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ISLAMABAD: Billo, Preeto, Majajan, Munni, and Sheela are few of contemporary female characters, credited with popularizing the poetry of songs that touch the hearts of Punjabi, Urdu and Hindi mentality. But in recent days, ‘Jugni’ is making its come back. Its not only being played on wedding nights, but youngsters too enjoy it in their 4 wheelers buzzing everywhere.
Lately, ‘the 21st century Jugni’ with the lyrics ‘Pir meraya jugni ji (I have the spirit of my guide), Ae way allah waliyan di jugni ji (The spirit of all the messengers who brought His message to this Earth), Ae way nabbi pak di jugni ji (The spirit of The Holy Prophet), Ae way maula ali wali jugni ji (The spirit of Ali and his followers), Ae way meray pir di jugni ji (The spirit of my saint), Ae way saaray sabaz di jugni ji (The spirit of all his words), Dum gutkoon, dum gutkoon, dum gutkoon, dum gootkun… karay Saeein (Every time I think of you God, my heart flutters), resung by folk artist Arif Lohar has become an essential track for music lovers.
But who is ‘Jugni’? Nobody ever tried to find the veracity and because of its simple Jugni-stanzas and simple versification, academic scholars never cared.
Jugni is an age-old fictitious character used in Punjabi folk music. The word means ‘Female Firefly’, (Jugnu Ki Bachii). In folk music it stands in for the poet-writers who use Jugni as an innocent observer to make incisive, often humorous, sometimes sad but always touching observations. In spiritual poetry ‘Jugni’ means the spirit of life, or essence of life. It symbolizes an invisible being that notices positiveness in our daily affairs.
