Lohri Festival

The following song is sung as a tribute to Dulla Bhatti, he is the central character of most Lohri songs , He was regarded as a hero in Punjab as he besides robbing the rich, would rescue girls being forcibly taken to be sold in slave market during the reign of Mughal Emperor Akbar. He would then arrange their marriages to boys of their religion with rituals and provide them with dowries. So every other Lohri song has words to express gratitude to Dulla Bhatti.

Lohri is celebrated as the Harvest festival in punjab, wheat is ripening and is turning golden.. soon it will be cut the grain taken and the farmer will take it to be sold for the rest of the nation to fill their bellies ..

Sunder mundriye Hoye	Oh beautiful one like a ringlet one
Tera kaun wicahara hoye! Dullah bhatti walla hoye Dullahe ne dhee vyayae hoye!	Who will save you poor one (to a rescued girl) Dullah Bhatti is here for you (He rescued the girls who were abandoned and rejected after kidnap!) He married off his daughter (the rescued girls were adopted by him as his daughters)
Ser shakkar payee hoye! Kudi da laal pachaka hoye! Kudi da saalu paatta hoye! Salu kaun samete!	He gave a measure (ser about a kilo)of sugar! The girl is wearing bridal red dress! But her shawl is torn (poor and soiled-girl has been raped?)! Who will stitch her shawl(repair her reputation)?!
Mame choori kutti! zamidara lutti! Zamindaar sadaye!	The maternal uncle made sweet ghee bread (choori)! (maternal uncles were responsible to vouch for chastity of the girl) The landlords ravished it (meaning the girl kidnapped by rich moghul landlords!)!
bade bhole aaye! Ek bhola reh gaya! Sipahee pakad ke lai gaya! Sipahee ne mari eet!	Lots of innocent guys came (poor grooms) One innocent boy got left behind (the poorest of poor!) The soldiers arrested him! (Indicated that he was in collusion with Bhatti the rebel) The soldiers hit him with a brick! (tortured him)
Sanoo de de lohri te teri jeeve jodi! Pahenve ro te pahnnve pit! “	Give us lohri (gifts) ..long live you couple! Cry or howl!

13th January Lohri day… I would have got up early… worn nice new clothes… met up with my friends and then house to house… singing the above song demanding some gift. We would get money or sweets… Money usually…Imagine the beat of the DHOL… with a group of people singing the above song, the bhangra included…

The house that gave money was blessed by US by

“Dabba bharaya leera da”
“Ai ghar ameera da”

The house that did not got

“Hukka bhai Hukkaa”
“Ai ghar bhukka”

My grandfather would give me the traditional 500Rs and my sisters 500Rs, and my sister would always give her share to me… so I would have a 1000 to start with… the other one is a miser and doesn’t love me that much ch ch ch ch 😦 So she keeps her money.

My dad is a miser he would not give :), mum would give though depending on how much she has… I bet if mum was not at home a lot of the above Hukka bhai hukka was sung in front of our house he he he … I am just kidding

Then neighbours, The house on the left an old lady lives, She would have a bowl full of sweets ready, I will go and ring her bell, she would say “KHULA HAI” (its open).. Then a crisp 100Rs note and a bowl of sweets and TONS AND TONS OF WISHES, blessings…

The neighbours on the right now this is a tussle, because they have two sons, a year younger than me , the tussle is no one wants to go first because its POLITICS .. Yes … religion main bhi POLITICS hai (even religion has politics)… look the ones who go first will get money so the other set of parents will have to match it… So it’s always hoping they go first so we can tell my dad to give bit more to them… hence we get the same when we go to their house… Yeah you see POLITICS works everywhere 🙂

The house right opposite us, were one of those misers too, hardly saw lights on in that house, I think the owners were in states, only a caretaker was there.. So nothing from there…

By then it would be college time, oh yes holiday-no holiday, festival – no festival, College is a must… and why not cause everyone in the group will be there so meeting up time, meet up then the planning starts how to go about celebrating it, first sukhi’s , then vikrams, then mine and so on.. Evening comes we go for a gedi first in different parts of the city people have organized things, visit them have some fun… a few drinks here and there… Then reach home, Dad always had a big BIG pile of wood… (On second thoughts I think that’s why he did not give money he is saving all that to buy all this wood, or ordering the poor maali (gardener) to break some from the trees 🙂 ah well Now I know )

Lit the fire, have the dholi beat the dhol… dance around the fire eat the sweets The gachaks, Rewadi’s , nuts , next door neighbours would come a few other friends make a night out of it .. Dancing- singing … then once exhausted just sit around the fire till late in night just chatting…

Oh Sunder mundriye hoye!
Tera kaun wicahara hoye!
Dullah bhatti walla hoye!
Dullahe di dhee vyayae hoye!
Ser shakkar payee hoye!

HAPPY LOHRI EVERYONE…. Have a blast .. EAT – DRINK and BE MERRY… Enjoy

HAPPY LOHRI . and dont forget my LOHRI… ..

Ps:- This is a repost with a few changes.