Adil Najam
A whole new generation has rediscovered Bulleh Shah. That is good.
Much of the credit for this rediscovery goes to the ’sufi rock’ band Junoon and, more recently to the New Delhi singer Rabbi Shergill, and most importantly to the magnetic simplicity of ‘Bulla, ki jaanan mein koun.’ (I guess, Abida Parveen did for our generation what these guys are doing in interpreting Bulleh Shah for a new generation).
I must confess that I am a traditionalist and prefer more classical renditions of this timeless piece. My own sense, much like Deevan’s (of the blog ‘Rambling On’), is that Rabbi Shergill does a far superior job than Ali Azmat did. At least for me, Rabbi seems to ‘gets it’ more than Junoon did. But, in honesty, I am grateful to both; I also think that both should be grateful to Bulleh Shah.
So, why not judge for yourself. Here is the rendition by Rabbi Shergill. If you are new to Bulleh Shah, listen to it a couple of times before giving up on it. You can view it here by clicking on the play (arrow) button on the image below, or go to video.google.
For those who may want it, here is a version of the original and a translation by Kartar Singh Duggal:
I know not who I am
I am neither a believer going to the mosque
Nor given to non-believing ways
Neither clean, nor unclean
Neither Moses not Pharoah
I know not who I am
I am neither among sinners nor among saints
Neither happy, nor unhappy
I belong neither to water not to earth
I am neither fire, not air
I know not who I am
Neither do I know the secret of religion
Nor am I born of Adam and Eve
I have given myself no name
I belong neither to those who squat and pray
Nor to those who have gone astray
I know not who I am
I was in the beginning, I’d be there in the end
I know not any one other than the One
Who could be wiser than Bulleh Shah
Whose Master is ever there to tend?
I know not who I am.
‘Ki jaanan mein koun’ is the best known and most elegant of Bulleh Shah’s work and is itself an adaptation/translation from the works of earlier Persian philosophers. I wish that more people and singers will start looking at the rest of Bulleh Shah’s repertoire. Some have. For example, Shoaib Mansoor has already done a wonderful rendition of ‘Teray ishq nachaya kar thai-ya thai-ya’ as part of the Supreme Ishq series. And Noori has a song that seems inspired by ‘Kuttey tain-to uttay’.
If others also paid Bulleh Shah more attention, they might find that in terms of his themes Bulleh Shah may be the most contemporary poet in South Asia today. Try looking at ‘Bass kar ji’ (Enough is enough) or ‘Moun aayee baat na rehndi hai’ (I must utter what comes to my lips) and you will find them resonating with your most contemporary political and social preoccupations.
Folks, I do strongly urge you to also look at the discussion on this song and on Bullay Shah at Deevan’s blog… it is of high quiality and very well worth the read. He also has a different translation there….
On that, MSK, yes, the verses that Rabbi chooses to sing are only some in teh original poem… same for the translation, it seems to have some and not other verses… similarly, teh Junoon version chooses different yet different verses.
Bhupinder, like you I like teh Rabbi version better but also had problems with the video part… although, I really liked the cute prompting in English of the ‘key words’…
Which version we like is a matter of personal taste so there is no wrong or right (I actually prefer some of the more traditional renditions to both these versions.) My point is to thank both Junoon and Rabbi for doing what they did (bring new sensibilities to Bulleh Shah) and to invite other to look at the rest of Bulleh Shah’s work which is equally or more powerful.
On the song, as a matter of personal opinion, I do like the Rabbi version better because (1) I think he is not pretentious about it; the music does not distract from the words, and he recites the verses simply putting in the emphasis at the right places and lets the words do the magic (rather than the interpretation). (2) In the Junoon version, I thought they sang it as if Bulleh Shah was TELLING us all the things he is, rather than PONDERING in self-inspection, what his essence might be. (3) I thought the Junoon version was needlessly angry; I do not find anger in these words, I find desperation, a plea for self-inquiry, a quest for one’s own essence. However, I do think that the Junoon video is nicer (although even less relevant to the words), and also that Rabbi may be singer faster than needed, espeically for non-Punjabi speakers
But all of this is to explain why I like Rabbi’s version better. Which, again, is a matter of opinion; not fact. SabizakI must also say that I do believe that each singer has the right to interpret the song as they wish… the song then belongs to them and not just the poet… my reason for liking Rabbi is that the interpretation imbedded in his rendition is closer to my own reading of the words…. in essence, to each their own… as long as this gets people back to Baba Bullay, I am happy.
I think this is so very very powerful. It ddoes really grow on you. Listening to it for about the 10th time today. Thanks.
I also foudn teh translation really helpful. But the version in translation seems to be different from the one in teh song (slightly).
Junoon just about destroyed it best they could. The success of a musical rendition is whether or not it manages to convey musically what the poet is trying to say. In Junoon’s version, the tune did not in any way enhance or augment what the lyrics were trying to say. Whereas Rabbi stresses on the right words, bringing out the emotion in the piece, for Junoon it just sounds like another way of shoving their Sufi-ism down our throats.
Lovely post. As a long-time friend of Junoon, it was so refreshing to hear a song that they did in their hey day. I like Shergill’s rendition, but honestly, I still connect more with Junoon’s version. One has to just listen carefully for the guitar riffs in Junoon version that give it the raspy, more fiery, and more rythmic tempo. Besides - I felt Shergill was moving too fast for me - perhaps because I am less familar with the language and had difficulty keeping up.
Thanks for a wonderful post and the video link- not very impressed with the video, but I agree the rendition is very good. To me, the Junoon version sounded very laboured.
Tanveer- I liked your description of Baba Bulle Shah- “a tatooed, long haired, 60-s type of guy” !
beautiful song. thx for sharing
beautiful song.