Babu Rajab Ali was born on Aug 10th, 1894 in a Muslim family of Rajputs in the village of Sahoke district Faridkot (now Dist. Moga). His father's name was Mian Dhamaali Khan and his mother's name was Jiyooni. Babu ji went to primary school in the neighboring village of Bambeeha bhai and then to high school in Moga and passed his matriculation in 1912 from Barjindra High School, Faridkot. Later on he graduated with a diploma in Civil Engineering, commonly known as Overseeri in Punjabi during those days, from an engineering school in Gujraat district. Babu Rajab Ali worked as an overseer in irrigation department all his life and was affectionately called Babu ji by people. Canals were being laid all throughout Punjab in those days and whole landscape was changing, and that was probably first and last time when the word Babu ji was respected with praise and thankfulness in rural Punjab. I believe it was sweetness of language in Babu Rajab Ali's poetry and personality that changed the meanings of phrase 'Babu ji' forever. During the World War II, Babu ji also went to Basra, Baghdad in Iraq and saw "Rabb dian karagariaN" which he has mentioned in his poetry. He worked throughout Punjab and also near Peshawar, as a result he was well-traveled person by the standards of that time. He was fluent in Punjabi and Urdu and knew some Persian, Arabic and English but his poetry was to be only in Punjabi and that too in the ThaiTh Malwaii accent.
Babu ji had hundreds of shagird/students who learned Kavishari from him and sung his Kavishari in Punjabi melas. He was madly in love with Malwa and Punjabi poetry and probably at the peak of his life when one day in 1947 he had to leave his beloved village of Sahoke, his students, his admirers and family history of hundreds of years and leave for Pakistan. Babu ji went to Pakistan but his soul always wandered in Malwa and he wrote hundreds of poems on his separation from his beloved people and places. His family got some land allotted in OkaaRa and settled there. Babu ji visited East Punjab in March 1965 and thousands of Malwai Kavishar(s) came to see their beloved Babu ji.
Babu Rajab Ali wrote about 1 dozen kissas and long poems about Hindu mythology like Puran Bhagat, KaullaN, Ramayan, Raja Rattan Sainn etc.; about 15 kissa about Muslim heroes and historic figures like Hassan Hussain, Hazrat Mohammad, Dahood Badshah etc.; another 15 kissas about Sikh history and heroes like Shaheedi Guru Arjun Dev, Saka Sarhind, Saka Chamkaur, Bidhi Chand de ghoRhay etc. He also wrote almost an episode or a kissa about every known Punjabi folktale like Heer Ranjha, Dulla Bhatti, Mirza, and Bhagat Singh etc. The breadth of the subjects chosen indicates how open hearted and secular poet Babu Rajab Ali was. Interestingly, most of his kissas related to Hindu heroes and figures were written during his life in Pakistan. His love for Punjab and Punjabi was unconditional and not bound by walls of religions or nationalities.
Babu ji passed away on to the next world on May 6, 1979, singing songs of Punjabi and longing for seeing his village Sahoke of his childhood and youth again. Babu ji is a pride of Punjabi language and will live forever in hearts of Punjabis. His poems are still sung by hundreds of Kavishars in Punjab who claim with pride that they are shagirds of Babu Rajab Ali.
ChaaraN De Baint saayeya saNghni sard jaroor diNde pippal, nimmh, sareeNh te bohrr chaare
dukh den, na challiye pair naNge kaNda, kaNch ar theekri rorr chaare
pichhe lagiiyaan laihn bimaariyaan na daNd, khaNgh, adhraNg te kohrr chaare
vass bhoot sapoot servant chelaa nahiN karn zabaan se morr chaare
daata, bhaND, ghaNDdh-kaTT, juyaariya vi dhan din mein den nakhor chaare
jati sakhi avtaar te hore soora theek rakhde dharam di lorr chaare
dil dudh te kaNch samet pathar phate judn na pher lagg jorr chaare
sassu, harn, jackaal samet loombarr kutta dekh ke jaan sir torr chaare
thaanedaar, mutiyaar, chakor, haathi jadon turnge karn marorr chaare
ikk velna, jok te bhaur makkhi bhare rasaan nu lain nachorr chaare
duuti, chugal, angrez, badkaar tiwiin den yaar se yaar vichorr chaare
rajab ali kabbit te baiNt dohra lawaan chhaNd mukkaNd maiN jorr chaare _________________________________________________
Tinna De Baint ikk tope, pastaul, baNdook teeji dabbo liblibi karNge phair tinne
haNs, pheel, muklaawe jo naar aayi maRak naal uthaaNwde pair tinne
agan-boat, te sher, saNsaar teeja sidhhe jaan dareya choN tair tinne
jhooth bolde, bolde sachch thoda thekedaar, vakeel te shair tinne
ikk sarp te hore baNdeyaal thuuNhaa rehn har ghadi gholde zaihr tinne
chhaal maar diwaar ton tapp jaande naar, chohrTa, lalkari Tair tinne
jooyebaaz te TamTama vauhn waala ate weswa sharam bagair tinne
naacha, nakliya aur gavaNtri vi jithe khaRan lagaaNwde laihr tinne
nawaaN aashqi, te gadha, gaah waala theek bhaalde sikhar dupaihr tinne
shahukaar, hakeem, clerk teeja vele shaam de karnge sair tinne
uuth, saahn te aur pathaan teeja diloN nahiN gawaaNwde vair tinne
rajab ali ghulam te jatt, choohra, rajje nahiN guzaarde khair tinne
in punjabi
ਇੱਕ ਤੋਪ,ਪਸਤੌਲ,ਬੰਦੂਕ ਤੀਜੀ,
ਦੱਬੋ ਲਿਬਲਿਬੀ ਕਰਨਗੇ ਫ਼ੈਰ ਤਿੰਨੇਂ |
ਹੰਸ,ਫ਼ੀਲ,ਮੁਕਲਾਵੇ ਜੋ ਨਾਰ ਆਈ,
ਮੜਕ ਨਾਲ ਉਠਾਂਵਦੇ ਪੈਰ ਤਿੰਨੇਂ |
ਅਗਨ-ਬੋਟ,ਤੇ ਸ਼ੇਰ ,ਸੰਸਾਰ ਤੀਜਾ,
ਸਿੱਧੇ ਜਾਣ ਦਰਿਆ ਚੋਂ ਤੈਰ ਤਿੰਨੇਂ |
ਝੂਠ ਬੋਲਦੇ,ਬੋਲਦੇ ਸੱਚ ਥੋੜਾ,
ਠੇਕੇਦਾਰ,ਵਕੀਲ ਤੇ ਸ਼ਾਇਰ ਤਿੰਨੇਂ |
ਇੱਕ ਸਰਪ ਤੇ ਹੋਰ ਬੰਡਿਆਲ ਠੂੰਹਾ,
ਰਹਿਣ ਹਰ ਘੜੀ ਘੋਲਦੇ ਜ਼ਹਿਰ ਤਿੰਨੇਂ |
ਛਾਲ ਮਾਰ ਦੀਵਾਰ ਨੂੰ ਟੱਪ ਜਾਂਦੇ,
ਨਾਰ,ਚੋਰਟਾ,ਲੱਲਕਰੀ ਟੈਰ ਤਿੰਨੇਂ |
ਜੂਏਬਾਜ਼ ਤੇ ਟਮਟਮਾਂ ਵਾਹੁਣ ਵਾਲਾ,
ਅਤੇ ਵੇਸਵਾ ਸ਼ਰਮ ਬਗ਼ੈਰ ਤਿੰਨੇਂ |
ਨਾਚਾ,ਨਕਲੀਆ ਔਰ ਗਾਮੰਤਰੀ ਵੀ,
ਜਿੱਥੇ ਖੜਦੇ ਲਗਾਂਵਦੇ ਲਹਿਰ ਤਿੰਨੇਂ |
ਨਵਾਂ ਆਸ਼ਕ,ਤੇ ਗਧਾ,ਘਾਹ ਗੌਣ ਵਾਲਾ,
ਠੀਕ ਭਾਲਦੇ ਸਿਖ਼ਰ ਦੁਪਹਿਰ ਤਿੰਨੇਂ |
ਊਠ,ਸਾਹਨ ਤੇ ਅਉਰ ਪਠਾਨ ਤੀਜਾ,
ਦਿਲੋਂ ਨਹੀਂ ਗੰਵਾਂਵਦੇ ਵੈਰ ਤਿੰਨੇਂ |
‘ਰਜ਼ਬ ਅਲੀ’ ਗ਼ਲਾਮ ਤੇ ਜੱਟ,ਮੱਜਬੀ,
ਰੱਜੇ ਨਹੀਂ ਗੁਜ਼ਾਰਦੇ ਖ਼ੈਰ ਤਿੰਨੇਂ |
ਸਿਆਣੇ ਦੀ ਮੱਤ-----
ਸਿਆਣੇ ਦੀ ਮੱਤ ਕੰਮ ਆਵਂਦੀ ਉਮਰ ਸਾਰੀ,
ਹਾਕਮਾ ਦੇ ਕੋਲ ਜਾ ਸੁਣਾਈਏ ਗੱਲ ਕੱਬੀ ਨਾ |
ਮਾਇਆ ਤੇ ਜ਼ਮੀਨ ਤੇ ਭਰਾਵਾਂ ਦਾ ਨਾ ਮਾਣ ਹੋਵੇਂ ,
ਐਵੇਂ ਵਿੱਚ ਪਿੰਡ ਦੇ ਸਦਾਈਏ ਖ਼ਾਨ ਖੱਬੀ ਨਾ |
ਆਪਣੀ ਜਨਾਨੀ ਪਾਸ; ਹੱਸੀਏ ਨਾ ਹੋਰ ਨਾਲ,
ਖੇਲਣੇ ਨੂੰ ਬਾਲ ਕੋ ਫੜਾਈਏ ਫ਼ੀਮ ਡੱਬੀ ਨਾ |
ਜਾਣਾ ਪਰਦੇਸ ਦਮ ਦੂਣੇ ਲੈ ਜ਼ਰੂਰਤਾਂ ਤੋਂ,
ਹੱਲ ਵਾਹੁੰਦੇ ‘ਬਾਬੁ ਜੀ’ ਹੰਡਾਈਏ ਪੱਗ ਛੱਬੀ ਨਾ |
