Boodram Holass premiered his classic song “Thar Gori Jamuna Hilore” at the 2005 Chutney Soca Monarch competition in Trinidad and Tobago. The song belongs to a genre of Hindustani music referred to as “gari,” known for featuring jokes and harmless insults directed at family members and bizarre situations. In this case, a young woman loses her jewelry to a thieving fish at the Jamuna (Yamuna) River in India. This prompts her in-laws to start searching for it. Boodram’s track is the perfect song to play at the kangan or kakkan ceremony following a Hindu marriage ceremony.
Translated by Vinay Harrichan as part of the Caribbean Hindustani team:
Thar gori Jamuna hilore
The beautiful girl went by the waves of the Jamuna
Jhulaniya lege machaliya
A fish came by and took her earring
Saas more khoje, sasur khojawawe
Her mother-in-law searches, her father-in-law searches
Saiyan lagaawe mahajaal
Her beloved casts a giant fishing net
Jhulaniya lege machaliya
A fish came by and took her earring
Jeth more khoje, jethani khojawawe
Her elder brother-in-law searches, her elder sister-in-law searches
Saiyan lagaawe mahajaal
Her beloved casts a giant fishing net
Jhulaniya lege machaliya
A fish came by and took her earring
Dewar more khoje, devrani khojawawe
Her younger brother-in-law searches, her younger sister-in-law searches
Saiyan lagaawe mahajaal
Her beloved casts a giant fishing net
Jhulaniya lege machaliya
A fish came by and took her earring
