Behind Diljit Dosanjh’s latest track ‘Majhe Diye Mombattiye’, a fascinating journey starting in 1992

The original track had the opening lines, “Majhe diye, Majhe diye mombattiye ni saada tere baajo nahio sarna…(Oh, the beautiful woman from Majha, I can’t do without you), to which the woman replies: “Majhe deya, Majhe deya mall-chobra ve saanu chhatri di chaan kar jaa (Oh, the sturdy, handsome man, take me under the shade of your umbrella)”. The solo track by Sarvjeet Kaur Koke Wali (known for her song ‘Koka gharva de ve maaiya koka’) was sung with beats of traditional musical instruments.

“It was in 1992 that the track was released in a music album with the title Majhe Diye Mombattiye. The title track became immensely popular in the voice of Sarvjeet Kaur Koke Wali. The audio cassette was released by Chandigarh-based Catrack Cassettes Industries. Though the cassette had eight songs, the title track was liked the most by the audiences,” recalls 73-year-old Sandhu, a native of Ludhiana’s Madarpura village who is currently based in Chandigarh.

In the same year, veteran filmmaker Buta Singh Shaad included the song in his movie Vairi. It was re-sung by Punjabi singers the late Surinder Shinda and Savita Sathi with slightly modified lyrics: “Majhe deya, majhe deya chann makhna ve mainu chhatri di chaan kar jaa, jadon diyan, jadon diyan laayi akhiyaan ve mera dil dhak dhak karda… (Oh dear man from Majha, take me under the shade of your umbrella. From the day my eyes met yours, my heart beats rapidly)”.

The original 1992 cassette cover of music album “Majhe diye Mombattiye”, sung by Sarvjeet Kaur. (Source: Lyricist Shamsher Singh Sandhu)

The original track had Sandhu’s stamp as he used his surname in one of the lines and said: “Tere piche, tere piche rul ni gaya ni Sandhu putt Sardaran da (The life of Sandhu, son of Sardar, has gone haywire in your love).”

“Buta Singh Shaad, the director of Vairi, was a good friend of mine and he sought permission before using the composition for his film. I was more than happy to allow it,” says Sandhu, who has written lyrics for at least 506 songs in his career, all recorded, with 154 sung by the late Surjit Bindrakhia.

Other artists who have sung his songs include the late Surinder Kaur (remembered as the Nightingale of Punjab), the late Jagmohan Kaur, Gurdas Maan, Hans Raj Hans, the late Sardool Sikander, Manmohan Waris, and Anuradha Paudwal, among others.

AAP MLA and singer Balkar Sidhu in 1998 version of the song. (Source: YouTube/Priya Audio)

Six years later, in 1998, the track was picked up by Punjabi singer Balkar Sidhu, who sang a duet with Jaspal Jassi. Sidhu also performed bhangra in the video of the song. The lyrics were almost the same as Sandhu’s, except for the line in which Sandhu had used his surname, which was changed to: “Tere piche, tere piche rul ni gaya ni Sidhu putt Sardaran da.”

However, it was only years later in 2020, that the most popular and foot-tapping version of the song was released – a remixed version by Sidhu and Jenny Johal. The entire video was shot again with foot-tapping beats and continues to be played at dance parties across Punjab. This 2020 remixed version went viral on social media after Dosanjh’s version was released in August this year.

The 2020 remix of the song by Sidhu and Jenny Johal. (Source: YouTube/Geet MP3)

Sidhu, 52, an AAP MLA from Rampura Phul constituency of Bathinda district, who continues to be a professional singer and performer, says, “The credit for making Majhe Diye Mombattiye a household name in Punjab will always go to Sarvjeet Kaur ji who had sung the original composition. I picked it in 1998 and remixed it in 2020. Fans still call me to say that they still enjoy our old version.”

“I am happy that Diljit Dosanjh is taking the Punjabi music industry to greater heights across the world. Singing continues to be my bread and butter despite being an MLA now. But at that time, all I had was music to run my house. I am from Malwa region but had sung the Majha song hoping it would click with audiences and it did,” he adds.

However, Dosanjh’s latest version only uses the opening “Majhe diye, Majhe diye mombattiye” from the original song. The rest has been written afresh by lyricist Jaani.

Sandhu says he has no issues with either Sidhu or anyone else using his original work and modifying it according to contemporary times. “What matters the most is the original punchline which gets popular among audiences and is remembered for generations,” he says.

“The crux of this composition lies in its opening phrase ‘Majhe diye, Majhe diye mombattiye’ and the way it is sung twice with a beat. Rest, the entire lyrics only revolve around it. Both Sidhu and Dosanjh are my own, from the same fraternity, and I feel proud that their work has kept the song alive among newer generations,” says Sandhu.

“But somewhere, the original lyricists and composers need to be given credit whenever their work is reproduced. This is an issue that the Punjabi and Hindi music industries have been facing for decades now,” says Sandhu, whose track ‘Main Taan Mukhda Vekh Ke Mar Gaya Ni‘ was reproduced in the Ajay Devgan-starrer De De Pyaar De.