Sunday, November 12, 2006

Punjabi Music = Nirvana

Its true. Good punjabi music is what Buddha needed for achieving Nirvana. Just that he was around at a time when Gurdass Mann wasn't yet born. My favorite singer, Gurdass Mann has emitimized punjabi music for decades now. He was immensely popular even in the 1980's when there was

-only Doordarshan and a daily 3 hour dose of Jallandhar TV,
-no one had heard or even dreamed of cable TV,
-colored TV sets were a luxury,
-to be true even B&W TV was a luxury,
-Texla was the leading TV production in North India.

Gurdas Mann is the face of serious Punjabi Music and will be for a long time. He has kept up with the times and his music and videos show that masterfully. 'Pind dian gallian' (Streets of the Village) is one of my favorite songs and has been rendered beautifully in the video, where Gurdass plays the role a someone who moved out of his village to be successful in the big city life and on visiting his village remembers his life as a kid growing up. Even someone like me, who never lived in a village, but just visited my parents' village every summer vacation, can fully relate to the feeling. Its true that many people get misty eyes watching the video, and especially when Gurdas Mann performs the song live on stage. Enjoy!





As a bonus, here's a video of another masterful live performance of the song 'Challa' by Mann. Translated in English the lyrics would mean rubbish, but the way they relate to lifestyle, tradition and rich culture of Punjabi music can only be appreciated by a precious and lucky few. Here's the lyrics of the song (in English script)


Ho jaavo ni koi mod liyavo,

oh gaya mere naal lad ke,

Oh allah kare je aa jaave sohna,

devan jaan kadma vich dhar ke.



ho Challa beri oye buhe, ke vatan mahi da oor e,

ve jaana pehle poor e, ve gall sun challeya chora,

Ve kahda laya ee jhora.



ho challa khooh te dhariye, ve gallan mooh te kariye,

ve sacche rabb ton dariye, ve gall sun challeya dhola,

Ve rabb ton kahda ee ohla.



ho challa kaaliyan mirchan, ve mohra pee ke marsaan,

ve sire tere chdsan, ve gall sun challeya dhola,

ve saad ke keeta ee kola.



ho challa kann diyan dandian, ve saare pind vich bhandian,

ve gallan chajj paa chandian, ve gall sun challeya dhola,

ve saad ke keeta ee kola.



ho challa nau nau theve, ve puttar mithde meve,

ve allah sabh nu deve, ve gall sun challeya kanvaan,

ve manvaan thandiyan chaanvan.






Hats off to this true master of Punjabi music!

2 comments:

Anonymous said...

Hi Nitric Oxide
do you think you speak for yourself.oh no my dear.Take my word- you are speaking for every Punjabi-where ever he were-India,Pakistan,Canada,England,USA or anywhere.When Gurdas Mann sings- he fills a void or creats a void.Gurdas Mann is the pious Don of Punjabi music. when he performs on stage,he puts not only sweat and blood but his heart and soul.
nitric oxide punjab shera- keep it up.Best wishes.

Anonymous said...

cool blog nitric.
yeah gurdas mann to saade punjab di shaan te pehchaan hai. i hope the young punjabi singers follow the punjabi instinct and not something borrowed from the west. west is good in its own rights but PUNJAB da muqabla nahi.