Raja Sultan Feroze Sufi (1905–1996): Poet, Satirist and Chronicler of a Changing Society

By  Syed Shamsuddin

Raja Sultan Feroze Sufi — The Wit, Voice and Memory of Old Gilgit

Raja Sultan Feroze Sufi (1905–1996), a retired Subedar Major of the legendary Gilgit Scouts, was one of the most distinctive and memorable personalities to grace the historic Royal Polo Ground in Gilgit. From the pre-Partition era well into the 1990s, he remained a much-loved public figure, captivating generations with his wit, humour, poetry and remarkable command of the spoken word.

Sufi was not merely a poet and entertainer; he was a keen observer of society and a gifted satirist who possessed the rare ability to turn the changing realities of everyday life into lively verse and gentle humour. Through his poetry, he humorously captured the emergence of new fashions, changing social attitudes and the gradual erosion of traditional customs and cultural practices. His verses invited laughter, but beneath that laughter lay a perceptive commentary on a society undergoing profound transformation.

In this sense, Sultan Feroze Sufi may aptly be remembered as a chronicler of social change in verse. He preserved, through humour and poetry, glimpses of a vanishing social world while gently holding up a mirror to the society of his time. His contribution therefore extends beyond entertainment and belongs to the cultural and literary memory of old Gilgit.

A Collar Like a Goat’s Ear

Among the comic verses attributed to him, one particularly memorable line, still recalled by many, runs:

“Kan bakree ke tarah kurtay ke collar ho gaye.”
“Lo and behold! Shirt collars have become like the ears of a goat!”

The verse is a delightful example of Sufi’s talent for transforming an ordinary social phenomenon into memorable satire. In the early 1970s, when unusually broad and elongated shirt collars became fashionable, he likened them, with characteristic comic exaggeration, to the floppy ears of a goat.

What might otherwise have been a fleeting fashion trend was thus immortalised in a single humorous observation. The laughter it provoked also carried a deeper message: traditional tastes, manners and conventions were changing rapidly, and the fashions of the new age were steadily replacing those of the past.

That was the particular genius of Sufi's humour. He could make his audience laugh at something seemingly trivial while simultaneously drawing attention to the larger changes taking place around them.

The Wit and Presence of Mind of Sultan Feroze Sufi

Sufi's remarkable sense of humour was not confined to the stage. Stories from his life also reveal an extraordinary presence of mind and an instinctive ability to turn even the most ordinary encounter into an amusing anecdote.

One such story is associated with his days as a Subedar Major of the Gilgit Scouts. It is said that a landline telephone call was once received, reportedly from a Gilgit Scouts post in Northern Hunza. Instead of the Havaldar responsible for operating the telephone, Sufi himself happened to answer the call.

He asked the caller to identify himself. The caller replied in Burushaski:

“Jeh Hunzum Ziarat ba.”
“I am Ziarat from Hunza.”

When the caller then asked who was speaking, Sufi responded immediately:

“Jeh Nagirum Karbala ba.”
“I am Karbala from Nagar.”

The sheer spontaneity of the response captures the essence of Sufi's humour. “Ziarat” and “Karbala” carry strong cultural and religious associations, and his playful juxtaposition of the two names with Hunza and Nagar transformed an otherwise routine telephone conversation into a story worth remembering.

Whether this particular anecdote is recalled verbatim or has acquired some embellishment through oral retelling, it reflects the qualities for which Sufi was remembered: quick wit, presence of mind, playful intelligence and an extraordinary instinct for humour.

His humour was never simply humour for its own sake. It arose from a close observation of people, places, language, customs and the changing world around him. On the stage of the Royal Polo Ground, he could command an audience; in an ordinary conversation, he could turn a simple exchange into a memorable moment.

“Sufi Ka Ashiana”

Those who lived in Gilgit during the 1970s, 1980s and 1990s may also remember Sufi Sahib's impressive residence on the road leading towards Chinar Bagh, in the locality known as Haiderpura. The house was fondly known as “Sufi Ka Ashiana” — Sufi's Abode.

For many residents of old Gilgit, the name itself evoked the personality of the man who lived there—a figure whose presence, poetry and humour had become part of the city's social landscape. Sadly, following Sufi Sahib's death in 1996, the old house and whatever remained of its original vestiges gradually disappeared. Today, even the physical traces of Sufi Ka Ashiana have faded, surviving principally in the memories of those who knew the place and its remarkable occupant.

A Lasting Place in Gilgit's Cultural Memory

Raja Sultan Feroze Sufi was therefore much more than a poet or entertainer. He was a satirist, raconteur, social observer and an institution of wit in his own right. Through his poetry and humour, he recorded the subtle transformations of a society moving from an older, more traditional world into a new and rapidly changing age.

His verses made people laugh, but they also made them notice. His anecdotes entertained, but they also revealed a sharp understanding of human nature. And his presence on the Royal Polo Ground stage provided generations of Gilgit's people with moments of shared laughter that have endured long after the occasions themselves have passed.

In remembering Sultan Feroze Sufi today, one is therefore remembering not merely an individual poet or a retired soldier of the Gilgit Scouts, but a distinctive voice of old Gilgit—a man who turned humour into social commentary and poetry into a record of his times.

His laughter has fallen silent, his stage has become part of history, and Sufi Ka Ashiana has disappeared from the physical landscape. Yet his wit, verses and stories remain woven into the collective memory of Gilgit, ensuring that the name of Raja Sultan Feroze Sufi continues to be recalled with affection, admiration and respect.

Postscript: The writer has no further information about Sufi Sahib and has simply recorded, in passing, whatever little he happened to know about him.