Bulla Ki Jana Main Kaun

Normally i can't listen to a song more than 1-2 times a day no matter how much i like it,since i get bored by any kind of monotony pretty easily; but there's this 1 number which i find myself listening to again and again, innumerable times a day since i read it's translation sometime back.The song is the much popular no. 'Bulla ki Jaana' by Rabbi Shergill, though i doubt if most people take the trouble of understanding the mumbo-jumbo being mouthed by the sardar clad in all-white; they probably just like the guitar or maybe the out of the box video, and lo and behold, the song is a super success! That's the indian music industry for most of us !

Anyhow,this song was originally written around 300 years ago by the highly revered sufi poet called Bulleh Shah who lived in Multan(now in Pakistan),in Saraiki, which was the local spoken language of that time.His poetry usually reflects the eclectic fusion of the various cultures which made Punjab the most diverse region in the entire Indian sub-continent...from acting as the gateway of India for early Aryans to the Turks,Mongols and Mughals, and from acting as a breeding ground for Hinduism,Islam and the newly founded Sikhism.Even though the language is somewhat similar to Punjabi, yet i had to go through the translation to understand the meaning of each and every word penned by the great poet.Below is the translation i picked from a website:

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
(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)

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
(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)

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
(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)

Na maen arabi na lahori
Na maen hindi shehar nagauri
Na hindu na turak peshawri
Na maen rehnda vich nadaun
Bulleh! ki jaana maen kaun
(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)

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
(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)

Avval aakhir aap nu jaana
Na koi dooja hor pehchaana
Maethon hor na koi siyaana
Bulla! ooh khadda hai kaun
Bulleh! ki jaana maen kaun
(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 )

Confessions of a Wandering Mind

If there is 1 thing right now that i'm sure i feel too strongly about, then it's missing my student life; or more precisely, life at IMT.The 3 golden years spent at the campus have undoubtedly been the highpoint of whatever life i've seen so far.No wonder they used to call IMT 'The Resort'; life was all about eating,drinking,movies and partying.Studies used to happen only when semester exams got too close for comfort.

One can never forget the hostel life - absolutely no holds barred pure freedom.No wardens around to tell you whts right and wrong, no1 to stop you from playing blaring music at 2 am.Like they said-life in IMT started at midnite. And those ragging sessions - 1st year when v were the 'futchas'; thank god for those senior babes who hid me inside the girls' hostel on the pretext of 'ragging' me when the rest of my not so fortunate batchmates were being stripped and made to run around the campus by the senior guys.And the 2nd and 3rd year, when we enacted the roles of the mighty 'Seniors' pretty easily and undertook that oh so great responsibility to uphold the grand old tradition of the college. My first roomie, who i renamed 'grassie' for his marijuana addiction, and who i had to kick out of the room since i cudn't stand the overpowering stench of the 'weed'.Sorry for that bro, cudn't help it though.

And of course parties,parties and more parties. How can anyone ever forget that amphitheatre , which turned into a dance floor on many a Saturday nights, and which was a witness to the many flings and romances which blossomed under that intoxicating atmosphere. The same amphitheatre which got transformed into a swimming pool on Holi, full to the brim with colors of all hues.The fun we had pushing off friends into it who were already high on bhang,all laughing and crying at the same time.And that holi of 2002 when i had a full 2 litre bottle of Bhang and then passed out in my room for 2 whole days !
Or for that matter, how can 1 forget the annual college fests:Passion and Chakravuh, when the best crowd from all the best B-scools of India used to converge onto our campus. 3 days of non-stop fun, those babes participating in double meaning skits(lol), the fashion shows which v choreographed on our own. All those events which were organised a 100% by the students, with absolutely no interevention by the college authorities, resulting in a mad-mix of non stop fun.

So it's pretty obvious that work life here seems to be overwhelmingly bland and mundane when i compare it to the fun i had till just about 2 years back....IMT rocked !
I always associate the following song with IMT ;it's called Teenage Wasteland(Baba O' Reily) by The Who:

Out here in the fields
I fight for my meals
I get my back into my living

I don't need to fight
To prove I'm right
I don't need to be forgiven

Don't cry
Don't raise your eye
It's only teenage wasteland

Sally ,take my hand
We'll travel south crossland
Put out the fire
Don't look past my shoulder

The exodus is here
The happy ones are near
So let's get together
Before we get much older

Teenage wasteland
It's only teenage wasteland
Teenage wasteland
Oh..yeah
Teenage wasteland

They're all wasted