Challa is a punjabi folk song that's been around forever, obviously. Since Indian music is dominated by Bollywood now, the folk songs that you hear now are ones that have survived the test of time. They strike a chord whether you heard them from your parents while you worked in the fields as a kid way back when or if you were sniffing around on youtube and clicked something that seemed vaguely familiar. The latter would be me, in case you didn't get that. So, several days ago I rediscover this song and find this lovely version of it sung by one of those rare present day sufis, Rabbi Shergill. I've been completely hooked to it, and for the first few days it made me really sad. It's so heart wrenching, it remind me of a part of myself that's always stuffed away somewhere and brought out to try on every now and then and then put away again. Like an old dress that you got from your Mom that you wore so fondly before but looks sorta silly on you now and doesn't go with any of your shoes. The song is lovely to me in its abstractness and its willingness in being interpreted any way you like. The word "Challa" literally means "Ring", the kind you wear, which is made quiet obvious in the Dali-esque video. I don't know much Punjabi, I took the liberty of translating it and putting it in my own words. I'm not really competing from accuracy here and have just put down my interpretation, with some help from other blogs and discussion boards. Don't read it if you consider yourself an independent thinker. Before I spoil all the fun, heres the video...
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