Habba Khatoon

Habba Khatoon Biography

Habba Khatoon was a mystic Muslim poet of Kashmir who lived in the 16^th century. She was also known by the name, 'Nightingale of Kashmir'. Her real name was Zoon, which means moon. She was called so as she was very beautiful. She is also known as Zooni. Her songs are very popular and hence she is regarded as a legendary figure of Kashmir. Mye ha kaer chey kit and Che Kamiu Sonei Myani are among her popular songs and she is remembered for her soulful melancholy songs of romance and separation.  

Habba Khatoon was born in 1554 in a Muslim family of Chandrahar, known for its saffron fields in Kashmir. She learnt to read and write from the village Moulvi, which was uncommon for ladies in those days. She was married to Yusuf Shah Chak, a peasant lad and her marriage life was not happy. Her mother-in-law too treated her bad and the couple got separated. She was sent back to her home by her mother-in-law. Later she fell in love with Yusuf Shah Chak and they got married. He became a ruler later after which she was called Habba Khatun. Though the couple led a happy life, Yususk was deceived and imprisoned by Mughal Emperor Akbar. He was imprisoned in Bihar in 1579.

In those separation days, Habba wrote so many poems. It was Habba Khatoon who introduced the word – lol to Kashmiri language, which literally means ‘lyric’. Khatoon spent the rest of her life wandering across the saffron valley singing. Thus her songs are full of the sorrow of separation and her husband never returned back.

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Updated: June 17, 2014