Today I'm going to blog about the Arabic version of the Indian song 'Why this kolaveri di ' of Tamil origin (I think). Despite its cringeworthy ridiculousness, (is that even a word?!) the song has become a viral hit in India and possibly other parts of the world, wherever there is an Indian diaspora and fans of Bollwood movies and songs. The song is mainly in poor English, sung in a heavy Tamil accent, (no offense).
The original song can be found here, but it has spawned countless versions which I'm sure you can find on Youtube if you for some reason, possibly sheer boredom or an impending deadline, were inclined to do so.
I recently came across the Arabic version of this song,(by Faez Chowdhury) i.e it has the same tune, same music, but the wording is in Arabic, poor Arabic, the Saudi slang that is spoken, by workers from the South Asia and is sung in an Indian accent, It was shown as part of a comedy/satire series called Ana Asif/I'm Sorry on MBC1. It's Arabic name is Why this khalli-walli ? you can watch it below.
The lyrics follow the pattern, of the original song so if you listen to it first, you might find it more amusing, but the song on its own is a hilarious-yet sad but true.
Whereas the original is about the plight of a young man in love, the Arabic version is about plight of a South Asian worker who's sponsor/ kafeel has told him to get lost/khalli walli. The song illustrates the poor working conditions faced by underpaid, overworked, unskilled labour from South Asia; and the treatment meted out to them by their Middle Eastern sponsors. I wish I could say that this was the exception and not the norm but sadly it isn't so. Unless there are laws to protect these workers, they will continue to suffer as they are driven to the middle east by extreme poverty and lack of job opportunities.
Below is the transliteration and translation of the song in English. (I haven't translated the lyrics into proper English because its meant be broken Arabic and I wanted to capture the tone of some one speaking without fluency )
This is turning out to be a truly multi-cultural post about the Arabic version of an Indian song with English translation about the plight of South Asian workers in the Middle East! I've written the translation in brown next to Romanized Arabic lyrics
Aiywa sadeeq, ana ghanni song: Yeah, friend I going to sing song,
Arbi song: Arabic song
Ma fee quwais song: Not good song
Why this khalli walli khalli walli khalli walli- khalli walli-: Why this get lost, get lost, get lost, get lost? repeat*3
haza kafeel ilbas abiyad: This sponsor wears white
wa qalb kulo aswad: And his heart is all black:
haza kulo youm gir gir gir gir: Every day he tells off
haza nafr bakheel: This man is a miser
Why this khalli walli khalli walli khalli walli- khalli walli- walli : Why this get lost, get lost, get lost, get lost repeat*3
Floos mafee, mafee akul: No money, no eat
Ana miskeen, ibki: I'm poor, I cry
Ma fee raha, ma fee nom, ish haza ya habibi: No rest, no sleep, what is this 'dear'? (see habibi)
Why this khalli walli khalli walli khalli walli- khalli walli- walli : Why this get lost, get lost, get lost, get lost repeat*3
---Aiywa baba kaifal haal, mama kaisa hai: Yeah Dad, how are you, how's Mom?
Baba baba haza kafeel mushkila: Dad, Dad, this sponsor is a problem
Haza kafeel mafee sawwee kafalaa, haza kafeel sawwee khrooj nehaeee: This sponsor isn't going to sponsor me, this sponsor is going to do(send me on) my final-exit
Haza fee ghair alheyn, alhey ghair: This is then, then is this
kaam ziyada..laazim arby: Too much work (sung in hindi)..[some one says].must be in arabic
shughul ziyada, raatib maafee, raatib kullu weyn? : Too much work (sung in Arabic), no pay, where did all the salary go?
Sawwi shahee, ghasl sayyara, nazaf kullu bait: Make tea, wash the car, clean the whole house
Insaan, Insaan, Ana Insaan, Ma fee hayawan ya mudeer: Human, human I'm a human, not an animal O Manager
Mama, mama, ana mama, taaban katheer ya kafeel: Mama, Mama, I'm very tired O my sponsor
Haza Nafr mo quwais, aish sawwee qool?: This man is not good, what do you say?
Mafee ibghaa sawa sawa shugul, ana fee ibgha irja3 balad: No want same same work, I'm going back to my country
Why this get lost, get lost, get lost, get lost repeat*3
Please share your views on this important topic, beacuse its up to you and me, bring about the change in the society in the future.
* P.S This is a caffiene triggered post, the writer is caffeine intolerant, thus I must apologize if I have offended anyone, no offense was intended, and the writer does not promote substance abuse of any kind not even caffeine!
The original song can be found here, but it has spawned countless versions which I'm sure you can find on Youtube if you for some reason, possibly sheer boredom or an impending deadline, were inclined to do so.
I recently came across the Arabic version of this song,(by Faez Chowdhury) i.e it has the same tune, same music, but the wording is in Arabic, poor Arabic, the Saudi slang that is spoken, by workers from the South Asia and is sung in an Indian accent, It was shown as part of a comedy/satire series called Ana Asif/I'm Sorry on MBC1. It's Arabic name is Why this khalli-walli ? you can watch it below.
The lyrics follow the pattern, of the original song so if you listen to it first, you might find it more amusing, but the song on its own is a hilarious-yet sad but true.
Whereas the original is about the plight of a young man in love, the Arabic version is about plight of a South Asian worker who's sponsor/ kafeel has told him to get lost/khalli walli. The song illustrates the poor working conditions faced by underpaid, overworked, unskilled labour from South Asia; and the treatment meted out to them by their Middle Eastern sponsors. I wish I could say that this was the exception and not the norm but sadly it isn't so. Unless there are laws to protect these workers, they will continue to suffer as they are driven to the middle east by extreme poverty and lack of job opportunities.
Below is the transliteration and translation of the song in English. (I haven't translated the lyrics into proper English because its meant be broken Arabic and I wanted to capture the tone of some one speaking without fluency )
This is turning out to be a truly multi-cultural post about the Arabic version of an Indian song with English translation about the plight of South Asian workers in the Middle East! I've written the translation in brown next to Romanized Arabic lyrics
Aiywa sadeeq, ana ghanni song: Yeah, friend I going to sing song,
Ma fee quwais song: Not good song
Why this khalli walli khalli walli khalli walli- khalli walli-: Why this get lost, get lost, get lost, get lost? repeat*3
haza kafeel ilbas abiyad: This sponsor wears white
wa qalb kulo aswad: And his heart is all black:
haza kulo youm gir gir gir gir: Every day he tells off
haza nafr bakheel: This man is a miser
Why this khalli walli khalli walli khalli walli- khalli walli- walli : Why this get lost, get lost, get lost, get lost repeat*3
Floos mafee, mafee akul: No money, no eat
Ana miskeen, ibki: I'm poor, I cry
Ma fee raha, ma fee nom, ish haza ya habibi: No rest, no sleep, what is this 'dear'? (see habibi)
Why this khalli walli khalli walli khalli walli- khalli walli- walli : Why this get lost, get lost, get lost, get lost repeat*3
---Aiywa baba kaifal haal, mama kaisa hai: Yeah Dad, how are you, how's Mom?
Baba baba haza kafeel mushkila: Dad, Dad, this sponsor is a problem
Haza kafeel mafee sawwee kafalaa, haza kafeel sawwee khrooj nehaeee: This sponsor isn't going to sponsor me, this sponsor is going to do(send me on) my final-exit
Haza fee ghair alheyn, alhey ghair: This is then, then is this
kaam ziyada..laazim arby: Too much work (sung in hindi)..[some one says].must be in arabic
shughul ziyada, raatib maafee, raatib kullu weyn? : Too much work (sung in Arabic), no pay, where did all the salary go?
Sawwi shahee, ghasl sayyara, nazaf kullu bait: Make tea, wash the car, clean the whole house
Insaan, Insaan, Ana Insaan, Ma fee hayawan ya mudeer: Human, human I'm a human, not an animal O Manager
Mama, mama, ana mama, taaban katheer ya kafeel: Mama, Mama, I'm very tired O my sponsor
Haza Nafr mo quwais, aish sawwee qool?: This man is not good, what do you say?
Mafee ibghaa sawa sawa shugul, ana fee ibgha irja3 balad: No want same same work, I'm going back to my country
Why this get lost, get lost, get lost, get lost repeat*3
Please share your views on this important topic, beacuse its up to you and me, bring about the change in the society in the future.
* P.S This is a caffiene triggered post, the writer is caffeine intolerant, thus I must apologize if I have offended anyone, no offense was intended, and the writer does not promote substance abuse of any kind not even caffeine!
THIS SONG IS WAY OVER RATED .I JUST SIMPLY HATE IT.
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