Songs in Hindi and Urdu

[Rémy LeBeau]

I'm not sure what it means in this song, I think it has a different idiomatic meaning, but I know in Pashto and Dari it is used sometimes in more formal situations a bit like 'sir', for example if someone important I had just met asked me a question and I wanted to say 'yes', I would say 'Aw/bale qurban' (yes sir).

There are bits in that song that sound like Hindi to me, like for example when the woman first sings, but there are bits that just sound unmistakeably Punjabi because they use the Punjabi ending -ān instead of the Hindi -ūn; Main hān / Main hūn.

[huhmzah]

Hey! Don't lose heart if you guys are a bit confused by this song because as Remy has pointed out -- its actually Punjdi... which is a bastardized version of Punjabi which exists in Bollywoodland -- it's Punjabi infused with enough Hindi and Urdu to make it sort of understandable to the average movie-goer and yet make the song/dialogue sound "rustic"/"ethnic".

The words sohniye and its masc. equivalent sohneya are actually just the words "sohni" and "sohna" (beloved/dear/honey/beautiful) marked in the "vocative" case of Punjabi (i.e. marks words/names which are being addressed directly). Essentially feminine words take on the ending "-iye" (if there is an "-i" it drops), and masculine words take on "-eya" (if there is an "-a"/"-e" ending, it drops). Punjabi also has neutral non-attached vocative markers like "ya" in Arabic -- they are "ni" and/or "vé!"

[In Hindi/Urdu - the vocative case is only evident in some cases. Singular words ending with "-a" change to "-e" in the vocative i.e. "LaRkâ" (boy), "Larke!" (Hey you boy!), Bandâ (man), Xuda'ke Bande! (Oh man of God! = duuuude!) etc. In the plural words take on the ending "-o" -- "Log" (people), Logo! (peoples!), Musalman (muslims), Musalmano! (Oh Muslims!). In Urdu the "-o" also takes on a nasal nun ghunna so "LogoN!"]

Back to Punjabi:

Some examples you might recognize are the famous Bulleh Shah poem "Ki jânan maiN kaun?" (What do I know of myself?) -- (Junoon: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=uBsD3pfLL8s) -- where when he's talking to himself he says/writes "Bulleya!" and not "Bulleh". ANother example is from the oral tradition of Heer Ranjha (PUnjabi's romeo and julliet) where you're often hear the word "Heeriye" (Oh Heer!), and "Ranjheya!" (Oh Ranjheya!).

Look at this couplet by Bulleh Shah -- he belonged to the "Sayyed" lineage who claim ancestry back to Fatima, the daughter of Muhammad (p.) and in certain more rural/backwards part of India starting taking on a "Brahmin" top-caste world-view -- Bulleh's family forbade him from being a spiritual student to an Arayn (Native, Indian-lineage, Aryan, non-Sayyed), a person that Bulleh Shah admired greatly, and this caused him to write several couplets highlighting Islam's egalitarian nature etc: (notice the "vocative case")

"Chal vé Bulleya authé chaliye,
Jithé sare anhé,
Na koi sâDi zât pehçané,
Na koi sânu manné."

"Come Oh Bulleh! Lets go there,
Where everyone is blind,
So no one recognizes my lineage,
And no one respects me (unduly)"

Here's another one on a similar theme that I've always found interesting (since Bulleh Shah seems uncharacteristically enraged in this one). The title of this poem is "Bandeya" (Oh Human!)

Bulleh nu samjhavan aiyan behnan ate bharjaiyan,
Manle Bulleya sada kehna, chadd de palla Araiyan,
Al'e Nabi, Aulad'e Ali nu tun kyun likan laiyan?

Sisters and the neighbourhood-women come to make Bulleh understand,
"Listen to our advice, Oh Bulleh, and leave the Aryan's (non-Sayyed's) hand,
Why tarnish and dirty the Family of the Prophet, the Children of Ali (r.)?"

"Jehra sanun Sayyed sadde, dozakh milen sazaiyyan,
Jo koi sanun Arayn akhé bihishti panglan paiyyan,
Arayn, Sayn sabhi thayn, Rab diyan beparvahiyan,"

[Bulleh replies] "He/She who calls me "Sayyed" such, I wish them perdition in Hell,
He/She who calles me "Arayn" (non-Sayyed, Aryan, Native, "lower-caste"), may he repose upon the thrones of Paradise,
"Arayn" (non-Sayyed, Indian lineage) or "Master" (Sayyed, Arab lineage) are words that the Lord does not hear (care about).

Sohniyan pare hataiyan ne te kujhiyan le gal-laiyan,
Je tu loren bagh baharan chaker ho ja Arayan,
Bulleh Shah di zaat ki puhni? Shakr ho razaiyan.

The beautiful-ones (good people) care not for such things,
But the ugly-hearted take such words to their necks (i.e. have strong conviction to such things),
[But Bulleh] if you desire the gardens of Paradise, become a servant to the Arayn,
For who dare ask Bulleh of his caste/lineage -- when he desires only the pleasure of God.

ANd here's an interesting rendition of this poem from the Pakistani movie "Khuda ke Liye":
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=iUO1LNzpFtM

Alright -- that was a looooong digression -- back to business:

The word Qurbân -- قربان - comes from the Arabic root "Qurb" (nearness) and means "sacrifice oneself, give up one's life" etc. Urdu shares this word with Punjabi in which the expression "Tere Qurbân Jâvan" means "May I die upon you" (a freakishly extreme way to say: I love you dearly ). The word "Qurbani" means "sacrifice" -- "Qurbani déna" is the verb.

"Martin Luther King né zât-parasti* ke khilâf apni jân ki qurbâni di."
Martin Luther king sacrificed/gave his life fighting against racism.

(*also nizhad-parasti)

[kalemiye]

Thanks for the explanation! I was precisely studying about gender and vocative case in Hindi and this really helped me.

I knew the meaning or Qurban in Arabic and Turkish, but I didn't see how it could fix in this songs.

[kalemiye]

Shehzad Roy - Laga re
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=A23yiSXxEHY

[Rémy LeBeau]

Wow I never expected a Pakistani singer to release such a sarcastic, political song! Great stuff

[eskandar]

I THOUGHT it sounded like Punjabi (I think I've heard 'soniye' in bhangra songs, for instance), but then I figured it must be Urdu because I recognized a lot of Urdu words! Now I feel smart, haha.

Thanks for the detailed notes Hamzaya! (Did I do that correctly?) On the subject of 'qurbân,' it's often used in polite expressions in Persian / Azeri like 'qorbânetân beram' / 'qurban olum' which mean "may I be sacrificed [for you]" and are used less with lovey-dovey stuff and more often with family members and even business partners.

[kalemiye]

:shock: I THOUGHT it sounded like Punjabi (I think I've heard 'soniye' in bhangra songs, for instance), but then I figured it must be Urdu because I recognized a lot of Urdu words! Now I feel smart, haha.

Thanks for the detailed notes Hamzaya! (Did I do that correctly?) On the subject of 'qurbân,' it's often used in polite expressions in Persian / Azeri like 'qorbânetân beram' / 'qurban olum' which mean "may I be sacrificed [for you]" and are used less with lovey-dovey stuff and more often with family members and even business partners.

Yeah, kurban olmak means that in Turkey's Turkish . You can listen to it used in this song:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=cV72PA66j-g

BENZEMEZ KİMSE SANA (Nobody like you)

Benzemez kimse sana
Tavrına hayran olayım
Bakışından süzülen
İşvene kurban olayım

Lütfuna ermek için
Söyle perişan olayım
Bakışından süzülen
İşvene kurban olayım.

[Rémy LeBeau]

Something has just hit me about this song, Tere Bina by A.R Rahman and Chinmayee, I can't quite put my finger on what it is, but I am hearing it in a totally new light and it is really nice, I especially love the part "tere bina chand ka sona khota re", I think it means something like, "without you, the golden shine of the moon seems so fake".

On a side note; what is the difference between 'tere bin' and 'tere bina'? I think the phrase is originally from Punjabi, isn't it?

[Rémy LeBeau]

I listened to this song all the time when I was little

Asha Bhosle & Mohammed Rafi - Chura Liya Hai Tumne Jo Dil Ko
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ApOIJZrFenU

[Osias]

I listened to this song all the time when I was little

Asha Bhosle & Mohammed Rafi - Chura Liya Hai Tumne Jo Dil Ko
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ApOIJZrFenU

I like this one... [thumbs up emoticon not found]

[Rémy LeBeau]

Nasrat Parsa - Punjabi
http://www.imeem.com/people/r7FKa2e/mus ... a_punjabi/

A Punjabi song by the late Afghan singer Nasrat Parsa (I think the only one), who was trained in the classical Indian style of singing.

[Osias]

http://www.sinfest.net/comikaze/comics/2008-08-25.gif

[Rémy LeBeau]

Sunidhi Chauhan - Saiyaan
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ydpqxKrB87c

This is quite a nice song, it sounds to me like a nice mix of South Asian styles and that kind of Japanese-Jazz thing that Ryuichi Sakamoto has going on sometimes.

[eskandar]

Shehzad Roy - Laga re
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=A23yiSXxEHY

This page has the lyrics for "Laga Reh" in Nasta'liq and romanized Urdu, and also an English translation. I laughed when I saw "tension" written in nice calligraphy as ٹینشن, though I'm sure it's a 'normal' Urdu word!

[Rémy LeBeau]

Haha tension! You need to watch Munna Bhai for the complete guide to the usage of 'tension' in Hindi/Urdu!

[stud75]

Could anybody post lyrics for some of these songs in Hindi?

[kalemiye]

It is not in Hindi or Urdu, but it's fun to see:
http://es.youtube.com/watch?v=k_QAPjtO2cA

[Rémy LeBeau]

Thing song is so amazing, I haven't heard anything like it in a very long time.

Shafqat Amanat Ali - Phir Wohi Raaste
http://uk.youtube.com/watch?v=u6TQlFfWegw

[Meera]

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=XiaV67y_bNM

i love this song!

[Meera]

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=CajqP0Zd ... re=related

I am OBSESSED with this song. I listened to like 1,00000 time today Lol