Part of the Hindu wedding ceremony involves the bride and groom making offerings to the sacred fire, and walking around the fire to finalize their marriage. And of course, the priest is supposed to chant blessings on the couple. Since Dulla wasn’t a priest, nor even Hindu (he was Muslim), he didn’t know the proper prayers, so he sang a nonsense song instead. It became folklore.
سندر مندریئے ہو!
تیرا کون وچار ہو!
دُلا بھٹی والا ہو!Sunder mundriye ho!
Tera kaun vicharaa ho!
Dullah Bhatti walla ho!
Dullhe di dhee vyayae ho!
Ser shakkar payee ho!
Kudi da laal pathaka ho!
Kudi da saalu paata ho!
Salu kaun samete!
Chacha gali dese!
Chache choori kutti! zamidara lutti!
Zamindaar sudhaye!
Bum Bum bhole aaye!
Ek bhola reh gaya!
Sipahee far ke lai gaya!
Sipahee ne mari itt!
Bhaanvey ro te bhaanvey pitt!
Sanoo de de Lohri, te teri jeeve jodi!
(Laugh,cry or howl!)Translation:
Beautiful girl
Who will think about you
Dulla of the Bhatti clan will
Dulla’s daughter got married
He gave one ser of sugar!
The girl is wearing a red suit!
But her shawl is torn!
Who will stitch her shawl?!
The uncle made choori!
The landlords looted it!
Landlords are beaten up!
Lots of simple-headed boys came!
One simpleton got left behind!
The soldier arrested him!
The soldier hit him with a brick!
(Cry or howl)!
Give us Lohri, long live your pair (to a married couple)!
Whether you cry, or bang your head later!
This song is sung in Punjab every Lohdi as children go home to home to collect peanuts, rewdi, gachak etc.
This tomb in Lahore is of Abdullah Bhatti whose folk tales are sung at Lohri in Punjab.
Finally, he was caught treacherously and hanged outside the Lahore kotwali in 1599. Today even after centuries his feats are being celebrated on Lohri by Hindu and Sikh Punjabis of East Punjab, while Muslims of West Punjab, who share his faith, his land his blood have no idea who he was. This couplet of Shah Hussain said on the eve of the martyrdom of Dullah still resonates in the winds of Punjab
