Dum Maro Dum English Translation

Dum maro dum is a colloquial expression, and a figure of speech that closely approximates to an instruction to suck-in the smoke, or keep smoking, or keep puffing. The term dum, is very likely a shortened version of the Hindi word dhumrapan which approximates to inhaling smoke. The song was from the film Hare Rama Hare Krishna, which was very much an anti-drugs film, with poignant stereotypical graphic scenes, which at that time (approx. 1971) was groundbreaking and shocking to see in Indian cinemas. For many, it was a scary insight into the awful underworld of wholesale misery that destroys lives, and families, and the kind of place to stay well clear from if you had any sense. It was even more shocking and disconcerting of the link made to the Hare Krishna movement, which during the time was a fledgling organisation just starting out. Certainly, the utilisation of their sacred mantra, for use as the title of a film would not have helped. The movement itself was totally decent, and it was a minority of lost souls creating this negative link back to them.

As one would expect, the lyrics express multiple simultaneous attitudes of a stereotypical hippie youth movement, rebelling against society. These disillusioned youths had no care (paravah) for others because they felt that nobody cared for them. The drugs gave them a false sense of invincibility and the feeling of freedom that they could do whatever they pleased, whenever they pleased. This in turn augmented their rebellious teenage attitudes.

The collaborative genius of Asha Bhosle and Rahul Dev (Pancham), was that he always came up with new rhythms and sounds, and she was always able to vocalise them. In this song, she had to sound like someone high by vocalising drug-induced style of moaning, hence we hear dum-aaa... and gham-aaa..., yet simultaneously sound professional. The screenplay was designed to be scary, as the sequence starts with a Western-looking figure lighting something and puffing, followed by images of trapped ghostly faces/souls starring into the distance. This was augmented by the stereotypical Western gangster-hippie music consisting of the 60s electronic keyboard, to recreate an atmosphere of a horrific sordid underworld. It was certainly not meant to be seductive or glamorous, it was meant to scare the youths of that generation, and in many ways it managed that, at a cost.

My recollection of the hippie sub-culture movement was that it began in the early 60s in U.S. However, recreational drugs, and psychedelic music, had past its peak, with the likes of pop groups such as the Beatles going to India in 1968 to learn "transcendental meditation", followed by their swift denunciation of drugs shortly afterwards. It was clearly not cool, and thereafter, just like a damp squib, it died out as quickly as it began. Consequently, it would not have been a huge leap of imagination for a writer and director to conceive a film idea such as this, especially for someone of that era. However by 1971, the rest of the world had very much moved on from the hippie movement, and it was old news. in the UK, cinema goers would have been watching Dirty Harry starring Clint Eastwood, and feeling very lucky. There was also the sci-fi thriller, The Andromeda Strain, and my favourite was Willy Wonka and the Chocolate Factory starring Gene Wilder. Of course, my all time absolute favourite was Fiddler on the Roof, starring Topol. Suffice it to say, I watched many films in 1971, and my mother was very happy for me to see almost anything as long as it was not Hare Rama, Hare Krishna!

Meaning and Context

Parwah, care

Zamana, time, era, age

Liya, taken, however gotten, or got makes a better translation in this context

English Translation

Dum maro dum-aa...

Keep smoking...

Mit jaaye gham-aa...

(and) all your sorrows will end...

Bolo, subah-shaam,

Utter, morning-till-evening,

Hare Krishna, hare Ram...

(the sacred mantra...)

Duniya ne hamko diya kya,

What has the world given me?

Duniya se humne liya kya

What have I got from this world?

Hum sabki, parwah kare kyun

Why should I care about others?

Sab ne hamara kiya kya

What has anyone done for me?

aa...

(drug-induced repetitive moaning...)

Chaha hai, jiyenge, marenge,

I’ll live, or die, as I please,

hum na, kisi se, darenge

I am not afraid of anyone,

hum ko, na roke, zamana,

even time cannot stop me,

jo chahenge, hum karenge...

I'll do whatever I please...