BARAMULLA Renowned Kashmiri mystic poet and Sufi figure Mohammad Sultan Najar, popularly known as Sule Chaan, was laid to rest at his ancestral village of Bandi Payeen in Kalantra area of Baramulla district on Wednesday, with a large number of people from different walks of life attending his funeral prayers.
Sule Chaan breathed his last on Tuesday evening. His demise has left his family, disciples and admirers mourning the loss of a poet whose compositions were deeply rooted in Kashmir’s Rishi-Sufi literary tradition.
Known for his Kashmiri verses centred on divine love, devotion and Marifat (spiritual knowledge), Sule Chaan composed ghazals, nazams, naats and manqabats that found expression through recitation and devotional music.
Despite having no formal education or conventional literary training, he developed a distinctive poetic style that earned him recognition among admirers of Kashmiri mystical poetry.
His compositions were documented in collections, including Anhar-e-Bawan and Asrar-e-Bawan, published during literary functions organised at Bandi Payeen by Bhar Adab Telgam Pattan in collaboration with Radio Kashmir Srinagar and the Information Department Baramulla.
His disciple, Ghulam Rasool Khursheed, played a significant role in collecting and preserving his compositions, helping bring his oral and handwritten poetic legacy into published form.
Recalling the effort, Khursheed said collecting the verses had been challenging as the poet was unable to write them in a form that others could easily read. He said he gradually learned to decipher the compositions and undertook the task of preserving them through publication.
Sule Chaan’s poetry explored the relationship between the human soul and the Divine, the pursuit of spiritual knowledge and the limitations of worldly understanding. His verses conveyed complex spiritual ideas through the Kashmiri language and everyday cultural experiences.
His death has also drawn attention to the importance of documenting Kashmir’s oral literary traditions, particularly the work of mystic poets whose compositions have survived through recitation, devotional music and the efforts of disciples and admirers.
For his followers and admirers, Sule Chaan’s legacy will endure through his published collections and the verses that reflected his spiritual journey and devotion.
