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)

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* 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.