# Laung da Lashkara: Is this Bollywood in Hindi or Panjabi or what? **URL:** \ **Category:** Factual Questions\ **Created:** [March 30, 2011, 12:48am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/laung-da-lashkara-is-this-bollywood-in-hindi-or-panjabi-or-what/576447 "2011-03-30T00:48:02Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 8\ **Page:** 1
**Author:** ![Hank\_Beecher](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/hank_beecher/32/7275_2.png) [@Hank\_Beecher](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Hank_Beecher)\ **Post date:** [March 30, 2011, 12:48am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/laung-da-lashkara-is-this-bollywood-in-hindi-or-panjabi-or-what/576447/1 "2011-03-30T00:48:02Z")
[![](https://i.ytimg.com/vi/Zg16Vqb3VIc/hqdefault.jpg "Laung Da Lashkara Patiala House") ](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Zg16Vqb3VIc) Is this Panjabi? I am learning Hindi and understand some of the words but much less than usual. ---
**Author:** ![Dervorin](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/eb8c5e/32.png) [@Dervorin](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Dervorin)\ **Post date:** [March 30, 2011, 10:03pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/laung-da-lashkara-is-this-bollywood-in-hindi-or-panjabi-or-what/576447/2 "2011-03-30T22:03:34Z")
It’s a mix of Hindi and Punjabi. Most of the chorus is Punjabi, while most of the verses are Hindi. Here’s a link to the lyrics: [http://www.hindimovies.org/laung-da-lashkara-lyrics.html](http://www.hindimovies.org/laung-da-lashkara-lyrics.html) Example: > [@Punjabi](#): > > Laungda lashkara oh baby tera jaan se pyaara > Oh baby ainwe chamka dil saada > Ke dikh gaya pyaar yeh Patial vi Something about you being more precious than life, and a sparkling heart… something someting love. > [@Hindi](#): > > Baaton se teri baatein bani hai > Aake se chupke mere kaano mein keh de > Baatein toh meri, chup ho gayi hain > Aa jo bhi sunn na hai woh aankhon se sunn le A very bad translation, done in a hurry: This has happened because of your words, Come whisper it in my ear. My speech has become silent Come, listen to what you need to listen to from my eyes. Argh. That’s an awful translation. But you get the gist. It’s quite a mix, that song. Forgot to add: Patiala is a town in Punjab, famous for the Patiala Peg, which is referenced in the song. A Patiala Peg is four fingers of whiskey, measured in a glass. Punjabis are stereotypically famous for their love of Johnny Walker Black Label. ---
**Author:** ![Hank\_Beecher](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/hank_beecher/32/7275_2.png) [@Hank\_Beecher](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Hank_Beecher)\ **Post date:** [March 31, 2011, 5:16pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/laung-da-lashkara-is-this-bollywood-in-hindi-or-panjabi-or-what/576447/3 "2011-03-31T17:16:37Z")
OK that makes sense, thanks a lot! What a great song. ---
**Author:** ![Anaamika](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/5f9b8f/32.png) [@Anaamika](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Anaamika)\ **Post date:** [March 31, 2011, 7:24pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/laung-da-lashkara-is-this-bollywood-in-hindi-or-panjabi-or-what/576447/4 "2011-03-31T19:24:42Z")
I’ll listen to it at home and see if I can add anything, if Dervorin doesn’t mind. So how are you learning Hindi? From whom? How exciting! ---
**Author:** ![jjimm](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/j/ba8739/32.png) [@jjimm](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/jjimm)\ **Post date:** [March 31, 2011, 7:30pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/laung-da-lashkara-is-this-bollywood-in-hindi-or-panjabi-or-what/576447/5 "2011-03-31T19:30:35Z")
That starts with very desi-London English. ---
**Author:** ![Dervorin](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/eb8c5e/32.png) [@Dervorin](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Dervorin)\ **Post date:** [March 31, 2011, 9:18pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/laung-da-lashkara-is-this-bollywood-in-hindi-or-panjabi-or-what/576447/6 "2011-03-31T21:18:11Z")
> [@Anaamika](#): > > I’ll listen to it at home and see if I can add anything, if Dervorin doesn’t mind. > > So how are you learning Hindi? From whom? How exciting! Go for it! My Hindi skills are rapidly diminishing, I’m sorry to say, after having lived in the UK for years now. As I said earlier, it was a terrible translation, so feel free to add anything, or correct me. 🙂 ---
**Author:** ![Hank\_Beecher](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/hank_beecher/32/7275_2.png) [@Hank\_Beecher](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Hank_Beecher)\ **Post date:** [March 31, 2011, 9:22pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/laung-da-lashkara-is-this-bollywood-in-hindi-or-panjabi-or-what/576447/7 "2011-03-31T21:22:50Z")
> [@Anaamika](#): > > I’ll listen to it at home and see if I can add anything, if Dervorin doesn’t mind. > > So how are you learning Hindi? From whom? How exciting! From 3 Rosetta Stone cd’s so far. And movies and songs and BBC Hindi. There is an Indian community here mostly because of the university, so I was planning on finding a native speaker to tutor me soon. And from Google translate. ---
**Author:** ![Anaamika](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/5f9b8f/32.png) [@Anaamika](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Anaamika)\ **Post date:** [April 1, 2011, 1:26pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/laung-da-lashkara-is-this-bollywood-in-hindi-or-panjabi-or-what/576447/8 "2011-04-01T13:26:20Z")
Well, I totally forgot to watch it yesterday, but from Dervorin’s lyrics: \*Laungda lashkara oh baby tera jaan se pyaara Oh baby ainwe chamka dil saada Ke dikh gaya pyaar yeh Patial vi \* “Laung” is a nose ring. So he is saying “The glitter of your nose ring catches the light and it catches my heart Oh baby my heart glitters so That even this Patiala has found love” \*Baaton se teri baatein bani hai Aake se chupke mere kaano mein keh de Baatein toh meri, chup ho gayi hain Aa jo bhi sunn na hai woh aankhon se sunn le \* In talk your words have become more Come and whisper it in my ear My own voice has been hushed Instead listen to the language of my eyes * * * It’s the “in thing” these days to mix Hindi and Punjabi regularly. Being Punjabi myself, I can’t help but feel some pride in it - but let me see if I can say it without being too smug. 🙂 Punjabi music on the whole is very lively and fun, with lots of hard and heavy beats. You’ll noticed Rajhastani music often gets mixed in too, for the same reason - them and Gujratis all have the same or similar “joyful celebration” style as Punjabis. The other thing is that Punjabi is easy to fit into lyrics because the sound is a bit more flexible; you can have true village Punjabi, more conventional Punjabi, and Punjabi the way I speak it, with a mix of Hindi and Urdu. You can adjust it to fit into the lyrics. My family speaks Punjabi. I can listen to pure village Punjabi and understand about 80% of it. My great-aunt used to speak true village Punjabi. She loved us very much but her ways were a bit rough. She used to yell at us “tera beda garak ho”! I am not entirely sure what it means but it translates loosely to “Go to hell!” We used to giggle like mad because we knew she didn’t mean it at all. I miss her dearly, she was the closest thing I had to a grandma and always loved me like a granddaughter. Anyway the laung or nosering has lots of song in India. Here is another one: _Laung da lishkara Mahi ne mahi maine laung karwada Laung karwade nag jarwade Nag jarwade aisa Jinna chanda de chamkara_ “The nose ring glitters so Oh my love, buy me a nose ring A nose ring with a gem in it Make it such a gem That the moon itself pales in comparison” And then here’s this FAMOUS one: _Peeche peeche aunda meri chaal venda aai Teer walyea vedkda aai ve, Mera laung gawacha Niga marda aai ve. Mera lauing gavacha_ “You who follow me and watch the way I walk You with eyes like arrows, do look My nose ring is lost Cast your gaze about My nose ring is lost”