Why this kolaveri di song- Arabic version!

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!

Morrocan Maids:Magicians or Man Magnets? From a Saudi Women's perspective

Recently, there has been a bit of an uproar amoung Saudi women, and no, its got nothing to do with driving; Saudi women have been protesting the import of Morrocan women as domestic helpers in lieu of Indonesian and Phillipine women.

Previously, most domestic helpers were from either Indonesia and the Philipines and after a growing number cases of unpaid wages and abuse these two countries decided to put a ban on sending their domestic workers to Saudi Arabia, and I think other Gulf countires until a better wages and rights for their workers. The governments were n't able to come ot an agreement and there has been a shortage of maids ever since, with families struggling to find help, and having to do without in Ramadan (when there is a high demand for maids as ironically cooking and parties increase).

So, when it was announced that Saudi Arabia would getting maids from Morrocco, you would think Saudi women would breathe a collective sigh of relief. Instead, this was received like a stab in the back, a sprinkling of salt on the wound.

Why, you may ask? Well, it is a well known fact that Saudi men, tend to vacation in Morroco-alone. It is how should I put it politely... considered an adult playground. I once went to a travel agent with a sibling to plan our summer vacations, we'd been thinking of Tunisia/Morocoo/Jordan and wanted more information so that we could decide. You should've seen the travel agent's face when my brother asked about Morroco, he first froze, glanced  slightly in my direction, then looked back at my bro, and as my bro was still looking at him naively for an answer -quietly said its not appropriate for families. Needless to say, we were very embarassed and almost afraid to ask about any other country in case we made a similar mistake!

That's not all, Saudi women feel threatened due the unfortunate reputation the country has developed for practising Black Magic (as Muslims we believe in it to be real and it uses Jinns(spirits) to cast spells), and often Saudi men are said to have been deceived into marrying them. It helps that they are considered pretty and full of feminine qualities and 'know the way to Saudi man's heart'.

Some Saudi women have threatened to quit their jobs and stay at home to do the housework if the alternative is to hire Morrocan maids-or they could continue working and do the housework as well like women all over the world. And what about those who don't work but cannot even fetch a glass of water without a maid let alone take care of their kids? I think its a devilish plan concocted by Saudi men, its a win-win situation for them, if their wives don't hire the maids they will save the salary spent on the maid, and if they do-at least they will have some one pretty and sweet to look at :-). It would be funny, if this step ended up turning many Saudi women into domesticated and caring non-creepy version of Stepford wives.

Personally, I don't like the idea of live-in help unless absolutely crucial, as it creates numerous problems regardless of nationality. Would you be willing to hire a live in Morrocan maid?