laT ulajhii

laT ulajhii (Hindi: लट उलझी , Urdu: لَٹ اُلجھی ) "Tangled Braid" or "Plaited Tresses" is a theme very well known in the Indian subcontinent, used as in classical Indian music in order to provide the lyrics of a genre of compositions known as "bandish".

The lyrics of this song (or family of songs) are mostly in Hindustani language proper, but with some archaic or dialectal elements (probably Braj), which can be noticed in certain unusual endings of the words, and in the omission of some postpositions. Other versions exist which are completely re-written in modern Hindustani. Both the original lyricist and composer of this bandish are unknown, although the lyrics are often attributed to a semi-mythical Braj poet-saint from the XVI - XVII centuries A.D called Chandra Sakhi.

The lyrics revolve around how a woman asks her lover to undo her hair and re-attach a bindi to the forehead, presumably after or during their honeymoon night, because her hands are still tatooed in henna (a dye used to draw temporary bridal tatoos).

In addition to songs in various bandish styles, this theme has served as inspiration for the lyrics of several Indian and Pakistani movie songs:

One of the most famous being the playback done by the legendary Pakistani singer Noor Jahan in the 1966 Pakistani film "Sawaal" In 2020, this song has been featured in the Indian series "Bandish Bandits" In 2016, a version by the Indian classical singer Ankita Joshi become popular in Youtube In 2022, a new interpretation of this song was published in Youtube by Anjali Gaikwad, a young contestant of the Indian musical show "Indian Idol 12"