Coke Studio: Madari English Meaning and Lyrics

Thanks to Sanat Rath, I had the absolute privilege of listening to this superb rendering of Madari by Vishal Dadlani and Sonu Kakkar and an absolutely stunning composition by Clinton Cerejo as part of Coke Studio. Here's the official video. The lyrics of the song are interspersed with the meanings translated to English. Credits for the superb lyrics go to Manoj Yadav. Hope you enjoy it.

Make sure you watch this in HD, it's worth the extra audio quality.

Song: Madari
Producers: Coke Studio
Singers: Vishal Dadlani and Sonu Kakkar

(Intro music with chords)
(Slow build up)
(Sharp guitar riff)
(Drums kick in...)

[Vishal Dadlani sings]

Madari, Madari, Madari,
Madari mera tu,
Main Jamura re Jamoora, 
Jamura re Jamoora... 

Master, master, master*
you're my master
I'm an obedient assistant*,
an obedient assistant...

Madari, Madari, Madari,
Madari mera tu...
Main Jamura re Jamoora, 
Jamura re Jamoora re... 

Master, master, master
You're my master...
I'm an obedient assistant,
an obedient assistant, obedient assistant!

(Madari intro repeat)

Tera damroo baje, baje damroo,
Man ka mayura, 
Man ka mayura,
Jam ke naache...

Your drum beats, the drum beats,
The peacock of my mind, (x2)
dances intensely.

Teri waani ke dam par, 
Waani ke dam par!
Jag saara bhaage
Aage paache.

On the strength of your voice/words,
On the strength of your voice/words!
The entire world runs hither tither.

Tu hi dhare muskan ki booti, 
Cheetein tu ashuwan ki phoohar.
Tu hi dhare saagar kaa thela, 
Tu hi bhare nadiyaan mein dhar.

You are the one who holds the medicine/herbs of smiling (keys to happiness).
You spray a fountain of "ashuwan" (youth?)
You're the one who takes care of the seas.
You're the one who gives flow to the rivers.

(Madari intro repeat with terminating aalap after Jamoora...)

[Sonu Kakkar sings]

(Sonu Kakkar: Aalap)

Haaji lok maakke nu jaande. (x2)
Assa te jaana Takht Hazare.
Te jis wal yaar, Us wal kaaaba...
Te assan phol kataabaan chare...

The people who do the Haj go towards Mecca. (x2)
But I'm going towards the throne/shrine of Hazare~ instead.
In whichever direction is your beloved, that's the direction of the Kaaba# (of prayer).
We have read and scrutinized the books rigorously for this.

(Context: This stanza references the eternal love story of Heer and Ranjha where Ranjha was from Takht Hazare and Heer was from Punjab.)

(Repeat above)

Itt kharakke, dukhhad wajje,
Tatta hove chulha. (2 lines repeat)
Aan fakir tey khakhaar jaawan,
Razi hovay Bullah.

Bricks clang, the dukkhad plays,
The stove is heating up. (2 lines repeat)
Ascetics may come, have food, be merry, and go.
Bulle Shah (a famous sufi poet & ascetic) - do you find all this agreeable?/are you in agreement?

(Context: In the olden days, wood fired stoves made of brick were used for cooking. They were kindled by blowpipes called 'dukkhads' and housewives would do charity by cooking for ascetics.)
(Repeat above)

[Vishal Dadlani sings]

Teri rukhi-sookhi, sookhi-rukhi, kha ke dekha,
Har ek niwalah amrit laage.
Tere rehmo karam se, rehmo karam se!
Har phoote kismat uthke bhage...

I tried having your plain, simple, dry food and
every bite now feels like the elixir of immortality. By your graces, your graces,
Every person's bad luck/poor destiny goes away..

Jitna bhar le khilonein mein chaabi,
Utni hai uski raftar.
Tu chalata hai jeevan ka mela,
Tu hi sunein hum sab ki phuhaar.

The amount of winding you give to a toy,
That's the speed at which it runs.
You run the circus of life,
You're the one who listens to our spoutings.

Madari, Madari, Madari,
Madari mera tu,
Main Jamura re Jamoora, 
Jamura re Jamoora... 

Master, master, master
you're my master
I'm an obedient assistant,
an obedient assistant...

Madari, Madari, Madari,
Madari mera tu...
Main Jamura re Jamoora, 
Jamura re Jamoora re... 

Master, master, master
You're my master...
I'm an obedient assistant,
an obedient assistant, obedient assistant!

(Madari intro repeat)

Mein tera Jamoora...

I'm your obedient assistant...

(Sonu Kakkar: Aalap)

Jamoora mein tera tu mera Madari...

I'm your obedient assistant, you're my master.

(Sonu Kakkar: Aalap)

Madari, Madari (x5)



---
* The master is in reference to the Indian tradition of "Madaris" who make monkeys dance to their commands and they perform shows and street plays. The "Jamoora" is an oblique reference to the monkey who obeys the master's commands ("obedient assistant") though the term is usually applied to a human assistant who follows his master's orders without question.

~ The shrine of Hazare is a place of religious importance for Sikhs.

# The Kaaba at Mecca is the point towards which all Muslims turn to while praying.

This song is a Sufi composition that speaks of a tale at two levels - at the literal level, you can see this as the statement of an assistant whose mind is fired up by the teachings and commands of his master and whose teachings when followed feel like you're being conferred immortality; a deeper interpretation is that this song is a communion with God and the singer is merely a puppet following the wishes of his master, the Lord, and he has tried an accepted the teachings of God and is willing to follow in his footsteps because he controls the keys to happiness and runs the circus of life.

Thanks a lot to @jamshidmehmood on Youtube for helping clarify the Punjabi sections of the song.

Comments

  1. Anonymous10:02 AM

    More than awesome work..

    ReplyDelete
  2. harjot10:19 AM

    lovely song ... thanks to you, divye bhaiya, i came to know about this beautiful song

    ReplyDelete
  3. Awesome! thanks for the lyrics

    ReplyDelete
  4. Thanks for bringing this to my notice. I had been following your blog earlier but did not see this post at all. A friend of mine had recommended this song to me about a week back and posted the link on my Facebook wall too. And yes, I used some parts from the Wiki just for the English translation of the words 'madari' and 'jamoora'. I'd rather also link your post from my blog.

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Thanks for the link and I liked your updated blog post. :)

      Delete
  5. Anonymous2:20 AM

    You spray a fountain of "ashuwan" (youth?)
    Means - You, the ultimate Master has the power to cause tear (ansuwan) drops !

    ReplyDelete
  6. Jia Nayak12:42 AM

    Heh vishal just because of this song i am your great fan,,, ur great,,,

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Anonymous8:21 AM

      sAME HERE .......

      Delete
  7. superbly awesome composition !!!.....breath-taking singing VISHAL DADLANI and SONU KAKKAR.

    ReplyDelete
  8. Awesome work dude....Commendable job!

    Regards,

    Arjun (www.whymsicalreflections.blogspot.com)

    ReplyDelete
  9. Anonymous9:38 PM

    hats-off to vishal dadlani

    ReplyDelete
  10. Awesome Divye!
    Loved the song.... needed to know the meanings of the song...
    And all I did was find ur post!
    The song gets celebrated with your interpretation!
    Cheers mate!
    Keep rocking!

    ReplyDelete
  11. Anonymous12:15 PM

    did a great job for a great song... thanx... :)

    ReplyDelete
  12. Asbolutely fabulous job done!!!! Thanks a lot man!

    PS : When the portion starts:

    Itt kharakke, dukhhad wajje,
    Tatta hove chulha. (2 lines repeat)
    Aan fakir tey khakhaar jaawan,
    Razi hovay Bullah.........GOOSEBUMPS! You transcend to into another world! :D

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. pradeepkishan9:33 AM

      extremely correct! that part when sonu kakkar pumps adrenaline into her voice! AMAZING!!!

      Delete
  13. Thank you for the translation.

    ReplyDelete
  14. Anonymous11:36 PM

    Great.....

    ReplyDelete
  15. Anonymous11:37 PM

    Great

    ReplyDelete
  16. Anonymous8:13 AM

    thank you so much for this wonderful interpretation of the song....the song is now even more ingrained in my mind...Fantastic job...the singers...the whole coke studio crew and ....last but not the least...... you...for this in depth analysis of history and meaning....Kudos...!

    ReplyDelete
  17. Surottam Raj Prakash8:24 PM

    Absolutly awsome work divye. Your lyrics and its translation have made me understand the power of god better keep up the great work. God bess you. Om satya....

    ReplyDelete
  18. Thanks man :) Really helpful

    ReplyDelete
  19. i have been listening to this song in a loop for days now.. can't get over the music and lyrics.. Everyone has done justice to the song.. including you with this blog

    ReplyDelete
  20. Anonymous6:41 PM

    Thank you! Very helpful, since I love this song but don't speak the language (can recognize words like mera and tu but not most of them) and really appreciate a line-by-line translation especially with references explained. Thanks again! -M

    ReplyDelete
  21. thanks a lot for the translation!!

    ReplyDelete
  22. i like it vry muchhhhhhhhhhh

    ReplyDelete
  23. Anonymous12:36 AM

    THANK YOU SO MUCH! I am an Indian born and raised in Australia and therefore found it almost impossible to decipher what was being said in this amazing song, since its in another dialect of Hindi. And I must say, there is true meaning in this song :)You're the best Divye!

    ReplyDelete
  24. Apurva8:13 AM

    Thank you so much Admin for this lyrics.... :)
    Vishal & Sonu......You both are just amazing......Love you guysssss....<3

    ReplyDelete
  25. Anonymous9:34 AM

    Thanks a lot for the amazing work !

    ReplyDelete
  26. Anonymous2:58 AM

    awesome dude !!
    thnks a lot..

    ReplyDelete
  27. thanks a ton for posting this...my heart melted after listening this song...
    great lyrics,brilliant composition and awesomely sung by vishal and sonu kakkar

    ReplyDelete
  28. Anonymous12:31 PM

    Sonu is just...i can hardly express it.....her aalap,her tones just whar can i say??? just u got da heart sonu....beyond imagination both vishal and sonu nd ofcourse da genious divye....hope u guys will keep it up...waiting.....love u guys,i wish i could enjoy da song live sumday raw frm vishal nd ofcourse Sonu....:-)

    ReplyDelete
  29. Freaking awesome!!!!

    ReplyDelete
  30. Anonymous12:27 PM

    Raazi hovay bullah

    Might also mean:

    Bullah is in agreement / happy with that. (Because Bullah himself was an ascetic)

    ReplyDelete
  31. Anonymous12:00 AM

    Awesome, Thanks..Now I understand wht they are singing.

    ReplyDelete
  32. Anonymous1:12 PM

    thank you for the translation..excellent job..keep it up..

    ReplyDelete
  33. Anonymous10:49 PM

    hats offfffffffffffffffffffff to the lyricist.......................the lines r amazing..................awsome..................

    ReplyDelete
  34. SONU KAKKAR!!!! afta hearin tis m a great fan f urs..... soul smoothening song.....

    ReplyDelete
  35. Unbelieveable way of singing! Awesome song as well. Thanks to writer of this song along with Vishal Dadlani & Sonu Kakkar.

    ReplyDelete
  36. Anonymous5:05 AM

    unbelievable singing .....
    stunning ...hats of to singer..

    ReplyDelete
  37. Wow, We owe so much to you for the lyrics especially Punjabi lines.Though it hardly takes any time to love this song for anyone & i have loved it from day one....But now knowing the whole meaning behind it takes my joy to another level...Thanks a Ton :) Keep Going...

    ReplyDelete
  38. This song is perfect combination of Rock & Folk.
    yaar thanks for the lyrics and awesome simplification of lyrics. i like it.
    and vishal dadlani... what should i say for his best songs ever he had sang....
    salute to lyricist, singer, music composer and and last my favorite part the player of Indian Guitar.... awesome work in together.
    all d best.

    ReplyDelete
  39. Jayant10:57 PM

    Thanks for the lyrics. It wasnt easy to understand the alap sung by sonu.

    ReplyDelete
  40. Thanks Divye!! Very enlightening!

    ReplyDelete
  41. Anonymous9:42 AM

    simply awwsum ....
    the punjabi part of hazart baba bulleh shah sarkar is tremendous..
    lethal combination of both with music....
    luv from pakistan

    ReplyDelete
  42. Thanks for sharing the meaning of the lyrics! =)

    ReplyDelete
  43. Thanks for the wonderful translation!!! Great song great lyrics... :-)

    ReplyDelete
  44. Anonymous12:40 AM

    thanks a lot !! god bless divye :)

    ReplyDelete
  45. dude, not a good translation of the lyrics, you lost the soul so many many times. Sorry!

    ReplyDelete
  46. Ankit9:19 PM

    superb song...believe me it's a headache killer!!!!!!!1

    ReplyDelete
  47. Awesome Song and Brilliant work with lyrics and translations!!

    ReplyDelete
  48. Mind blowing job that you did. thanks Divye :)

    ReplyDelete
  49. Great job bro really very diffcult lyrics...

    ReplyDelete
  50. I have no words the song,the voice,the exhilarating music and finally the meaning of the song just amazing!!!!!! thanks to my friend who showed me this song. Thanks to you for providing the meaning guys you rock !!!!!!!!

    ReplyDelete
  51. Anonymous7:48 AM

    BEAutiful!!!!

    ReplyDelete
  52. Anonymous11:23 AM

    Sonu Kakkar ..................love u wat a singing ............fan of urs

    ReplyDelete
  53. knowing the meaning makes the song even more spl for me!! thanks

    ReplyDelete
  54. Anonymous3:50 AM

    awesome singing & song

    ReplyDelete
  55. Anonymous10:56 AM

    Very nice but one thing i would like to correct in your translation "Takht Hazare" is the place of birth of Ranjha from the Heer ranjha story, going great. keep rocking....

    ReplyDelete
  56. Thanks for the great effort you made for the translation.Also the composition is awesome by Clinton.As the song refers how no situation in life is in our control and we can only play along with the almighty, really great sufi composition,and I would like to have this post on my blog too...

    ReplyDelete
  57. Tnks @divye for this lyrics.. hearty thnks.. Appreciate the efforts... :)

    ReplyDelete
  58. Excellent job.... Thnx for explaining this song. This translation helped me to understand the deep spirit of this song.

    ReplyDelete
  59. beautiful song...

    however, the truth is " main hi madari, main hi jamura"

    ReplyDelete
  60. Anonymous11:10 AM

    awesome work...!!
    the translation has made me fall for this song even more. Thanks :)

    ReplyDelete
  61. Anonymous3:35 AM

    In essence of the punjabi lyrics,Rubbish translation.
    appreciate the effort though.

    ReplyDelete
  62. Pranav Malthankar10:52 AM

    I thought this would be complex... but it turned out to be so very obvious.... but tells our heart out... vishal does have soul to the alterations in pitch.... and thanks dude for translation and your interpretation... justice done.. according to me at least..!

    ReplyDelete
  63. maDari=lord Shiva
    Jamoora=lord hanumana
    when lord Krishna was a child, lord Shiva could not keep The thought of meeting him. So he dressed up as a monkey master and took lord hanumana along with him. He performed in streets of vrinDavan and lord Krishna came to see him. Ironically, it was The lord Shiva who was there to see him. He came close to Krishna, bowed, folded hands, touched his feet and went back. :D

    ReplyDelete
  64. Really awesome as i love this song... I didn't knew its meaning although i.hv spent 6 years in punjb but didn't understand this level of punjabi.... So thank you for your kind words meaning

    ReplyDelete
  65. Anonymous9:32 AM

    You rock

    ReplyDelete
  66. Anonymous11:46 AM

    Thank you for doing this!!

    ReplyDelete
  67. Anonymous10:34 AM

    thanks so much for your translation. I used this in my romance novel Silently Falling in Love. I love using Hindi songs and try to make sure i have a song for every chapter. I'd love to use more of your translations.

    https://www.wattpad.com/834622225-silently-falling-in-love-again-edited-chapter-15

    I

    ReplyDelete
  68. Thank you so much..ssly greatful that u took ur time and did this!!! ������

    ReplyDelete
  69. Thank you so much!!!! Very grateful for taking ur time out and doing this fr ppl like me 😁🤗💋

    ReplyDelete
  70. Thank you so much..ssly greatful that u took ur time and did this!!! 💋💋💋

    ReplyDelete
  71. Just hearing that right song can be an emotional trigger greater than touch or taste. Because so many songs are associated with so many up or down happenings in our lives, just hearing the opening bars can take us back in time to a place where we were joyful or down in the dumps, these were some of the happiest or worst times in our life. lyricstok lyrics website

    ReplyDelete

Post a Comment

Popular posts from this blog

AJAX और हिंदी

Sadi Gali - Punjabi Lyrics and Meaning (in English) - Tanu Weds Manu

Tune Meri Jaana Kabhi Nahin Jaana - Lonely (Emptiness) - IIT Guwahati - Rohan Rathore

Solved? LaTeX Error: pdf file is damaged - attempting to reconstruct xref table