Harishankar Shahi Apr 5, 2020:

Agree I agree with that and that's why I also add this to the note of my answer. One more thing that I want to share actually I don't know whether you are seeing this movie with subtitles or what type of translation, but in Hindi translation there is the most unprofessional approach is review. The reviewer can make whole work reject preferentially. That's why no new thinking or research appears in Hindi's creative translation. That's why Hindi subtitles are dubbing are so awkward.

Anyway, you get my point that's fine. Rest you're right.

acetran Apr 5, 2020:

It is Jhumree's Jhumroo, and not vice-versa. The basic premise is incorrect.

Dimitris Leivaditis (asker) Apr 5, 2020:

I'm not saying that it's not metaphoric, of course, it is. And it refers to the couple relation as you said. But in my opinion, we have to translate it literally as 'be the bell-earings to my ornament". If not, so why all the people translate the next verse 'be the bells of my anklets'?. In your way, they should also translate it as 'be my partner'. This is metaphoric too, but you first give the literal translation and then leave the other to the imagination of the reader/listener. Also for "Meri Ankho ka Kajal Ban ja". You translate it literally 'be the collyrium to my eyes' and the metaphor is left for the imagination. You can use a hundred metaphoric schemes to mean 'be my partner', this doesn't mean that you have to translate them all the same way, otherwise the beauty of the poetic language would be lost. That's my humble opinion.

Harishankar Shahi Apr 5, 2020:

Yes, it's for the couple. First of all, this is a very famous song or I can say it is the "Beat It" of the 90s in the Indian Hindi cinema. And this is choreographed by Saroj Khan a well known Indian choreographer and her style was to use metaphors in dancing. And there are lots of Madhuri songs that she choreographed.

The 'Payal Ka Ghunghru Ban Ja' is also a metaphor for being couple. It's the way to say to be my partner like "Be the ankle-bells of my anklet" where the Madhuri compares herself as an anklet and wants that her hero will become partner like anklet-bells, the very same like "Jhoomar ka Jhumru." This kind of metaphor always uses in Hindi cinema. It's just to say to be and/or to get a partner.

This is nothing to do with ornament or dance style. I'm giving you another example "Meri Ankho ka Kajal Ban ja" which means 'Be the collyrium of my eyes" so here nothing to do with eye or collyrium or kohl, it depicts the partnership is as inseparable just as Eye and Collyrium or Kohl is.

So, Hindi songs use many abstract things to denote love pair because every Hindi film has a Hero and Heroine and a love story, it's like a tradition of Hindi cinema.

Dimitris Leivaditis (asker) Apr 5, 2020:

Please look carefully at the video on Youtube: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=isqE6iJoea0&list=RDisqE6iJoe...
At 5:13-5:18 you can see very clearly that Madhuri when saying that phrase, she points at her head ornament and does a move like the one you use when you move bell-earings to make a sound. And right afterward she says 'Payal Ka Ghunghru Ban Ja' and points at her anklets. It all makes sense now. And it all ties metaphorically very well with the next verse when she says 'meri ghulaami kar le'.

Harishankar Shahi Apr 5, 2020:

This is a phrase. This is a very commonly speaking phrase in Hindi heartland which depicts duo or couple not an ornament nor specific dance form. So, specifically, this isn't anything else rather than a couple for dance and music. Don't get confused with "Jhoomar" an ornament, or "Ghoomar" a dance form.

Dimitris Leivaditis (asker) Apr 5, 2020:

I think people get confused. They hear 'jhomroo' and they think of 'ghumroo' which means 'wanderer'. The only close word is 'jhumar' and in Wiktionary it's mentioned as an ornament or as a folk dance.
1. Now, 'jhumar' is indeed a folk dance but it is danced only by male dancers, at least this is what Wikipedia has to say about it: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Jhumar.
2. I'm inclined to think that indeed Madhuri Dixit refers here to the ornament. While she says it she points at her head and in the next verse she says 'Payal Ka Ghunghru Ban Ja' and she points to her ankle. Now, I found on net that jhumroo is indeed the name of the head ornament that she is wearing on her head! https://cdn.shopify.com/s/files/1/0054/3617/8499/products/pr...
So in my opinion the correct translation would be: 'be the earring of my head ornament", or something like that. Sorry, but I have to close this question without awarding any points. Thank you all for your time.

Piyush Ojha Apr 4, 2020:

झूमर -- स्त्रियों द्वारा गाने के साथ वृत्ताकार किया जाने वाला सामूहिक लोकनृत्य (राजस्थानी-हिन्दी संक्षिप्त शब्दकोश)

I should have remembered this.

Piyush Ojha Apr 4, 2020:

@acetran,@asker OK, झुमरी and झुमरू as female and male names makes sense and therefore the interpretation, 'be my partner/lover' makes sense. However, I can see no basis for the nomad/wanderer interpretation. राजस्थानी-हिन्दी संक्षिप्त शब्दकोश published by राजस्थान प्राच्यविद्या प्रतिष्ठान, जोधपुर does not support any such interpretation. For what it is worth, I grew up in Rajasthan and several older members of my family spoke Mewari but I never heard anything that might remotely support this interpretation.

झूमर is also a dance, therefore झुमरी and झुमरू as the names of the female and male dancers are appropriate, and of course, झुमरू rhymes with घुँघरू in the next line.

Piyush Ojha Apr 4, 2020:

I see झुमरी as the name of a woman in this context and झुमरू is the ornament झूमर, so झुमरी का झुमरू बन जा is literally 'Become jhumree's jhumru'. I would translate it as 'become my ornament'.