DBNL . Usharbudh Arya, Ritual songs and folksongs of the Hindus of Surinam

74 iv. Bhāṭ (singer and dancer) seeking his payment [Paramaribo, 1967]

I.
sūmini sūma se byāha bhaye; chaṭą̄kaī dhāna ke ḍāre haį sukhauvā
II.
jaba giddhana ke ghara halla uṭhe; jaba kauvana ke ghara bāje badhauvā
III.
mā̈ī dulle pūta barātai; siyāra bajāvata dhūdhuka thaiyą̄
IV.
aba sūmini mą̄ṛa pasāya rahī; jahą̄, būṛi mare sāṛhe cāra sau kauvā

[p. 131]

I.
A miser woman got married to a miser man; they have thrown only a few ounces1 of paddy for comfort (as an excuse for a gift).
II.
When sounds (of celebrations) rise in the home of vultures, when congratulatory music plays in the home of crows;
III.
(When) mother is the bridegroom and the son the wedding party2 (and) jackals play the rhythms of the instruments.3
IV.
Now the miser woman is giving away rice-water into which four and a half hundred crows were drowned and died.

1Chaṭą̄k: a small measure, one-sixteenth of a kilogram.

2Perhaps it is the other way round: where the son is the bridegroom and mother alone is the total wedding party.

3According to D. Siṁha ('44: 296) dhūdhuk is the larger of the nagāṛā drums. Thaiyā is a drumbeat.