Tuesday, November 29, 2005

Jugni english translation

This is a good-enough translation of the song:

Jugni: A girl/traveller

A girl sets out to see what has become of the country...
from where were born Veda's...
from where britishers were thrown out...
what has become of it...
what is its present condition...
what all miracles has the country achieved...

Oh my brother...
Oh my brother says the girl...
pls open a new road for it...

..............

The girl goes to kashmir...
where 10-20 die daily...
our beautiful sisters and brothers.
cry and ask...
when will this quarrel end...
when water from Jhelum will dry up?

Oh my brother...
Oh my brother says the girl...
make a new river flow from here...

..............

The girl goes to Punjab...
where educated people are unemployed...
they sell their land & go abroad...
and marry a foreigner there...
while their family waits here...

Oh my brother...
Oh my brother says the girl...
pls bring a new spring (season)...

..............

The girl now goes to Mumbai...
where nobody sleeps...
everybody searches for something..
very few find it...
those who find it as restless...
and they get trouble lines on their forhead...

Oh my brother...
Oh my brother says the girl...
Pls bring me a breath of rest...

..............

The girl now goes to Delhi...
and gets lost in the crowd...
from where she came, to where she was going...
everything is lost...
when she gains conscience...
her face has lost the grace...

Oh my brother...
Oh my brother says the girl...
I remember the gurus (Lord) and his words...

..............

Courtesy: Anonymous

Tuesday, August 02, 2005

Meeting With Rabbi Shergill - Thanx Rediff

SOME UNFINISHED BUSINESS WAS LEFT>> About Rabbi <<

Bulla I know not who I am…
Nor did I create the difference of faith
Nor did I create Adam and Eve
Nor did I name myself

English translations of 18th century Sufi poet Bulla Shah's words seem unlikely on a chart-topping Indipop debut album sleeve. But then, everything about Rabbi Shergill is unlikely.

The broadest classification possible for his music is rock, his lyrics Punjabi, his video bereft of belly buttons. His songs flit from Bryan Adams-ish light to Leonard Cohen-esque darkness. He sings Simon and Garfunkel in an autorickshaw, and says, "Chhod yaar [let it be, man]" when you ask him his age.

He even comes walking to the neighbourhood coffee shop with his guitar if you ask him to.
September 30, 1988, Bruce Springsteen (Amnesty's Human Rights Now) concert. That was when the man, whose album has got the pundits and proletariat rooting for it in unison, decided music was it for him. "The sheer power of what rock could do, to be accepted and respected by such a lot of people," he says.
"Those were the wander years. So I wandered. I did that for a long time," he says of the period in Khalsa College, Delhi. He taught himself guitar, "got into hard rock. Led Zeppelin, Aerosmith," idolised Jimmy Page, hung out, wore his hair long rockstar style, saw the world through LSD-coloured glasses.


Why sing in Punjabi then? "Why not?"
"We Jat Sikhs are very proud people. I could never get it out of me. To start thinking in any other language would mean acknowledging its superiority. I would become a poor version of a Western rocker, a wannabe. I can't forget who I am," he says.

Rabbi's father was a Sikh preacher and his mother, a college principal, loved Gurbani kirtan. Rabbi was "very, very influenced by Sikh literature. I grew up reading Gyani Gyan Singh, Kabir's dohas, Shiv Bata... We would have long discussions on poetry. I was listening to rock music and Punjabi spiritual music. It all combusts man. It's the great reality of urban India."

Is that what combusted with his album as well? Is that why it worked?
"I think [it worked] because I was talking about myself, which is a rarity," he says. "Generally somebody else writes the songs for the artists. The artist comes to the studio and tries to pretend in those two minutes. It's the saddest thing."
Rabbi wrote his own songs, and began recording them when he was not making advertising jingles -- "lots of them for Yamaha, Times FM…"


His first demo impressed world music producer Jawahar Wattal. Sony Music wanted to sign him on. "I had differences with Jawahar. I told Sony. They put me on to K J Singh," the man who would produce his debut eponymous album. The two worked on a new demo.

Sony backed out. Knocking on doors began again. Rabbi met Minty Tejpal, brother and business partner of Tehelka editor in chief Tarun Tejpal. The first meeting, Rabbi got drunk and banged his car. Minty helped him out. It was instant chemistry.

"I signed a contract with Tehelka, and started working on my album. Just when the recording was finished, they [tehelka.com] broke the story [of Westend, a sting operation which claimed to expose corruption in defense deals]. All hell broke loose."

Tehelka ran out of money. Rabbi's album was unfinished. Why didn't he approach others? "I'm a lazy bum," Rabbi says, munching on a chocolate almond cake. "I liked Tehelka's maverick way of doing things. I just kept writing more songs, playing more guitar, surfing the Net.
"Struggle is a big word, I didn't have to break my b***s or anything like that," he says. That honesty shone through in his demo. Amitabh Bachchan was one of the first people outside Rabbi's circle of friends to be given a copy, Nobel Laureate Sir V S Naipaul heard him in a car. Rabbi performed at the launch of the Tehelka weekly newspaper.

The demo eventually reached Anand Surapur of Phat Phish records, who signed him on. "I think he (Anand) is also instinctively attracted to de-glamorised real people. That's why we hit it off."

Has glamour changed him? Has his album, being a hit, altered his life?
Not much, he says. Except "my mother, who was very anxious [about his future]. She wanted me to succeed, whatever that means. In her eyes, I am successful. I feel rested."

Rabbi rattles off more unlikely answers. He insists he is "not in the danger of becoming a Bombayite." He considers silence the biggest compliment. "Silence when the other person understands."
Next album? A little way off, he says, "though we have material ready for two more." He wants to play live, and trip on his creative dope — travel.

"Inspiration is a big word. For me, it's the need to write. Solitude is what I require. I get 'stoned' when I go to a new city. It somehow all falls together."

Can honest songwriting jostle for space with the remix rage and overproduced opuscula? Yes, he says. "Record companies need to have conviction. Not go so far away from art."

Thanx to Rediff.com Specials

Rabbism Cant stay without Rabbi himself


How can rabbism be without mr rabbi himself.

Saturday, July 30, 2005

Bulla Ki Jaana - Rabbi Shergill (Lyrics)

Na maen momin vich maseet aan
Na maen vich kufar diyan reet aan
Na maen paakaan vich paleet aan
Na maen moosa na pharaun.

Bulleh! ki jaana maen kaun

Na maen andar ved kitaab aan,
Na vich bhangaan na sharaab aan
Na vich rindaan masat kharaab aan
Na vich jaagan na vich saun.

Bulleh! ki jaana maen kaun.

Na vich shaadi na ghamnaaki
Na maen vich paleeti paaki
Na maen aabi na maen khaki
Na maen aatish na maen paun

Bulleh!, ki jaana maen kaun

Na maen arabi na lahori
Na maen hindi shehar nagauri
Na hindu na turak peshawri
Na maen rehnda vich nadaun

Bulla, ki jaana maen kaun

Na maen bheth mazhab da paaya
Ne maen aadam havva jaaya
Na maen apna naam dharaaya
Na vich baitthan na vich bhaun

Bulleh , ki jaana maen kaun

Avval aakhir aap nu jaana
Na koi dooja hor pehchaana
Maethon hor na koi siyaana
Bulla! ooh khadda hai kaun

Bulla, ki jaana maen kaun
Not a believer inside the mosque, am I
Nor a pagan disciple of false rites
Not the pure amongst the impure
Neither Moses, nor the Pharoh

Bulleh! to me, I am not known

Not in the holy Vedas, am I
Nor in opium, neither in wine
Not in the drunkard`s craze
Niether awake, nor in a sleeping daze

Bulleh! to me, I am not known

In happiness nor in sorrow, am I
Neither clean, nor a filthy mire
Not from water, nor from earth
Neither fire, nor from air, is my birth

Bulleh! to me, I am not known

Not an Arab, nor Lahori
Neither Hindi, nor Nagauri
Hindu, Turk (Muslim), nor Peshawari
Nor do I live in Nadaun

Bulleh! to me, I am not known

Secrets of religion, I have not known
From Adam and Eve, I am not born
I am not the name I assume
Not in stillness, nor on the move

Bulleh! to me, I am not known

I am the first, I am the last
None other, have I ever known
I am the wisest of them all
Bulleh! do I stand alone?

Bulleh! to me, I am not known


"Bulla ki jaana" - orginally sung by Baba Bulleh Shah, new rendition by Rabbi Shergill

Tere Bin - Rabbi Shergill (Lyrics)

A Decent Enuf Translation of one of the finest track of Rabbi.

tere bin / besides you
sanu sohnia / my love
koi hor nahio labhna / i shan't find another
jo dave / who'll give
ruh nu sakun / peace to my soul
chukke jo nakhra mera / and indulge me
ve main sare ghumm ke vekhia / i have gone and seen it all
amrika , roos, malaysia / america, russia, malaysiana
kittey vi koi fark si / there wasn't any difference
har kise di koi shart si / they all had some condition
koi mangda mera si sama / some asked for my time
koi hunda surat te fida / some were fascinated with my face
koi mangda meri si vafa / some demanded my fidelity
na koi mangda merian bala / none wanted my demons
tere bin / besides you
hor na kise / no one else
mangni merian bala / wanted my demons
tere bin / besides you
hor na kise / no one else
karni dhup vich chhan / shall shade me in the sun
jiven rukia / (the) way you paused
si tun zara / slightly
nahion bhulna / i shan't forget
main sari umar / all my life
jiven akhia si akhan chura / you said, looking away
"rovenga sanu yad kar" / "you shall weep in my memory"
hasia si main hasa ajeeb / i laughed a strange laugh
(par) tu nahi si hasia / but you didn't
dil vich tera jo raaz si / you had a secret in your heart
mainu tu kyon ni dasia / why didn't you tell me
tere bin / besides you
sanu eh raz / none shall tell this
kise hor nahion dasna / secret to me
tere bin / besides you
peerh da ilaaj / what druid
kis vaid kolon labhna / has the cure to my ills
milia si ajj mainu / i found today
tera ik patra / a note of yours
likhia si jis 'te / on which you had scribbeled
tun shayr varey shah da / a varis shah couplet
park ke si osnu / upon reading which
hanjnu ik duliya / a teardrop fell
akhan 'ch band si / what was locked in the eye
seh raaz ajj khulia / was revealed today
ki tere bin / that other than you
eh mere hanjnu / these tears of mine
kise hor / won't be kissed by
nahio chumna / none else
ki tere bin / that other than you
eh mere hanjhu / these tears of mine
mitti vich rulnha / will wither in the dust

UPDATE: More discussion about this song and it's meaning at this post.

Gill te Guitar - Rabbi Shergill (Lyrics)

Here's a Summer of 69-ish number from the first true Indian Brand in Music. Mind you, I'm not suggesting replications, I'm suggesting genres.




Ek minute ek minute paaji shuru ton...

1, 2, 3, 4...

ve yaar mere kade sege tin chaar
katthe ched dey si kudiyaan
katthe Khaadi assan maar
Pehlaan Pallaa gaya
phir aeru gaya baar
hun saanga vi dubai
bache gill te guitar

palle te meri kismat si buri
assi firde rahe par na manni koi kudi
bhave kahk si kaj si (?)
sannu si nasha
Kadde hovange kalle
sanu ki pata

ve yaar mere kade sege tin chaar
katthe ched dey si kudiyaan
katthe Khaadi assan maar
Pehlaan Pallaa gaya
phir aeru gaya baar
hun saanga vi dubai
bache gill te guitar

Aeru si lammba main si chotta
main si bahutaan kharab oh zara si thoda
uddon lad ke kai din na assan bolnaa
hun chah ke vi milda na dukh kholna

mileyaa kal ik raahi mainu
kehndaa gal sun meri tu khol kann
jaddon na kujh agge disse
tahiyon bandaa vekhe picche

sanga apna si bandaa tagraa
kade darr na fikar udde nede lagaa
bare din baad kal aaya udda phone si
kehndaa din taan lang jaada ae
par shaam nai

ve yaar mere kade seege tin chaar
katthe ched dey si kudiyaan
katthe Khaadi assan maar
Pehlaan Pallaa gaya
phir aeru gaya baar
hun saanga vi dubai
bache gill te guitar

ve yaar mere

ve yaar mere

ve yaar mere

ve yaar mere

one min bro let's do it from the start...

1, 2, 3, 4...

We were 3-4 friends
We used to flirt with girls together
And got beaten up together
Palla went First
Aeru followed
Now Sanga is moving to Dubai
Left: Gill and Guitar

Palla and I had terrible luck
We went around but found no gal
/** I don't know **/
We were intoxicated
That one day we'll be alone
We didn't know

We were 3-4 friends
We used to flirt with girls together
And got beaten up together
Palla went First
Aeru followed
Now Sanga is moving to Dubai
Left: Gill and Guitar

Aeru was tall and I was short
I was very evil, he was lesser
We used to fight and not talk for days
Now we can't share grief even when we want

I met a vagrant yesterday
He said, listen to me, open your ears
When you can't see what's ahead
you turn to see what's gone by

Sanga was a strong man
Fear or worry never came near him
He called me yesterday, after a long time
Said that the days pass through
But the evenings don't

We were 3-4 friends
We used to flirt with girls together
And got beaten up together
Palla went First
Aeru followed
Now Sanga is moving to Dubai
Left: Gill and Guitar

Oh, my friends...

Oh, my friends...

Oh, my friends...

Oh, my friends...


Goddamnit Rabbi, you rock dude. Let me spell it for you. R-O-C-K

Credits -
AJ for the song
Harsi for the words

Jungi - Rabbi Shergill (Lyrics)

After this blog was made i was been given duty to keep it updated, though cuz of some problems couldnt get much time to start with it, but ill try now to keep it updated and make the rabbism alive.

...Background speech by A B Vajpayee...

Jugni dekhan chali desh....
Jide janmay si kadi ved...
jidon kadyaa si angrez...
Ki banyaa usdaa....
Ki banyaa usdaa haal....
kede kite usne kamaal...

vir meryaa ve jugni....
vir meryaa ve jugni kehndi aa....
ek raah nawe aaj pandi hain..

...Agressive speech about killing in Kashmir by someone

Jugni jaa wadi kashmir ....
jithe roz maran das vee..
soni behnaa te sone veer..
oooo ro ro poochna..
ke jaghda tayi mukhnna...
jedo jhelum paani sukhnaa

vir meryaa ve jugni....
vir meryaa ve jugni kehndi aa....
ek neer nawe aaj behndi hain..

...A punjabi news item....in background

jugni jaa wadi punjab....
jithe padhe likhe bekaar...
bech zameenaa jaawen baahar...
uthe maaran jaadho....
uthe gori lain vewha..
peeche tabar take raah..

vir meryaa ve jugni....
vir meryaa ve jugni kehndi aa....
ek nayi udhari lendi aa....

...Background....a talk between match fixers..about satta..

Jugni jaa wadi bambai..
jithe sonda koi nahi...
sab labban cheez koi ....
kis kise noooo labbe...
jeno labbe woh bechain....
mathe matke uske pain...???

vir meryaa ve jugni....
vir meryaa ve jugni kehndi aa....
ek sah safar daa lendi aa....

...News item in background

jugni jaa wadi aaj dilli,,,,
uthe bheed ch ral ki bhuli..
kitho aayi teh kithe chali...
sab basar gaya...
jeddon aaya usno cheta...
taaki mukhea thaa usdaa belaaa....

vir meryaa ve jugni....
vir meryaa ve jugni kehndi aa....
aaj naam guraa daan lehendi aa.......

---Background...AB Vajpayee speech....

Saturday, April 23, 2005

Here we go...