کنگنا تیرا نی Kangna Tera Ni — It's Your Bracelet, Beloved

Traditional

Geet

A boy is in love and cannot keep it to himself, so he sings it to the rhythm of one of the oldest flirting lines in the region. Laung mare lashkare: the clove strikes, the flash of it. A bracelet, a wink, a signal from across a room, and a heart that decides, on the spot, that it belongs to somebody.

The refrain is Rajasthani folk, carried for generations on wedding songs. Dr Zeus, the British producer, built a Punjabi love song around it and released it in 2003 on the album Unda Da Influence, and the track travelled through every desi party since, and into the film Chaar Din Ki Chandni in 2012. Three passages ahead, and they run from the first wink to the claim that the bracelet tells the truth about her beauty.

01 — adiyan dho ke paiyan jhanjhran

ادیاں دھو کے پائیاں جھانجھراں
لونگ ماری لشکارے
کنگنا تیرا نی
سانوں کرے اشارے

अड़ियाँ धो के पाईं झाँझराँ
लौंग मारी लश्कारे
कंगना तेरा नी
सानूँ करे इशारे

adiyan dho ke paiyan jhanjhran
laung mare lashkare
kangna tera ni
sanu kare ishaare

Having washed her hands, she has put on the anklets. The clove strikes with a flash. It is your bracelet, beloved, and it keeps signalling to us.

The folk hook, and every image in it is doing two jobs. Jhanjhran are the anklets with the tiny bells, and washing the hands first is the ritual of dressing up, so the line is a whole scene of a girl getting ready. The clove, laung, striking with a flash is the folk's way of saying something is dazzling, and the bracelet, kangna, does the flirting for her: sanu kare ishare, it signals us. The jewellery has been given the girl's job, which is exactly how the folk songs of the region like to flirt.

جھانجھر jhanjhran: anklets with small bells
لونگ laung: a clove
کنگنا kangna: a bracelet, a bangle
اشارہ ishara: a signal, a wink, a sign

02 — kangne de vich lage naag sat rang ni

کنگنے دے وچ لگے ناگ ست رنگ نی
کالے کالے عاشقاں توں دل اے منگے نی
اپنے اس کنگنے نوں سنبھ کے رکھ متیارے
کنگنا تیرا نی سانوں کرے اشارے

कंगने दे विच लगे नाग सत रंग नी
काले काले आशिक़ाँ तों दिल ए मंगे नी
अपने इस कंगने नूँ संभ के रख मुतियारे
कंगना तेरा नी सानूँ करे इशारे

kangne de vich lage naag sat rang ni
kale kale aashiqan toh dil ehe mange ni
apne es kangne nu sambh ke rakh mutiyaare
kangna tera ni sanu kare ishaare

In your bracelet is set a snake of seven colours. From all the dark-eyed lovers, the heart asks only for this. Guard this bracelet of yours well, my pearl. It is your bracelet, beloved, and it keeps signalling to us.

The verse that turns the bracelet into a witness. The snake in the bangle, naag sat rang, is the folk ornament of the region, and the song hands it a full-time job: the selecting. From all the lovers, kale kale aashiqan, the heart asks for the one the bracelet chooses. The warning that follows, sambh ke rakh mutiyaare, guard it well, my pearl, makes the ornament the most valuable thing she owns, because it is the thing that has chosen him.

ناگ naag: a snake
عاشق aashiq: a lover
متیار mutiyar: a beloved; literally, one precious as a pearl

03 — goriyan baavan de utte tera baara jachda

گوریاں باواں دے اُتے تیرا بارا جچدا
تو اے سکوندی اے اہنوں اے سانوں دسدا
کنگنا تیرا سچ بولدا حسن دی اے سرکارے
کنگنا تیرا نی سانوں کرے اشارے

गोरियाँ बावाँ दे उत्ते तेरा बारा जचदा
तू ए सिकौंदी ए एहनू ए सानूँ दसदा
कंगना तेरा सच बोलदा हुसन दी ए सरकारे
कंगना तेरा नी सानूँ करे इशारे

goriyan baavan de utte tera baara jachda
tu eh sikaundiye ehnu eh sanu dasda
kangna tera sach bolda husan di ye sarkaare
kangna tera ni sanu kare ishaare

On your fair arms, the bangle fits you beautifully. You keep showing it off, and it keeps telling us everything. Your bracelet speaks the truth; it is the government of beauty. It is your bracelet, beloved, and it keeps signalling to us.

The compliment, delivered by measurement. Baara jachda is the fitting of an ornament, the exact word for a bangle sitting right on an arm, and the line makes her arm the only place the bracelet looks right. Then the teasing confession: she keeps showing it off, sikaundiye, and the bracelet keeps telling on her. The closing claim promotes the ornament to an office: husan di sarkaare, the government of beauty. The folk wink has become an official statement, and the refrain returns to sign it.

گوریاں باواں goriyan baavan: fair arms
سکوندی sikaundi: showing off, flaunting
سرکار sarkaar: a government, an authority

Reading it whole

The hook of the whole thing is a piece of folk machinery that has been flirting for centuries. Adiyaan dho ke paiyan jhanjhran, laung mare lashkare: washing her hands, she has put on the anklets, and the clove strikes with a flash. It is a song about a girl dressing up, and the flash of it, and a boy who has noticed. Kangna tera ni, sanu kare ishare: it is your bracelet, beloved, and it keeps signalling to us. The bracelet is the love-token and the wink in one object, and the refrain hands the flirting to the jewellery, which is the folk way.

The second passage is the first verse of the modern song, and it turns the bracelet into a witness. A snake of seven colours is set in the bangle, naag sat rang, and the line that follows hands the snake a job: from all the dark-eyed lovers, the heart asks for this. Kale kale aashiqan toh dil ehe mange ni. The snake in the ornament is doing the selecting, which is the folk way of saying the bracelet has chosen him, and the passage ends by warning the girl to keep it safe: apne es kangne nu sambh ke rakh mutiyaare. Guard this bracelet well, my pearl. The ornament has become the love-letter and the contract in one object.

The last passage is the compliment, and it works by measurement. On your fair arms, goriyan baavan, the bangle fits you beautifully, tera baara jachda. You keep showing it off, the line says, and it keeps telling us everything. Then the claim that closes the song: kangna tera sach bolda, husan di ye sarkaare. Your bracelet speaks the truth; it is the government of beauty. The folk song's wink has been promoted to an official statement, and the song ends where it began, with the bracelet doing all the talking.

The recording is Dr Zeus at the start of his run, with Master Rakesh on the main version, and the track became one of the signature sounds of the desi scene of its time. The film reissued it nine years later, and the original is the one people mean. The English rap lines of the recording are left out here; the text is the Punjabi of the song.

Recordings

Dr Zeus

The original, from the 2003 album Unda Da Influence, with Master Rakesh.

Text and rights

Devanagari text supplied and checked by a reader who knows the language. The Urdu script and the transliteration follow that reading.

The refrain is the Rajasthani folk line laung mare lashkare; the song around it is Dr Zeus's 'Kangna' from the 2003 album Unda Da Influence. The recording also carries English rap lines, which are not printed here. The refrain returns between passages in the recording, more often than it is printed here.

The folk refrain is old, but the 2003 song and its recording are recent work and their rights are held by the artists. It is quoted here as the subject of Harf's own criticism: the translation, the reading of each passage and the essay around them are original work written for this page. If you hold the rights and would like something changed, tell us on Instagram.