Jagjit and Chitra Singh perform live Punjabi Tapay in a BBC program in 1979. Wonderful display of Punjabi culture by the legendary duo.
Punjabi Tappe Song Lyrics and Translation
(1)
kothe te aa mahiya, kothe te aa mahiya
milna ta mil aake
nai ta khasma nu kha mahiya
milna ta mil aake
nai ta khasma nu kha mahiya
Translation
Come to the terrace, would you? My Love,
If you wish to meet, that is?!
You can get lost if you don’t..
(2)
oye ki leyna ae mitra to
ki leyna ae mitra to
milan te aa jawa
darr lagda hai chhitra to
milan te aa jawa
darr lagda hai chhitra to
Translation
I would certainly be more glad seeing you than my friends,
But there is a problem,
I am afraid, if caught, I would be trashed. So, I won’t.
(3)
tusi kaale kaale ho, tusi kaale kaale ho
kuch te sharam karo, diya putra wale ho
kuch te sharam karo, diya putra wale ho
Translation
You are very mean!
Have some shame,
You have daughters and sons.
(4)
aye sare dand paye kade ne
aye sare dand paye kade ne
asi tainu chnge lagde
saade diya putt wad de ne
asi tainu chnge lagde
saade diya putt wad de ne
Translation
All of my teeth have fallen now,
You still do like me, don’t you?
Even when our kids disturb you a lot?
(5)
ithe pyaar di puch koi naa
ithe pyaar di puch koi naa
tere naal naiyo bolna
tere munh te muchh koi na
tere naal naiyo bolna
tere munh te muchh koi na
Translation
Huh! There isn’t much bother for love here.
Go! I won’t talk to you.
You don’t even have a moustache!
(6)
maza pyaar da chakh laanga
maza pyaar da chakh laanga
je tera hukum hove
meh ta dadi vi rakh laanga
je tera hukum hove
meh ta dadi vi rakh laanga
Translation
Even I would like to taste a little love,
I you’d order,
I would even keep a beard.
(7)
baage vich aaya karo
baage vich aaya karo
jado asi so jaaye
tusi makkhiya udaaya karo
jado asi so jaaye
tusi makkhiya udaaya karo
Translation
Would you come to the garden,
Please! While I sleep,
Would you mind keeping the flies away?
(8)
tusi roz nahaya karo
tusi roz nahaya karo
makkhiya to darr de ho
gud thoda khaya karo
makkhiya to darr de ho
gud thoda khaya karo
Translation
Would you mind bathing daily?
If you are so irritated by flies,
You should also have a little jaggery.
(9)
phing pyaar di pawange
phing pyaar di pawange
hun asi mil gaye ha
geet pyaar de gaawange
phing pyaar di pawange
hun toz nahawange
Translation
And now that we have found one another,
We will live happily together,
And sings songs of love for one another.
Notes
This is an enactment, and it is very hilarious.
Sarcasm is a part of most of North Indian marriage culture.
These teasers are representatives of life which isn’t always sweet.
1. The bride is teasing the groom to meet her before marriage.
2. To this the groom replies sarcastically as if he doesn’t care.
3. The wife whining about the bad habits of husband. She calls him mean and shameless
4. The husband, sarcastically again, asks whether she likes him or not. He refers to his really active kids for instance.
5. Now the wife turns to sarcasm and reverse psychology, she pretends to be angered at him for not caring about her.
6. The husband tries to picking up the wife by a little buttering.
7. The wife sarcastically calls the husband her personal assistant.
8. The husband now indirectly calls the wife a mare.
9. In the North Indian Culture, men without beards are said to be untrustworthy. This is because kids cannot grow beards and by not having a beard they are still like kids.
About the Artists
Jagjit Singh
Jagjit Singh, born Jagmohan Singh Dhiman (8 February 1941 – 10 October 2011), popularly known as “The Ghazal King” or “King of Ghazals”, was an Indian composer, singer and musician. He composed and sang in numerous languages and is credited for the revival and popularity of ghazal, an Indian classical art form, by choosing poetry that was relevant to the masses and composing them in a way that laid more emphasis on the meaning of words and melody evoked by them. In terms of Indian Classical music, his style of composing and Gayaki (singing) is considered as Bol-pradhan, one that lays emphasis on words. He highlighted this in his music for films such as Prem Geet (1981), Arth (1982) , and Saath Saath (1982), and TV serials Mirza Ghalib (1988) and Kahkashan (1991). Singh is considered to be the most successful ghazal singer and composer of all time in terms of critical acclaim and commercial success. With a career spanning five decades and many albums, the range and breadth of his work has been regarded as genre-defining.
Singh’s 1987 album, Beyond Time, was the first digitally recorded release in India. He was regarded as one of India’s most influential artists. With sitar player Ravi Shankar and other leading figures of Indian classical music and literature, Singh voiced his concerns over politicisation of arts and culture in India and lack of support experienced by the practitioners of India’s traditional art forms, particularly folk artists and musicians. He lent active support to several philanthropic endeavours such as the library at St. Mary’s School, Mumbai, Bombay Hospital, CRY, Save the Children and ALMA.
Singh was awarded the Padma Bhushan by the Government of India in 2003 and in February 2014, the government released a set of two postal stamps in his honour.
Chitra Singh
Chitra Singh (born Shome) is a Bengali Indian ghazal singer. She with her husband Jagjit Singh pulled the ghazal genre out of the drawing room of the elite and brought it to the masses. Respectfully known as the “king and queen of the Ghazal world,” the husband and wife duo created some of the most successful Indian music of the 1970s and ’80s.
