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Umro Ayyar

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Umro Ayyar
First appearanceHamzanama
In-universe information
NicknameUmro
GenderMale
WeaponSuleimani
HomeTilism-e-Hoshruba

Umro Ayyar or Amar Ayyar is a fictional character, an ayyār,[a] in Tilism-e-Hoshruba, an Urdu recension of the Islamic epic Hamzanama (originally in Persian). He was first written about during the time of Mughal Emperor Akbar and many stories and novels have been written about him since.[1][2]

Modern Urdu authors like Zaheer Ahmed,[3] Mazhar Kaleem,[4] Safdar Shaheen and Akhter Rizvi[5] have written various different stories about the character.

Summary

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is a thief and most famous character of the Hamzanama after Amir Hamza, the titular hero of the epic. He's known for his cleverness and theft in the city 'Tilism-e-Hoshruba'. His life is full of adventure. It is his habit to travel around the world and to face evils and bad spirits. Umro has a magical zambeel (bag)[6] from which he can extract whatever he wants. He mostly uses it to show off and to kill evil. He steals from the rich and gives to the poor.

Legacy

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An Indonesian wayang puppet of Amir Hamzah, also known as Wong Agung Jayeng Rana

The immense popularity of the dastan had a long-lasting effect on other forms of fictional narratives. The earliest novels in Urdu as well as Hindi often seem nothing more than simplified or bowdlerized forms of Dastans. Babu Devaki Nandan Khatri's Chandrakanta and Chandrakanta Santati and Ratan Nath Dhar Sarshar's Fasana-e-Azad are only the two most stellar examples of this genre.[7] Chandrakanta bears the direct influence of dastans as witnessed in the case of eponymous protagonist Chandrakanta who is trapped in a tilism and the presence of notable ayyars. The dastan also influenced Munshi Premchand (1880-1936) who was fascinated and later on inspired by the stories of Tilism-e Hoshruba that he heard at the tobacconist shop in his childhood days. The conventions of the dastan narrative also conditioned Urdu theatre: the trickster Ayyar, permanent friend of Hamza provided the convention of the hero's [comic] sidekick that achieved culmination in the Hindi cinema of the sixties.

The story is also performed in Indonesian puppet theatre, where it is called Wayang Menak. Here, Hamza is also known as Wong Agung Jayeng Rana or Amir Ambyah.

Frances Pritchett's former student at Columbia University, Pasha Mohamad Khan, who currently teaches at McGill University, researches qissa/dastan (romances) and the art of dastan-goi (storytelling), including the Hamzanama.[8]

In fiction

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Films

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Film Director Played by
Chandrakanta (1956)[9] G. P. Sippy
Umro Ayyar - A New Beginning (2024) Azfar Jafri Usman Mukhtar[10]
Taalismaan (unreleased) Ram Madhvani Amitabh Bachchan

Animated films

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Film Director Played by
The Chronicles of Umro Ayyar (unreleased) Syed Arsalan Ali
Haris Basharat[11]
Afraz Rasool

Dramas

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Drama Writer Played by
Ainak Wala Jin (1993) Abdul Hameed Nisar Butt[12]
Chandrakanta (1994)[13] Devaki Nandan Khatri Brahmachari
Kahani Chandrakanta Ki (2011) Shrikant Vishvakarma Sparsh Sharma
Chandrakanta (2017)[14] Devaki Nandan Khatri
Ekta Kapoor
Punit Talreja
Prem Ya Paheli – Chandrakanta (2017)[15] Devaki Nandan Khatri Chandan K Anand

Other books

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No. Book Writer(s) Publisher
1 Hamzanama Ghalib Lakhnavi Modern Library
2 Chandrakanta Devaki Nandan Khatri Lehri Book Depot
3 Umru Ayar (comic series)[16] Hasan Ansari Kachee Goliyan
4 Tilism-e-Hoshruba[17] Shahnaz Aijazuddin Penguin Books Ltd
5 Hoshruba: The Land and the Tilism[18] Musharraf Ali Farooqi Penguin Random House Pvt. Ltd

References

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  1. ^ A class warriors and outlaws in the medieval Islamic world.
  1. ^ "Ayyar, ʻUmro (Fictitious character) [WorldCat Identities]".
  2. ^ Ahmad, Dr Saeed; Fatima, Ambar (1 March 2020). "عمر و عیار۔ داستانِ امیر حمزہ کا ایک دلچسپ کردار". Noor e Tahqeeq. 4 (13): 49–55 – via ojs.lgu.edu.pk.
  3. ^ "Umro Aur Botal Ka Jin by Zaheer Ahmed]". 7 July 2019.
  4. ^ "Umro Aur Veran Qila by Mazhar Kaleem M.A]".
  5. ^ "Tilism-i-Hoshruba: Umro Ayyar Collection Series".
  6. ^ "Zambeel – The legendary bag of tricks". Zambeel Dramatic Readings. 28 April 2013.
  7. ^ Introduction to Dastangoi. dastangoi.blogspot.com.
  8. ^ "Pasha M. Khan | Institute of Islamic Studies - McGill University". www.mcgill.ca. Retrieved 16 March 2016.
  9. ^ "Chandrakanta (1956)". Cinemaazi.
  10. ^ "Umro Ayyar: Usman Mukhtar revives the Persian legend of magic, adventure". Geo News. 17 November 2021.
  11. ^ "The Chronicles of Umro Ayyar". IMDb. 21 April 2023.
  12. ^ "NISAR BUTT in Ainak Wala Jin". FUN4ALL.
  13. ^ "Chandrakanta (1994)". Indiancine.ma.
  14. ^ "Chandrakanta (2017)". Indiancine.ma.
  15. ^ "Prem Ya Paheli: Chandrakanta (2017)". Indiancine.ma.
  16. ^ "Comic review: Umru Ayar, the rebirth of a hero". The Express Tribune. 28 April 2013.
  17. ^ Tilism-e-Hoshruba. Penguin UK. 30 October 2009. ISBN 9788184758245. {{cite book}}: |website= ignored (help)
  18. ^ "The Magical Tale of Hoshruba, a Dastangoi Classic". Asia Society.