Wednesday, January 30, 2008



Na mei moman vich masetan Neither I am a believer (who stays) in a mosque
Na main vich kufar dian reetan Nor do I indulge in actions of disbelief
Na main pakan vich paleetan Nor am I the pure one amongst the impure

Na main andar bed kitaban Neither I exist in books of Vedh
Na main rehnda phaang sharaban Nor do I stay drunk
Na main rehnda mast kharaban Nor do I remain stoned, rotting

Na main shadi na ghamnaki Neither I am happy nor sad
Na mei vich paletan pakeen Nor am I in the (argument of) Purity and Impurity
Na main aaabi na main khaki Neither I am (made) of water nor of earth

Na main aatish na main paun Nor am I fire nor air
Bulla ki jana main kaun Bulla, who knows who I am?
Bulla ki jana main kaun Bulla, who knows who I am?
Bulla ki jana main kaun Bulla, who knows who I am?
Bulla ki jana main kaun Bulla, who knows who I am?

Na main arabi na lahori Neither I am Arabic nor Lahori
Na main hindi shehar Nagaori Nor am I (resident of) the Indian City Nagaori
Na hindu na turk pashauri Nor Hindu nor Turk Peshaweri

Na main bhet mazhab de paya Neither I found the secret of religion
Na main aadam hawwa jaya Nor did understand Adam and Eve
Na koi apna naam dharaya Nor did I create a name for myself

Avval aakhar aap nu jana From beginning to end, I tried to understand myself
Na koi dooja hor pacchana I did not come to know of anyone else
Mai ton na koi hor syana I am not just another wise one

Bulle shah kharha hai kaun Bulla Shah, who is this standing?
Bulla ki jaana main kaun Bulla, who knows who I am?
Bulla ki jaana main kaun Bulla, who knows who I am?
Bulla ki jaana main kaun Bulla, who knows who I am?
Bulla ki jaana main kaun Bulla, who knows who I am?

Na main moosa na pharon Neither I am Moses nor Pharoah
Na main jagan na vich saun Neither I am awake nor asleep
Na main aatish na main paun Neither I am fire nor Air
Na main rahnda vich Nadaun Nor do I live among fools
Na main baitthan na vich bhaun Neither I am sitting nor am I in a tornado

Bulle shah kharha hai kaun Bulla Shah, who is this standing?
Bulla ki jana main kaun Bulla, who knows who I am?
Bulla ki jana main kaun Bulla, who knows who I am?
Bulla ki jana main kaun Bulla, who knows who I am?
Bulla ki jana main kaun Bulla, who knows who I am?


Bulla ki jana main kaun Bulla, who knows who I am?
Bulla ki jana main kaun Bulla, who knows who I am?
Bulla ki jana main kaun Bulla, who knows who I am?
Bulla ki jana main kaun Bulla, who knows who I am?

finally i get the meaning of the BULLA KI JAANA MAIN KAUN sung by so many people- Wadali brothers, Junoon,Rabbi Shergil..etc

no wonder this is such a popular song.it gives an exact description of the state in which iam.although the whole song is based on dualities...which are most of the times the opposite of one another in the bewildering arrangements of this world.the most awesome part of the poem is the frustration expressed in the lines

Avval aakhar aap nu jana From beginning to end, I tried to understand myself
Na koi dooja hor pacchana I did not come to know of anyone else
Mai ton na koi hor syana I am not just another wise one

the poet is being brutally true to himself along with the expression of irony which fate or luck (or whatever if ever) in his being a not-knowing-the-self person(due to his being a low intellect or the material of the self being too complex for him to understand),seems as much true with me as it is with him.
the ultimate question of WHAT AM I? is immortalized in the contradictions and HUMANLY stopped at the same point at which it started(a question of who is this MYSELF standing?),questioning in turn the vanity of the effort of writing the poem in the first place(and of course my comments on the poem too).

2 comments:

ckbelludi said...

Thank you so much for translating the whole song into English. I found it very interesting because as my Urdu-ish Hindi vocabulary is poor, this was the first time that paid attention to the lyrics, though I had listened to the song many times before...

The insight into "Who am I?" is literally a food for thought... Thanks so much for the post.

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