For many people, this may seem difficult to accept, but it is absolutely true that the person who steered Babu Singh Maan away from dense, heavily Sanskritized poetry and guided him toward the expansive sky of folk music was the renowned Punjabi novelist and his English professor at Brijindra College, Faridkot — Prof. Surinder Singh Narula.
After listening to Maan Sahib’s early poetry filled with complex vocabulary, Professor Narula asked him, “Son, where do you come from?” Maan Sahib replied that he belonged to the village of Marar. Narula Sahib then said, “If even rural boys begin writing scholarly, bookish poetry, who will preserve the language of the village?”
From that day until today, Maan Sahib has never forgotten this lesson.
As an example, here is a song from the opera Sassi Punnun, written by Babu Singh Maan and sung by Narendra Biba Ji.
Meriye ni maaye
Mere man diye mehrame ni
Bujh meri mutthi vich ki
Hun mainu guddiyan patoliyan di khed utte,
Kade kade haasa jiha aaye.
Chauda din hoye poore, chand de aakaar nu main,
Nit vinjhdi rehni aan ni maaye.
Chitt kare rishman de noor da sunehri kaasa,
Deek la ke javaan saara pee.
Bujh meri mutthi vich ki…
Nikke jehe munh ’cho pahad jiddi gall,
Taithon dass maaye puchhan ki main na.
Fer ki tu deven gi jawab maaye meriye ni,
Je main bhala puchh vi lavaan.
Gith gith laalian kuware angan utte aaiyan,
Kothe jiddi hoi teri dhi.
Bujh meri mutthi vich ki…
Koole koole suchhe suchhe mehik-bhinne khyaal,
Mere sir utte hoye asvaar.
Assu de mahine jivein bajre de sittiyan te,
Hare hare totiyan di daar.
Mithi mithi nighi nighi assu di dupehar vich, udun udun kare mera ji.
Bujh meri mutthi vich ki…
Chitti chitti pagg mere babale de sir utte,
Jugg jugg jeen mere veer.
Maaye tere mathe di tiorhi vekh vekh mera paani paani ho gaya sareer.
Vaasta ee maaye saada suchhiyan sugandhiyan da,
Kalliyan de bullhan nu na si.
The accomplished lyricist Sardar Babu Singh Maan was born on 10 October 1942 in village Marhar, district Faridkot, to Sardar Inder Singh and Mata Aas Kaur. He received his primary education in the nearby village of Jand Sahib and later completed higher studies at Brijindra College, Faridkot.
His first song was published in Kartar Singh Balaggan’s literary magazine Kavita. The song was titled:
“Dudh kaadh ke jaag na lavaan, teriyan udeekan haaniyan.”
His first collection of songs, Geetan da Vanjara, was published in 1963.
To date, thousands of his songs have been recorded in books, vinyl records, CDs, and various other media. He has also earned significant recognition as a Punjabi filmmaker and storyteller.
However, Maan Sahib expresses deep disappointment that many singers distort the meaning of his lyrics by altering words, thereby changing both the structure and the essence of the song.
One of his beautiful songs reads:
Pichhe pichhe aunda meri paer vehnda aayi,
Cheere valiya dhoond ke liaayi ve.
Mera laung guaacha, nigah marda aayi ve.
This song was sung differently by the late Musarrat Nazir, a Pakistan-origin singer who later lived in Hamilton, Canada. Her version altered the wording in a way that permanently misled listeners:
Pichhe pichhe aunda meri chaal vehnda aayi,
Cheere valiya dhoond ke liaayi ve.
Mera laung gawaacha nigah marda aayi ve.
Maan Sahib asks pointedly:
“If one looks at the ‘paer’ (footprints), one may find the lost nose-ring. But how can one find it by looking at someone’s ‘chaal’ (gait)?”
Leave a Comment