Its good to be back in Mouthshut after almost a year... I have been trying to make a comeback, just couldn?t find the time.. Rabbi was one subject that I couldn?t help but write about.
On the bike, hooked onto Go 925 FM, I was riding from home to college for my studies during exams. They played Bulla as a 925 Brand new song... You hear his name, sounds like one of those Punjabbi Mundas trying to make do something with Pankda ..(as they call Bhangra) ...But then Right from the time I heard him for the first time.. till date there has not been a single day I havent heard Bulla. Bulla is like suprabhatam for me...
The commonality between all the songs is the singing guitar playing sardar. Bulla ki jana is a poem of Sufi saint Bulla Shah, which Rabbi sings with intensity (the best of the lot). Bulla Di Jaana was a poem written by a Sufi saint Bulla Shah in the 18th century. Rabbi is an urban Punjabi folk singer who culls his lyrics from his environment, music from his musical preferences and blends them through his guitar. Other than Bulla, there are eight other songs in the self titled album.
Jugni is a popular Punjabi folk song, involving an female character called Jugni, who travels and sings about the people in Kashmir, the search amidst chaos in Mumbai, and in Punjab she sings about the displacement of people who give away their lands to go abroad.
Totia manmotia is a version of a Punjabi bedtime folk song about a parrot and a parrotess.
Heer is the song of the tragic heroine of the poetic epic penned by Varis Shah sometime in the 18th century that gives some flavour involving her lover Ranjha and their doomed love.
Ishtihar is a song for a lover, written by Shiv Kumar Batalvi as an Ishtihar that describes the girl who is lost. Rabbi has also some original songs, intensely personal, to his credit in the album Tere bin, Gill te guitar and Ek geet hijar da.
Shashank Ghosh, the director of Waisa bhi hota hai Part II, wanted Bulla in the movie, but Rabbi refused to part with his pet song. Ghosh then replaced this song with Kailash Kher?s, Allah ke bande which became a huge hit., but Rabbi, however, played a cameo role as himself in the film and sang Laundiya ki pallo mein.
Last month, I heard him in an interview with Ravi on Go 925. He spoke about quite a lot of stuff. He is a very big fan of U2, Sting and Bruce Springsteen. He infact also did an unplugged version of Bulla and a Sting number. He was awesome. Guys, Rabbi is here to stay... hope he churns out some more of such stuff.
Here is the the English Translation of Bulla Ki Jaana
Bulla ki Jaana
Bulla, I know not who I am
Bulla, I know not who I am
Nor am I the believer in mosque
Nor am I in idol worship
Nor am in the pure or the impure
Nor am I in the Vedas
Nor am I in the intoxicants
Nor am I in the carefree deviant
Nor am I union nor grief
Nor am I in the pure/impure
Nor am I of the water nor of the land
Nor am I fire nor air
Bulla, I know not who I am
Nor am I Arabic nor from Lahore
Nor am I the Indian city of Nagaur
Nor am I Hindu nor a Peshawari turk
Nor did I create the difference of faith
Nor did I create Adam-Eve
Nor did I name myself
Beginning or end I know just the self
Do not recognise ’’the other one’’
There’s none wiser than I
Who is this Bulla Shah
Bulla, I know not who I am