बोल कफ़्फ़ारा क्या होगा

bol kaffaaraa kyaa hogaa

bol kaffaaraa kyaa hogaa

Touch on each word to display its meaning

बोल कफ़्फ़ारा क्या होगा

Tell What The Penance Will Be

तस्कीन दिल की ख़ातिर तुम

बिछड़ते वक़्त मुस्कुराते रहो

ओ जानेवाले दूर जाते हुए

पलट , पलट के नज़र मिलाते रहो

For the sake of heart's satisfaction,

you keep smiling while parting

Oh leaver, while going away,

turn around and let our eyes still meet

दिल ग़लती कर बैठा है ,

ग़लती कर बैठा है दिल

[ both lines x3 ]

दिल ग़लती कर बैठा तू बोल कफ़्फ़ारा क्या होगा

मेरे दिल की दिल से तौबा ,

दिल से तौबा मेरे दिल की

[ both lines x2 ]

दिल की तौबा की दिल अब प्यार दोबारा न होगा

दिल की तौबा ए अब प्यार दोबारा न होगा

(My) heart has made a careless mistake,

a careless mistake

[both lines x3]

(My) heart having done a careless mistake, you tell me what the penance will be!

My heart' hearty repentance,

hearty repentance

[both lines x2]

Heart's repentance, now there won't be love again

Heart's repentance, ah, now there won't be love again!

तू बोल कफ़्फ़ारा कफ़्फ़ारा बोल कफ़्फ़ारा [ x2 ]

कफ़्फ़ारा बोल ओ यारा कफ़्फ़ारा क्या होगा

Tell the penance, tell the penance [x2]

The penance, tell it, friend, what the penance will be

जुगनू जुगनू कर के

तेरे मिलन के दीप जलाए हैं

हम ने जुगनू जुगनू कर के

तेरे मिलन के दीप जलाए हैं

आँखियों में मोती भर भर के

तेरे हिज्र में हाथ उठाए हैं

Collecting fireflies, fireflies,

I ignited the lamp of your encounter

Collecting fireflies,

I ignited the lamp of your encounter

Pearls (tears) filling my eyes,

(my) hands have raised (in prayer) at your separation

तेरे नाम के हर्फ़ की तस्बीह को

साँसों के गले का हार किया

दुनिया भूली और सिर्फ़ तुझे

हाँ सिर्फ़ तुझे ही प्यार किया

I attached the letters of the rosary of your name

(with) my breath, and made a necklace

I forgot the world (and) only you

yes, only with you I loved

तुम जीत गए हम हारे ,

हम हारे और तुम जीते

[ both lines x2 ]

तुम जीते हो लेकिन

हम सा कोई हारा न होगा

You won, I am defeated,

I am defeated and you won

[both lines x2]

You won, but hey!

There won't be any defeated one like me!

मेरे दिल की दिल से तौबा ,

दिल से तौबा मेरे दिल की

दिल की तौबा ए दिल

अब प्यार दोबारा न होगा

My heart' hearty repentance, hearty repentance

(My) heart's repentance,

ah, heart's repentance!

Now, there won't be love again!

तू बोल कफ़्फ़ारा

कफ़्फ़ारा बोल कफ़्फ़ारा

कफ़्फ़ारा बोल ओ यारा

ओ यारा बोल कफ़्फ़ारा क्या होगा

You tell the penance,

tell the penance

The penance, tell it, friend,

what the penance will be

हमें थी ग़रज़ तुम से

और तुम्हें बे-ग़रज़ होना था

तुम्हें ही लादवा हो कर हमारा मरज़ होना था

चलो हम फ़र्ज़ करते हैं

कि तुम से प्यार करते हैं

मगर इस प्यार को भी किया हमी पे फ़र्ज़ होना था

I had a need of you,

and you had to be disinterested.

Having become incurable, you had to become my disease.

I am indeed in love with you!

but how did this love become a commandment?

धड़कन धड़कन धड़के

धड़के …

हम ने धड़कन धड़कन धड़के

दिल तेरे दिल से जोड़ लिया

आँखों ने आँखें पढ़ पढ़ के

तुझे विरद बना के याद किया

Heartbeat (after) heartbeat palpitating,

palpitating …

I, palpitating heartbeat by heartbeat,

connected your heart with (my) heart

(My) eyes, having read your eyes,

committed your verse/daily routine to memory

तुझे प्यार किया तो तू ही बता

हम ने क्या कोई जुर्म किया

और जुर्म किया है तो भी बता

बेजिर्म के जुर्म की क्या है सज़ा

I loved you, so tell me:

did I commit a crime?

Even if I have committed a crime, tell me

what is the penalty of the crime of a faultless one?

तुम्हें हम से बढ़ कर दुनिया ,

दुनिया तुम्हें हम से बढ़ कर

[ both lines x2 ]

हम को तुम से बढ़ कर

कोई जान से प्यारा न होगा

To you, the world is more important than I,

the world is more important than I, for you

[both lines x2]

For me, except you, more important

than life, there won't be any beloved

मेरे दिल की दिल से तौबा ,

दिल से तौबा मेरे दिल की

दिल की तौबा

ए दिल अब प्यार दोबारा न होगा

My heart' hearty repentance,

hearty repentance

(My) heart's repentance,

ah, now there won't be love again!

तू बोल कफ़्फ़ारा

कफ़्फ़ारा बोल कफ़्फ़ारा

कफ़्फ़ारा बोल ओ यारा , ओ यारा ,

बोल कफ़्फ़ारा क्या होगा

You tell the penance,

tell the penance

The penance, tell it, friend,

what the penance will be

About this song

Singer: Sehar Gul Khan

bol kaffaaraa kyaa hogaa (Urdu: بول کَفّارَہ کیا ہو گا, Hindi: बोल कफ़्फ़ारा क्या होगा) "Say What the Penance Will Be", is the title song for the Pakistani soap opera "Parlour Wali Larki".

The song style is a "qawwali", and it is a love song with some religious undertones. The lyrics were written by Azim Raza, and the music was also composed by him in collaboration with the band "Soch" (Adnan Dhool and Rabi Ahmed).

Most of the song is interpreted by Sehar Gul Khan for the female voice; a male chorus is provided by the traditional qawwali band "Shahbaz and Fayaz Qawal".

The general idea of the lyrics is some lover apologizing to his or her beloved because of a misstep. The lyrics contain several puns and word-plays that are difficult to appreciate in a translation. Also, many verses are written in such a way that, some of the words are repeated, but with an opposite of totally different meaning as before;

For example:

chalo ham farz karte haiN ki tum se pyaar karte haiN I assume that I am in love with you,

magar is pyaar ko bhii kiyaa hamii pe farz honaa thaa but how (come) this love had to be made mandatory (precisely) on me?

A "farz" is a (divine) mandate. In the first verse, the expression "farz karnaa" means "to imagine, to assume", but in the second, "farz hona" means "to be mandatory, obligatory".

The song conveys the idea that, despite the singer's repentance, it is unclear who has to apologize the most.

For example, the chorus says:

tuu bol kaffaaraa kaffaaraa bol kaffaaraa [x2] You tell the penance, tell the penance [x2]

kaffaaraa bol o yaaraa kaffaaraa kyaa hogaa The penance, tell it, friend, what the penance will be

In the beginning it seems that the singer is asking the beloved to "say/tell the penance".

Later, it is clarified that the beloved has to say "what the penance will be", so that the singer can comply. (By the way, this waiting for further words to clarify some meaning is a device typical in Hindustani poetry).

The video clip shows the singers and the cast of "Parlour Wali Larki" in traditional dresses with the backdrop of the Hiran Minar, a Mughal-era complex and park in the Pakistani city of Shekhupura.

The actors shown are Momina Iqbal, Aqueel Khan, Jana Maliq, Zaib Khan, Kiran Haq, and Humara Ali.

Special thanks to Professor Majid Wahab for his help with the translation and proofreading!