“Ab Choliya Bheejay” is one of the tracks performed by The Ganesh Kirtan Group on their album “Chutney Selections” (1979). Founded around 1964 in Mendez Village, situated in the southern Trinidadian town of Siparia, the group was led by Ramdaye Naipaul. The remaining singers included Etwaria Ramlakhan, her two daughters Meera and Kamini, as well as her four daughter-in-laws Kamla, Basdaye, Samdaye, and Sumintra. These women were well-known for their command of bhajans (prayers), biyaah geet (wedding songs), and sohar (birth songs), in addition to chowtaal for Holi or Phagwah. They won numerous local competitions and appeared several times on the Trinidadian television program Mastana Bahar. This composition, like many others in the local folk genre, pokes fun at the relationship dynamics between a woman and her in-laws in the Indian joint-family household.
Translated by Vinay Harrichan as part of the Caribbean Hindustani team:
Ab choliya bheejay paseena banawari
Now my body is drenched in sweat beloved
Kota charhat more sasru nirakhe
My father-in-law observes as I climb up the shelf
Utara ka phatte kinari banawari
While coming down my dress tears on the ledge beloved
Kota charhat more bhasru nirakhe
My older brother-in-law observes as I climb up the shelf
Utara ka phatte kinari banawari
While coming down my dress tears on the ledge beloved
Kota charhat more dewar nirakhe
My younger brother-in-law observes as I climb up the shelf
Utara ka phatte kinari banawari
While coming down my dress tears on the ledge beloved
Kota charhat more balama nirakhe
My lover (husband) observes as I climb up the shelf
Utara ka phatte kinari banawari
While coming down my dress tears on the ledge beloved
Ab choliya bheejay paseena banawari
Now my body is drenched in sweat beloved
