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Budha Chaal?

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237
Kiddan BTF'ers,

Checking in after a while. Slow activity (are most discussions on Instagram etc these days?), but maybe someone is around!

For those who don't know me, I'm a scholar/ uni professor who has written a bit about bhangra and Punjabi music.

I'm curious about people's experiences with the step which I believe some call "budha chaal."

I'll offer some of my knowledge in exchange for what you might know!

Well, in 2005, Bhangra Master Harbhajan Singh -- who saw the "original" bhangra in his youth (in a district now in Pakistan, emigrated to India in '47) and who led national bhangra teams in the 1960s-70s -- showed me a step he called "lahiria." Yes, "lahiria" is used for different things. Let's not get confused here, and just accept that he called this "lahiria" :)

When Harbhajan Singh showed it (2005), he indicated that it was an "old" step, and he said "Nobody is doing this." After he did it, he re-emphasized, "See? Nobody knows this." He even seemed like he didn't want people in general to know it, or maybe didn't want them to know it unless he was the one to show them because it is special knowledge.

At some point after that, I am sure that Harbhajan Singh was the person who shared it widely. I do remember being surprised to see a YouTube video -- I don't remember the exact year but it was 2010s decade -- where Harbhajan Singh was doing it on stage with other old timers.

Since then, I understand that many bhangra dancers in North America, etc, do it. But they call it something like "budha chaal."

Questions:

1) If you recognize "budha chaal," when (around what year) do you remember first learning/seeing it?
2) What is the exact pronunciation of "budha"? I like to be precise in pronunciation and spelling of Punjabi words :)
Is it, ਬੁੱਧਾ, ਬੁੱਢਾ, ਬੂਧਾ, ਬੁੱਦਾ ... etc? Is it supposed to mean like "old man chaal" ਬੁੱਢਾ buḍḍhā? Or "Buddha (religious figure) chaal" ਬੁੱਧਾ buddhā? lol. Or what??

Thanks!

Gibb

I wonder how it got that name
 
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