“Mandi Haan Ke Changi Haan Sahib Teri Bandi Haan” is a soulful Kaafi by the 16th-century Sufi saint Shah Hussain. In this profound expression of spiritual surrender, the poet adopts a feminine persona (the “Bandi” or maidservant) to articulate absolute humility before the Divine. The Kalam explores the theme of Malamat (reproach), where the seeker is indifferent to the world’s judgment—whether called mad or bad—as long as they remain dyed in the spiritual hues of the Master.
مندی ہاں کہ چنگی ہاں
صاحب تیری بندی ہاں
گہلا لوک جانے دیوانی
رنگ صاحب دے رنگی ہاں
Mandi haan ke changi haan
Sahib teri bandi haan
Gahla lok jaane deewani
Rang sahib de rangi haan
Whether I am bad or I am good
O Master, I am Your maidservant
The ignorant folk consider me mad
But I am simply dyed in my Master’s hue.
ساجن میرا اکھیں وچ وسدا
گلیئیں پھری تشنگی ہاں
کہے حسین فقیر سائیں دا
میں ور چنگے نال منگی ہاں
Sajan mera akheen vich vasda
Galiyen phiri tishnagi haan
Kahe Hussain faqir saien da
Main var change naal mangi haan
My Beloved resides within my very eyes
Yet I wander the streets in thirst
Says Hussain, the dervish of the Lord
I have been betrothed to the finest Groom.
Vocabulary: Mandi Haan Ke Changi Haan
- Mandi: Bad / Flawed / Lowly.
- Bandi: Maidservant / Slave / Devotee.
- Gahla: Ignorant / Naive / Foolish.
- Sajan: Beloved / Friend / The Divine.
- Tishnagi: Thirst / Spiritual longing.
- Var: Groom / Spouse / Spiritual Match.
- Mangi: Betrothed / Asked for in marriage.
Thank you so much