Bulleh Shah: The best rendition ever!

Posted on August 26, 2006
Filed Under >Adil Najam, Music, People, Poetry
23 Comments
Total Views: 151743

Adil Najam

The 249th annual urs of the great sage Bulleh Shah’s begins in Kasur today.

We here at ATP have paid tribute to the sage in two earlier posts (here and here). And even though I have been itching to write about the poetry of other greats such as Waris Shah, Khawaja Farid, Sultan Bahoo, Shah Hussain and others, the moment befits more mention of a sage who can never be mentioned enough.

On this wonderful occasion, I thought I would share with you the audio recordings of some of my favourite renditions of Bulleh Shah’s poignant kalaam. Including what is, at least for me, the single best rendition of a Bulleh Shah work ever!

Yes, I know that is a tall claim, and you are certainly more than welcome to your own opinions, but let me try to substantiate my view. For me Pathanay Khan singing this rendition of ‘Mera Ranjhan koi hor’ is the perfect voice, singing the perfect selection, with the perfect pathos, for the perfect depiction of the essence of a perfect Bulleh Shah experience. In case you missed the emphasis, I REALLY love this rendition. I have, quite literally, been pacing my study for the last hour and a half listening to this in a state of semi trance, physically unable to just sit still and type.

After having said all that, I hope you will give it at least one listen (here). If you do and if you have never heard it before, give it your full attention, give it time to seep in, and listen deeply to the passion in that voice as well as the power of those words. If you are one of the impatient types and can’t sit through the momentum building up, just push forward to around to minute 13 and see him getting into:

jaiN dil wich pyar di ramz nahiN
bass ouou dil kouN weeran samajh
jadouN pyar di jaan sujhaan nahiN
ouou banday kouN nadaan samajh
ee-o pyar aye dars waleeaN da
aye maslak paak nabeeaN da
anmool pyar di daulat aye
ee-koun uqba da samaan samajh
eee pyar di khatir arsh banney
eee pyar di khatir farsh banney
khoud pyar khudda wich wassda aye
meiN sach ahdaa, Quran samajh

Like all of the greatest poets – Faiz, for example – the beauty of Bulleh Shah is that in some ways it does not matter who is singing those words and how, the power of the words will carry through. At one level, I think that is the real power even behind the Shergill and Junoon versions. But as with Faiz (for example, Noor Jahan singing ‘mujh say pehli si muhabbat…‘ or Mehdi Hasan singing ‘gulouN meiN rang bharray…‘) there are some renditions that just perfectly blend music, voice and words. To me, this is one such renditions.

But I do understand this is a personal taste thing. I would love to hear what other folk’s favorite renditions are. There are many other renditions that are also tremendously powerful. For example:

Jumman Khan singing “Assan Ishq Namaz JadooN Neeti aye” (listen here). Its not the best recording, but note the opening verses:

jay rabb milda naataiN dhotaiN
tay rabb milda daddouaN maachiaN nou
jay rabb milda jungul phiraiN
atay rabb milda gaayaN wachiaN nou
way Bullayaa, rabb unnaaN nou milda
attay dilaiyan sachiyaN aachiyaN nou

Abida Parveen (listen here) brings a different sensibility to her rendition of the same song (here) but opens rather differently; by making fun of (as Bulleh Shah often did) of my profession:

paRh paRh ilm hazaar kitaabaN
qaddi apnay aap nou paRhiya naee
jaaN jaaN waRhday mandir maseedi
qaddi mann apnay wich waRhiya naee
aa-vaiN laRda aye shaitan de naal bandeaa
qaddi nafss apnay naal laRiya naee

[yes, yes, you have read thousands of books
but you have never tried to read your own self
you rush in, into your Mandirs, into your Mosques
but you have never tried to enter your own heart
futile are all your battles with Satan
for you have never tried to fight your own desires]

Note how she also weaves in that other immortal verse about:

… kuttay, taiN touN uttay
mulla kanouN kuKKar changaaN
jehRa yaar jagaway suttay
taiN kan uttay…

[dogs are higher than you
and the rooster is better than the Mullah
for at least they wake friends who are asleep]

ATP had earlier written about how contemporary artists (Rabbi Shergill and Junoon) were rediscovering the work of this immortal poet and discovering — as so many earlier generations have — the vibrancy, political and social poignancy, and amazing musicality of the Bulleh Shah’s work.

For those who search for more contemporary renditions, here is another one. This one by Noori, based on Bullay Shah’s ‘Kuttey terray uttay’. I am a huge fan of Noori, but do not think this is their best work. Nor is it a good rendition of Bullay’s ‘Kuttey.’ But the social and political message is intense and the video, especially the first minute or so, is amazingly poignant. For those reason’s alone – and as an exhibit of the versatility and timelessness of Bullay Shah’s idiom – its worth watching.

Click on arrow at center, or view it directly here

The website DesiPundit had picked up on that post and, writing there, Neha mentioned something that has had me thinking ever since:

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.

I think Neha is exactly right. And much as I loved Rabbi’s version, and even as I have learnt to enjoy Junoon’s, I hope some of these audio selections will stand testimony that you don’t really need a guy totting a guitar and a fast-paced video to prove the eternal relevance and the deep ethos that is the poetry of Bulleh Shah.

P.S. My gratitude to APNA from where the audio is linked. The website is a tremendous public service and truly worth a visit; many visits.

23 responses to “Bulleh Shah: The best rendition ever!”

  1. Sanjay says:

    I am an Indian and I must say ATP is one of my fav. blogs on internet. Also at times like these I wish I had at least learnt to read Urdu from my Grandfather.

    Keep up the great work. :)

  2. Zubair says:

    The Pathana Khan recording is terrific.I had not heard before and first time did not like that much but listen again and again and its spells you. But I think over all Abida Parveen recording is still the best in these. And I don’t even understand half the words because I am not Punjabi and my Punjabi is not that good. But overall music is beautiful.

  3. Sohaib says:

    I first came across the Pathanay Khan version of “mera ranjhan hun koi hor” by visiting, I believe, Mr. Naveed’s blog casually and by mistake. Having listened to the song, I must say I agree with Mr. Najam that it is simply one of the best things one would ever hear.

    Now to add something constructive to the discussion. What is the value of the M.A. in Punjabi that a lot of universities offer here in Punjab and that a lot of people choose to do. Any insights on that?

  4. Arvind says:

    I am really impressed by the wonderful posts. The first writers in Punjabi language were Sufi poets and their stanzas resonate with a familiarity that is captivating and sincere, which is why my heart feels glad to hear that the youth in Pakistan and in other countries are reaffirming this tradition in song. I hope that in time a literary tradition will develop in Pakistan Punjab to support the rich oral tradition set to music.

    Punjabis in India and Pakistan have been divided by a border and along religious lines, though a cultural exchange will enrich both nations. If a rivalry exists between the two Punjabs, let it be a friendly one where we motivate each other to excel in the arts and all other fields, not one based on hostility and misunderstanding.

    India and Pakistan can be peaceful neighbours and Punjabis through their shared language and culture can plant the seeds of understanding. This is already happening with music where artists from India and Pakistan have an audience for their music that isn’t limited by national boundaries.

    Arvind Singh
    http://nexusnovel.wordpress.com/

  5. Naveed says:

    It is wondefrul to see that true to its recent trackrecord, this post at ATP is generating comments that encompass so many important issues. I absolutely agree with Adil that 10 years ago, if one ventured out searching for information, there was so little. Thanks to the Internet and what he has hinted at, a sort of resurgence we have a lot at our disposal

    I think following the partition issue of language per se was not managed properly. The nationalistic bend of non-punjabis and symbolic use of language to lobby for their cause, resulted in continuation of the written literary tradition especially for Sindhi. But Punjabis have regained the pride in language & this resurgence is a positive development

    I am convinced that this pride was always part of its glorious history. Everyone talks about Faiz being the greatest poet after Iqbal, but there is innate sweetness and earthiness about his punjabi poems (kidray na paindeeyan dasaan, vay pardaysee-aa tairee-yaan) [Adil listen to this one by Nayyara which I am sure you have several times and you will pace in your room for couple of hours the trance being natural]

    There is a fantastic show on a local punjabi channel incidently with the same name as my favorite website APNA. This guy is sitting in a field reciting Sufi poetry and explaining the content for everyone to understand. Heck if I understand it then most urbanite punjabis can as well. That it leaves my family totally bewildered when i watch this show in another matter

    And it is the youth that are reason to give us hope that this resurgence has set into motion a process that is here to stay . The best “pop” album to come out in Pakistan by Meekal Hasan Band starts with “Sajan day hath baan asadee” by Shah Hussain. The followup album Andoolan which no one can find in the market but whose 1st video got a lot of air-play is another Shah Hussain Kafi “Jhok Ranjhar day jaana, naal mairay koee chalay”

    On the occasion of Bulleh Shah’s Urs, I have posted Muzafar A. Ghaffar’s poem on my blog. (He is also the translator of Bulleh Shah having come out with a 2-volume work on the poet] I believe it is a modern take by Mr. Ghaffar on “ik nuktay ‘ich gal mukdee ay”.

Leave a Reply

Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *

*