Punjabi: ਕੱਚਿਆ ਤੇ ਰੱਖੀਏ / کچّیار تے کّھیے

[MonsieurGonzalito]

Please, I need help with this expression, which appears in the song "Paar Chenab de" (across the Chenab).
The song is about folkloric lovers Sohni and Mahiwal, she can't swim, so she crosses the river with the help of the clay-pots she makes in order to meet Mahiwal. Someone cruelly replaces baked pots with unbaked ones, so they dissolve in the water and she drowns.

"kaccā" means "raw, unbaked" as well as "unsound" in Punjabi, so all the song revolves around the subject of not relying on "the unsound" to reach your love objectives.

The song (which is very beautiful) is sung sometimes from the point of view of the woman, sometimes from the point of view of the pot, and sometimes from a 3rd party narrator.

I highlight the phrase in question in the context of a few verses:

ੱਚਿਆਂ ਦਾ ਹੁੰਦਾ ਕੱਚਾ ਅੰਜਾਮ ਨੀ
ਇਹ ਗੱਲ ਆਮ ਨੀ

ਕੱਚਿਆਂ ਤੇ ਰੱਖੀਏ ਨਾ ਉਮੀਦ ਪਾਰ ਦੀ
ਅੜੀਏ ਅੜੀਏ ਹਾਂ ਨੀ ਅੜੀਏ

I know that "ਰੱਖਣਾ" means "to keep"; "ਕੱਚਿਆਂ" is the oblique of "ਕੱਚਾ", and "ਨਾ ਉਮੀਦ ਪਾਰ ਦੀ" means "don't lose hope".
But what exact form is "ਰੱਖੀਏ"? Morphologically, it could be a 1st person plural subjunctive or some sort of weird vocative feminine participle

My attempts would be:

Do not lose hope on the unsound (things) kept?
Let's keep the unsound, do not lose hope?


Thanks in advance.

 

[Alfaaz]

Below is an attempt to provide an alternate Urdu translation (slightly different from that given on the official page), which might be more representative of the original Punjabi poetry and help answer your questions.

کچّیاں دا ہندا کچّا انجام نی
ایہہ گلّ عامّ نی
کچّیاں تے رکھئیے نہ امید پار دی
اڑئیے، اڑئیے ، ہاں نی اڑئیے

کچّوں کا ہوتا (ہے) کچّا انجام ری
یہ بات عامّ ری
کچّوں پر رکھیں نہ امید پار (لگانے) کی
اڑیل/نادان ، اڑیل/نادان ، ہاں ری نادان/اڑیل​

English translation: Let us not put faith in/depend on the unsound to help us across!

• کچّیاں تے - کچّوں پر - on the unsound
• رکھئیے نہ - رکھیں نہ - (let us) not keep
• امید پار دی - امید پار (لگانے) کی - hope of (getting) across/ashore

Note: In the Urdu translation given in the subtitles, نہ رکھو is used instead of نہ رکھیں. This seems to be incorrect and a potential source of confusion, since نہ رکھو would translate back into Punjabi as نہ رکھ. The Punjabi form رکھئیے is equivalent to رکھیں.

Corrections by Punjabi-speaking forum members and experts of any mistakes in the explanation above would be highly appreciated!

 

[MonsieurGonzalito]

Perfect!!! I understand.
Thanks a lot, @Alfaaz

 

[Alfaaz]

You're welcome.

...اڑئیے...

Question: What would an accurate translation of the Punjabi word اڑئیے be in Urdu: اڑیل ، نادان or simply لڑکی/چھوری?

 

[MonsieurGonzalito]

I don't know either language. But from the "University of Patala" dictionary (which doesn't let you copy/paste):

ਅੜੀਏ | اڑئیے (interjection): vocative for female addressee showing familiarity or endearment, c.f. ਅੜੀਆ

It is not in Bhaya Singh

 

[MonsieurGonzalito]

To be more precise (according to what I was told, I don't know Punjabi):

ਅੜਿਆ / اڑیا is an interjection, normally used BY FEMALES, as a vocative, i.e., to call attention.

It has 4 forms
ਅੜਿਆ, اڑیا (to address a single male)
ਅੜੀਏ, اڑیئے (to a single female)
ਅੜਿਓ, اڑیو (short i, no difference in shahmukhi, to multiple males)
ਅੜੀਓ, اڑیؤ (long i, no difference in shahmukhi?, to multiple females)

 

[Alfaaz]

To be more precise (according to what I was told, I don't know Punjabi): ...

Thanks for your replies!

I am aware of the various forms due to coming across them in literature and media. However, I was wondering if the word has a specific meaning and what would be suitable for the Urdu translation. (This was the reason for asking marrish in the other Punjabi thread for his opinion, since he is well-versed in Punjabi.)

 

[marrish]

I don't know the use of the word you have been discussing in these threads. I'd suggest a new thread for it could yield a wider response. However, now looking at it again, it can be translated but with difficulty as 'اے لڑکی or 'hey girl' when addressing a گھڑا 'earthen pot'.