Maye ni main ik shikra yaar manaya

ਮਾਏ ਨੀ ਮੈਂ ਇਕ ਸ਼ਿਕਰਾ ਯਾਰ ਮਨਾਯਾ 

This is from one of my favorite poets of all times, Shiv Kumar Batalvi. Batalvi was known for his creations of love & pathos. The way he weaved bereavement & sorrow is beyond comparison. This one creation is from the collection "Birah da Sultan" and is said to have written by him for his ex-girlfriend. He loved the girl a lot, but she moved abroad and got married. The poem was written when the girl bore her first child.

Maye ni maye, main ik shikra yaar banaya

O mother, I fell in love with a hawk...

Ohde sir te kalgi

Ohde pairin chanjhar

O chog chugenda aaya

He had a plume on his head,

and anklets in his feet,

came pecking for grains...

(He was pretty looking, attractive & frivolously came this side)

Ik ohde roop di dhup tikheri

dooja mehkan da tirhaya

One was his appearance had the radiance of sunlight,

Two, his body smelled as if immersed in perfume...

(He had an amazing aura & aroma)

Teeja ohda rang gulabi

O kise gori maan da jaya

Three, his skin color, that of rose,

He was child of a fair mother...

(He was so good looking, didn't seem from this place; a foreigner)

Ishqe da ik palang nawari

Ve assan chanania vich daya

I made a bed of love,

and spread it in moonlight...

(I fantasized of a life of love with him)

Tan di chadar ho gayi meli

Os pair jaan palange paya

The sheet of my body got soiled,

when he touched it with his feet...

Dukhan mere naina de koye

Te vich harr hanjuan da aaya

Hollows of my eyes hurt,

and they are flooded with tears...

Sari raat gyi vich sochan

Os ae ki zulm kamaya

All night I kept awake,

wondering what did I do to earn this pain...

Subah savere layni vatna

We assan mal mal os navaya

Early morning I made a scrub paste,

and scrubbed and bathed him...

Dehi de vichon niklan chingan

Ni sada hath gaya kumlaya

His body exuded burning dust,

my hands got ragged and burnt...

(Even while I was caring for him, he kept hurting me)

Churi kuttan ta oh kaunda naahi

Ve assan dil da maas khawaya

He didn't eat the food I cooked for him with love,

so I served him the flesh of my heart...

(He won't accept my love, instead, keep picking on my heart)

Ik uddari aisi mari

O murr watni na aaya

He took a long flight,

And never came back here...

(After all this, he left, to never come back)

Maye ni main ik shikra yaar banaya

Essence: This is a narration of a lost, betrayed, & hurt lover, telling how he loved someone so much but got extreme pain in return

Akhiyan ch tu vasda

ਅਖਿਯਾਂ ਚ ਤੂ ਵਸਦਾ

Surinder Kaur was one of the most popular (and brilliant) punjabi singer of her times. She, and her sister Parkash Kaur were known for their folk songs and are still sung at almost every occasion in Punjab.

ehna akhiyaN ch pava kive kajala ve.

akhiyaN ch tu vasda

ehna akhiya ch pava kive kajala ve

akhiayaN ch tu vasda..

How do I put kajal (kohl) in these eyes,

you live in these eyes...

(symbolic expression of love)

har vele channa mera tere val moonh ve..

har vale channa mera tere val moonh ve..

All the time I keep looking at you (your direction)

buliyaN te naa tera akhiyaN ch tu ve..akhiyaN ch tu ve..

Your name is always on my lips and you are in my eyes

jadoN hasdi bhulekha mainu penda ve haseya ch tu hasda

jadoN hasdi bhulekha mainu penda ve haseya ch tu hasda..

Whenever I laugh, it seems it's you, in my laughter (reason of my happiness)

lammiya c wattaN channa nere nere aya tu..

lammiya c wattaN channa nere nere aya tu..

After a lot of wait (in life), you came close to me

akhiyaN de raiN aake dil ch samaya tu..

dil ch samaya tu..

You made way into my heart through my eyes

jad puchnia pyar diya gallaN ve houli houli tu dasda..

When I ask you of love (if you love me), you talk of it slowly (tease me)

ehna akhiyaN ch pava kive kajala ve akhiyaN ch tu vasda..

masa masa jindari maiN pyar vich rangi ve

masa masa jindari maiN pyar vich rangi ve..

With great difficulty I've colored my life in love

(Finally I've fallen in love)

ajj mainu japada maiN tere naal mangi ve..

tere naal mangi ve..

Today I'm told, I'm committed (attached/ engaged) to you

ajj khushiyaN da ho gya swera ve gam sathoN door nasda..

It's a dawn of happiness; now sorrow is far from us

ehna akhiayaN ch pava kive kajala ve akhiyaN ch tu vasda..

ehna akhiyaN ch pava kive kajala...

ve ehna akhiyaN ch pava kive kajala ve akhiyaN ch tu vasda..

ve akhiyaN ch tu vasda..

oye akhiyaN ch tu vasda..

Essence: It's a love song. The girl is talking to her lover expressing how she fell in love with him and now he's a part of her. The ending talks of finally getting together and promises of a happy life ahead :)

Bulla ki jaana mai kaun

ਬੁਲ੍ਲਾ ਕੀ ਜਾਣਾ ਮੈਂ ਕੌਨ 

Bulla! ki jaana mai kaun

Bulla...i don't know who i am!

Na mai momin vich maseet aan

Na mai vich kufar diyan reet aan

Na mai paakaan vich paleet aan

Neither am I a believer in the mosque,

Neither I blindly believe in the rituals,

Neither am I the purest among the impure...

Na mai andar ved kitaab aan,

Na mai renda bhang sharaab aan

Na mai renda masat kharaab aan

Neither am I in the books of Vedas,

Nor do I live in the opium or alcohol,

Nor do I live in the craziness of a crazy person...

Na mai shaadi na ghamnaaki

Na mai vich paleeti paaki

Na mai aabi na mai khaki

Na mai aatish na mai paun

Neither am I in the happiness or in sorrow,

Nor am I in the dirt or cleanliness,

Nor am I born out of water or earth,

Nor fire or air is where I am born from...

Bulla! ki jaana mai kaun X4

Na mai arabi na lahoria

Na mai hindi shehar nagauri

Na hindu na turak peshawri

Neither am I from Arab or Lahore,

Nor am I a from a Hindi land (Nagaur a place in Gujarat),

Nor am I a Hindu, a Muslim or Peshawri...

Na mai bheth mazhab da paaya

Ne mai aadam havva jaaya

Na koi apna naam dharaaya

Neither did I understand the meaning of religion,

Nor am I born from the union of Adam & Eve,

Nor have I given a name to myself...

Avval aakhir aap nu jaana

Na koi dooja hor pehchaana

Maethon hor na koi siyaana

Bulla! shah khadda hai kaun

Beginning or the end, I've only known the self,

There is no duality to acknowledge,

There is none wiser than I,

Bulla Shah, who is this?

Bulla! ki jaana mai kaun

Na mai moosa na pharaun.

Na vich jaagan na vich saun.

Na mai rehnda vich nadaun

Na vich baitthan na vich bhaun 

Bulla! shah khadda hai kaun

Neither am I the Moses or the Pharoh,

Nor am I in sleep or wakefulness,

Nor do I belogn to the city of Nadaun,

Nor am I in the rest or pace,
Bulla Shah, who is this?

Bulla! ki jaana mai kaun

Essence: This has been interpreted in various ways. It's a sufi recitation of who God is. He is nobody, nowhere, yet everybody, everything & everywhere. In another meaning, it is also said, that if you do not believe in anything, then you are no one. Life is all about beliefs.

Main tennu fer miilangi

ਮੈਂ ਤੇਨ੍ਨੁ ਫੇਰ ਮਿਲਾਂਗੀ 

Amrita Pritam was an Indian writer & poet who primarily wrote in punjabi. She was born in the Punjab now in Pakistan, but moved to Delhi after partition. Her words have been appreciated not just by masses, but also by other eminent  poets. This one, is one of her best, recited by Gulzar

Main tenu fer milangi.

Main tenu fer milangi

kithe? kis trah? pata nai

shayad tere takhiyl di chinag banke

teri canvas te utrangi

ya khore teri canvas dey utte

ik rahasmayi lakir banke 

kamosh tenu takdi rawangi

I'll meet you again...
Where? How? I don't know...
Maybe I will become a figment of your imagination,
I'll drop on your canvas...
Or perhaps, I'll become a mysterious line on your canvas,
and keep gazing at you silently...

Jaa khore suraj ki loo banke

tere ranga vich ghulangi

jaa ranga diyan bahwa vich beth ke

teri canvas nu wlangi

pata nai kistrah-kithe

par tenu jrur milangi.

Perhaps, I'll become a ray of sunlight,
and get mixed in your palette...
I will get embraced with your colors
and get spread (painted) on your canvas...
I don't know how or where...
But I will meet you again...

Jaa khore ik chashma bani howangi

te jiven jharneya da paani udd da

main pani diyan bunda

tere pinde te malangi

te ik thandak jahi banke

teri chaati de naal lagangi

Or perhaps I'll become a water spring,
and the way the water of a spring rises in bubbles...
I'll become it's droplets & rub your body...
and rest my coolness on your chest...

main hor kujh nai jaandi

par ena jaandi

ki waqt jo v karega

ae janam mere naal turega

Ae jism mukkda hai

tan sab kujh mukk janda

par cheteyan dey dhaage

kaayenaati kana dey hunde

main uhna kana nu chunagi

dhageyan nu walangi

Te tenu main Fer milangi...

I don't know anything else, but this,
that this life will walk along with me...
This body perishes & takes away everything with it,
but threads of memories are woven with particles of endurance...
I'll pick these particles & weave these threads again...
And I'll meet you again...

Essence: The writer is telling her beloved, that irrespective of time, life & death, I will meet you again. This could be the last words of a dying lover or a message from a berated heart, that you won't be able to forget me. You will find me everywhere...

Main tennu samjhawan ki

ਮੈਂ ਤੇਨ੍ਨੁ ਸਮਝਾਵਾਂ ਕੀ.... ਨਾ ਤੇਰੇ ਵਾਜੋਂ ਲਗਦਾ ਜੀ ....

The song from the movie Humpty Sharma ki Dulhaniya, is possibly on everyone's playlist these days. It's a beautiful melody originally composed by Jawad Ahmed and recreated for the movie by Sharib-Toshi. Lyrics are by Ahmad Anees (and Kumaar)

Another version of this song, sung by Rahat Fateh Ali Khan for a punjabi movie Virsa was a lot popular too.

Nai jeena tere baajhon, nai jeena! nai jeena!

Nai jeena tere baajhon, nai jeena! nai jeena!

Nai jeena tere baajhon, nai jeena! nai jeena!

Nai jeena tere baajhon, nai jeena! nai jeena!

I don't want to live without you...

Main tenu samjhawan ki, na tere bina lagda jee

Main tenu samjhawan ki, na tere bina lagda jee

Tu ki jaane pyaar mera, main karoon intezar tera

Tu dil, tunhion jaan meri

How do I make you understand, that I don't like it without you...

What do you know of my love,

I wait for you (to get it)

You are my heart, my life...

Main tenu samjhawan ki, na tere bina lagda jee

Tu ki jaane pyaar mera, main karoon intezar tera

Tu dil, tunhion jaan meri

Main tenu samjhawan ki, na tere bina lagda jee

Mere dil ne chun laiya ne, tere dil diyan rahaan

Tu jo mere naal tu rehnta, turpe meriyaan saaha

Jeena mera haye, hun hai tera, ki main karaan

Tu kar eitbaar mera, main karoon intezar tera

Tu dil, tunhion jaan meri!

Main tenu samjhawan ki, na tere bina lagda jee

My heart has chosen the road, the one that leads to yours...

If you walk with me, my breath will fall in place...

My life, is now yours, and I can't help it...

Believe me, I wait for you (to believe me)

You are my heart, my life...

Ve changa nahion keeta beeba,

Ve changa nahion keeta beeba, dil mera tod ke

Ve bada pachtaiyaan akhaan,

Ve bada pachtaiyaan akhaan, naal tere jod ke

It wasn't nice of you, my love...

to break my heart...

I regret falling in love with you...

Tenu chadd ke kitthe jawaan tu mera parchanwa

Tere mukhde vich hi main taan Rabb nu apni pawaan

Meri duya haye, sajda tera, karti sada

Tu sun ekraar mera, main karoon intezar tera

Tu dil, tunhion jaan meri!

Where do I go if I leave you, as you are my shadow... (inseparable)

When I look at you, for me, it is as good as looking at God...

I wish, to always, worship you...

Listen to my confession, I wait for you ( to hear me out)

You are my heart, my life...

Main tenu samjhawan ki, na tere bina lagda jee

Essence: The song is all about a lover trying to tell his beloved how he can't do without her. And he feels sad & lost without her.