the kingdom,” said the courtier in a flattering manner.

The king got restless and he summoned the washer-man and his young daughter to the palace. When the king saw Sassi, the washer-man’s daughter, he was spellbound because she was more beautiful than his expectation.

Suddenly, the king’s eyes fell on the amulet around her neck. The king remembered that the queen mother had put that amulet around her neck before she was taken away to be drowned. It was not difficult for the king to recognize that amulet. Parental love and the pent-up sufferings flowed into tears and he began to weep like a child.

“My Lord, control yourself,” said a courtier.

“She is my daughter, my only child. I want her back in the palace and she is going to be the princess,” said the king, the tears still flowing from his eyes.

The king wanted his daughter back so that happiness and life could come back to the palace which had been deprived of any kind of festivity for more than two decades.

“I can’t leave the house where I have grown up. I can’t leave my father,” said Sassi and turned to the washer-man who was standing beside her, his hands folded in obeisance to the king.

The king thought for a while and then ordered his men, “We will give precious gifts, land and gardens to our daughter. She will live like the king’s daughter from now on!”

The washer-man praised the generosity of the king.

Sassi began to live in a big house with her father, the washer-man. Everything was now at her disposal but she wanted to acquire knowledge and she sent for learned teachers and scholars. She was very sincere in her attempts and she began to study very seriously.

One day, Sassi heard about a very rich trader from Gajni. They said that he had an exquisite garden and there was a very rich monument. The inner portion of the monument was decorated with strikingly beautiful paintings.

“I want to visit the place to see the paintings,” said Sassi, one morning, to one of her maid servants.

The arrangements were made and Sassi reached the place to pay her tribute and admire the wonderful art. There were many paintings which left her speechless.
“Whose portrait is that?”

“It is the portrait of Prince Punnu, the son of King Ali Hoot, the ruler of Kicham,” said an attendant.

Sassi wanted to meet Punnu and she could not move her eyes from the portrait.

Having come back home, she ordered that any businessman who visited their town must be introduced to her. She was desperate to meet Punnu.

On the other hand, some businessmen, who had reached Kicham, informed Punnu that Sassi was in love with him.

“I must go and meet her,” said Punnu.

“She is waiting only for you,” said a businessman.

Punnu attired himself as a businessman and, carrying a velvet bag full of expensive Arabian perfumes, reached the town where Sassi lived. He visited her and introduced him as a businessman.

Sassi was overwhelmed and she could not control her emotions and could not help saying, “Oh God, you have heard my plea. Praise to God!”

Punnu and Sassi kept on looking in each other’s eyes for a very long time. The love was overflowing from both sides. Punnu and Sassi spent many days and nights together in gardens, by the river, in valleys. They were deeply in love.

Punnu was a Baluch by birth and his brothers did not like this new relationship with a foreign girl. They developed enmity for Sassi. Following Punnu, they reached the town where Sassi lived and began to keep eye on their activities.

Sassi and Punnu decided to get married and things began to take shape rapidly. The marriage celebrations were in full swing but Punnu’s brothers were burning with anger. They were invited to the marriage and they did pretend to be enjoying themselves. Since they were Punnu’s brothers, no one suspected the ill motives they had in their minds.

Different types of liquors were being served. Punnu’s brothers forced him to drink, though he did not want to because it was his marriage and he did not want to give Sassi any cause which might disappoint her. The brothers made him drunk and it was impossible for Punnu to stand on his own feet. His brothers had brought a camel with them and they tied Punnu to the camel’s back and started their journey back to their hometown, Kicham.

In Sassi’s palace, people began to look for Punnu but they did not find him anywhere.

Next morning, Sassi realized that Punnu had gone back, deserting her. The uncontrollable grief overpowered her and she ran out of her palace. Sassi was barefoot, running towards the town of Punnu. She ran for miles in the burning sand of the desert. It was the journey to the end of the world. Sassi wanted to meet Punnu and ask him why he had left her. She wanted to be with him.

The legend says that Sassi’s end was similar to the end of Phoenix bird (A legendary Arabian bird said to periodically burn itself to death and emerge from the ashes as a new phoenix; according to most versions only one phoenix lived at a time and it renewed itself every 500 years).

They say that while running in the desert under the burning sun, Sassi suddenly exploded into flames and her body turned to ashes in no times.

Even today, in that part of the world, many young girls end their lives when they are unable to be united with their lovers. They say that Phoenix takes rebirth and people believe.

Sassi and Punnu have become legendary tragic hero and heroine and their story is sung, and talked about everywhere in Afghanistan, Pakistan, and Northern Punjab. Young lovers evoke Sassi and Punnu for courage and support when they are stopped by their elders and the society.