Born - Ali Aziz Sethi
… Read Full Bio ↴Ali Sethi
Born - Ali Aziz Sethi
July 2, 1984
Lahore, Punjab, Pakistan
Genres - Classical Contemporary
Instruments, Vocals, guitar,
piano, harmonium
Labels - True Brew
Years active - 2010–present
Occupation - Singer, musician, writer,
columnist
Ali Sethi (Urdu/Punjabi: علی سیٹھی; /seɪtiː/; born July 2, 1984) is a Pakistani singer and writer. Sethi was globally recognized for his first published novel, The Wish Maker.
1984–2006 : Early life and education
Ali Sethi was born on July 2, 1984, in Lahore, to Najam Sethi and Jugnu Mohsin. Both his parents are veteran journalists. His father also served as an acting Chief Minister of Punjab and chairman of the Pakistan Cricket Board for one year. His mother founded Pakistan's first English-language independent newsweekly, The Friday Times. Sethi has one sister, Mira Sethi who is a journalist and actress.
Book and Career
In 2006, at the end of his graduation Sethi started to write an English novel The Wish Maker about "the political history of Pakistan with three generations of characters who live in a middle-class, liberal enclave of Lahore."
In 2013, he began focusing on his music career and made his film debut as a singer in The Reluctant Fundamentalist (2013) and released a cover single "Mohabbat Karne Waley" later that year. Later, he released four cover singles including his own version of Reshma's song "Kithay Nain Na Jori", which earned him critical appraisal. Sethi recorded two songs "Kya Hoga Kya Hoga" and "Aah Ko" for Manto (2015) and debuted as a featured artist in the eighth season of Coke Studio.
In 2016, he released his first original single "Mahi Mera", which was critically well received. Sethi received his first Lux Style Award nomination as a Best Playback Singer - Male at 15th Lux Style Awards, and was nominated for Best Playback Singer - Male at 2nd ARY Film Awards, both for "Aah Ko". He also received a Hum Award nomination at 4th Hum Awards for "Kithay Nain Na Jorain" in the Best Music Single category.
Chan Kithan
Ali Sethi Lyrics
Jump to: Overall Meaning ↴ Line by Line Meaning ↴
मेंडा जी दलीलां दे वात वे
चन कितहाँ गुज़ारी आयी?
चन कितहाँ गुज़ारी आयी रात वे?
मेंडा जी दलीलां दे वात वे
चन कितहाँ गुज़ारी आयी?
कोठड़े उत्थे कोठड़ा माही
कोठड़े उत्थे कोठड़ा माही
कोठे सुखदियाँ तोरियाँ
कल्लियाँ रातां जाग के असां
गिनियाँ तेरियां दूरियां वे
चन कितहाँ गुज़ारी आयी रात वे?
मेंडा जी दलीलां दे वात वे हो
चन कितहाँ गुज़ारी आयी?
कोठड़े उत्थे कोठड़ा माही
कोठे बैठा कां बलां
कोठड़े उत्थे कोठड़ा माही
कोठे बैठा कां बलां
मैं बन जावां माछली तू
बगला बन के आ बलां वे
चन कितहाँ गुज़ारी आयी रात वे?
मेंडा जी दलीलां दे वात वे हो
चन कितहाँ गुज़ारी आयी?
ओह, चन कितहाँ गुज़ारी आयी रात वे?
ओह, चन कितहाँ गुज़ारी आयी?
ओह, चन कितहाँ गुज़ारी आयी रात वे?
चन कितहाँ गुज़ारी आयी रात वे?
मेंडा जी दलीलां दे वात वे हो
चन कितहाँ गुज़ारी आयी?
The lyrics of Ali Sethi's song "Chan Kithan" are a love song with a melancholic undertone. The song starts with the question "Chan Kithan Guzari Ayi Raat Ve?", which translates to "Where did the moon spend the night?" It's a metaphor for missing someone and wondering where they are. The chorus repeats this question and adds the plea to the singer's beloved to give him a reason for her absence.
The rest of the song describes the setting of the singer's solitude. The second verse talks about the empty house, the cushions, and the pigeons' cooing. The third verse mentions the singer's desire to be near his love and how he'll do anything to be with her, even if it means transforming into a fish or a bird. The song ends with the repeated question, "Chan Kithan Guzari Ayi Raat Ve?" conveying the singer's frustration and longing.
The lyrics of "Chan Kithan" are poignant and evoke a sense of longing and heartbreak. The song's composition, with its Sufi undertones, creates a trance-like atmosphere that complements the lyrics' melancholy mood.
Line by Line Meaning
चन कितहाँ गुज़ारी आयी रात वे?
Where did you spend your night, my love?
मेंडा जी दलीलां दे वात वे
Please tell me the reason, my dear.
कोठड़े उत्थे कोठड़ा माही
From bed to bed I roamed around.
कोठे सुखदियाँ तोरियाँ
I found comfort and pleasure in many beds.
कल्लियाँ रातां जाग के असां
Counting the nights staying awake,
गिनियाँ तेरियां दूरियां वे
I counted the distance between us, my love.
कोठे बैठा कां बलां
I sat in many seats of power and influence.
मैं बन जावां माछली तू
I become the fish, and you become the fisherman.
बगला बन के आ बलां वे
Come, my love, with a fishing net.
ओह, चन कितहाँ गुज़ारी आयी रात वे?
Oh, where did you spend your night, my love?
ओह, चन कितहाँ गुज़ारी आयी?
Oh, where did you spend your time, my love?
चन कितहाँ गुज़ारी आयी रात वे?
Where did you spend your night, my love?
मेंडा जी दलीलां दे वात वे हो
Please tell me the reason, my dear.
चन कितहाँ गुज़ारी आयी?
Where did you spend your time, my love?
Writer(s): Ali Sethi
Contributed by Alexis S. Suggest a correction in the comments below.
@shashikant.tawaniya
My translation of Story of the Song>>>>
The Girl is a Nurse and The Man ( celebrity) is her patient who is from High Society. And he is in Hospital since few days and
is not getting better. He is going to be discharged from hospital very soon.
One Night She leaves for hospital, she listen a song in Auto and as she closes her eyes she starts dreaming of his lifestyle.
As Auto goes away but the camera has stopped following auto on bridge refers that the girl have moved herself in the dream
of his lifestyle.
She enter his life by entering the door and taking slow steps on the stairs as she is introvert and feels she does not belong to
this high class society.
First she finds beautiful parts of his lifestyle as he enjoys his life and by this she is impressed and to which she smiles.
She is thinking about high class society near Swimming pool where other people of high society comes and acts foolish upon
which she is very much angry as she holds the glass tightly to not to disclose his anger to other people as she is introvert.
However then she sees the man and is happy that he is not like the other people of the society and starts to dream (dream
in a dream) herself as his friend/partner to whom he talks freely while taking photographs.
By this his anger is removed as then she holds the glass softly by her fingers.
Then she starts to go deeper in his lifestyle as she slowed goes in his room. There she then finds the darker side of his world
as she finds him taking drugs which makes him so much angry as she breaks the glass (referred as burst of her angerness)
and leaves the room then his house.
She runs faster compared to slow entry at beginning as she has realized her mistake to enter the glamour world and realized
the darker side which teaches us that we all should do while realizing the darker side of pleasure.
The sandal is left behind on staircase there referring to what she gives to this lifestyle which she doesn't want. My Foot To
This Glamorous Society.
She then Comes back to his real life, as she gets off the Auto and adjust her sandal, and as there she is wearing the same
sandal which she left there while running referring her return to real life taking all of her belonging and not have attachment
to that society and her imaginary world.
She comes back from thinking and then goes to hospital as a usual nurse.
As she says to the man(patient) that sometimes you feel restless for no reason means that she was also restless for no
reason whole time and again leaves his room because doesn't want to get involved with a drug consuming person.
This video teaches to not get attached with the person having bad habits and stay a low key who you are.
I have seen this song for more than 1000 times and I feel very much connected to this song.
I was just feeling low and out of the world so I started listening to my favorite songs. and then I wished to write myself down in these lines.
Hope you like my efforts.
@saadicarnot544
"The story is about a nurse who takes care of a man from a high-class society who is not getting better in the hospital. One night, while listening to a song in an auto, she falls asleep and dreams of the man's lifestyle.
In the dream, she enters his world and is impressed by the beautiful aspects of it. She takes slow steps up the stairs, feeling like an outsider in this high-class society. However, as she witnesses the man enjoying his life, she finds herself impressed and begins to smile.
She then thinks about the high-class society near the swimming pool, where other people of high society come and act foolishly. This angers her, but she holds the glass tightly to hide her feelings, as she is an introvert. However, she soon sees the man and is happy to note that he is not like the other people of the society. In her dream, she imagines herself as his friend or partner, to whom he talks freely while taking photographs. This removes her anger, and she holds the glass softly by her fingers.
As she continues to explore his lifestyle, she slows down her steps and enters his room. There she finds the darker side of his world as she sees him taking drugs. This angers her, and she breaks the glass, representing her burst of anger, and leaves the room, and then his house. She runs faster, compared to her slow entry at the beginning, as she realizes her mistake of entering the glamour world and realizes the darker side of pleasure.
The sandal is left behind on the staircase, symbolizing what she gives to this lifestyle, which she doesn't want. She then returns to reality, getting off the auto and adjusting her sandal. She realizes that she is wearing the same sandal that she left behind in her dream, which represents her detachment from the imaginary world and her return to reality.
She then goes back to the hospital and tells the man that sometimes you feel restless for no reason, which suggests that she was also restless for no reason the whole time. She again leaves his room, not wanting to get involved with a drug-consuming person.
The story emphasizes the importance of staying grounded and not being swayed by the glamour of a high-class society. It teaches us to avoid getting attached to people with bad habits and to remain true to ourselves. It also highlights the fact that sometimes we get restless for no reason and need to detach ourselves from negative influences to regain clarity."
@shashi3886 Thanks for explaining video of this masterpiece. Here is better version to understand it more accurately.
@saadicarnot544
Ek nurse ki kahani hai jis ka ek mareez hai, jo high society se taluq rakhta hai. Woh hospital main kuch din se admit hai aur beemar nazar aa raha hai. Ek raat nurse kaam se hospital gayi aur raaste main auto main ek gaana sun rahi thi. Jab woh apni aankhein band ki toh woh us shakhs ke khayali duniya main aa gayi, jis ka ilaaj woh kar rahi thi.
Us ke khawab main woh us shakhs ke zindagi main dakhil ho gayi aur us ke zindagi ke khubsurat pehluon se impress ho gayi. Woh dhire dhire stairs par chal rahi thi, khud ko is high society se kharij mahsus karti hui. Lekin jab us ne dekha keh woh shakhs apni zindagi ka maza le raha hai toh woh us par khush hui aur muskurane lagi.
Phir us ne swimming pool ke kareeb high society ke logon ko dekh kar gussa kya, lekin woh apne gusse ko chhupane ke liye glass ko majbooti se pakadti rahi kyun keh woh sharmeeli (introvert) hai. Lekin jald hi us ne us shakhs ko dekha aur khush hui keh woh iss society ke logon ki tarha nahi hai. Us ke khawab main woh us ke dost ya partner ban kar khud ko dekhti hai, jis ke saath woh khul ke baat kar raha hai aur tasveerein bana raha hai. Iss se us ka gussa khatam ho gaya aur woh glass ko aaram se apne anguthe se pakarne lagi.
Jab us ne us shakhs ke zindagi ka gehra hissa dekhna shuru kya, toh us ne apni chal ko dhimi kar diya aur us ke kamre main dakhil ho gayi. Wahan us ne us ke nashay leta dekh kar us se khafa ho gayi aur woh glass toot kar gir gaya, jis se us ka gussa phoot kar bahir nikal aaya. Phir woh kamre se bahir nikal kar, bhaagti hui us ke ghar se bahir nikli. Woh iss khayali duniya main apni pehli raftaar se zyada tez bhagti hui nikli thi, kyun keh us ne mehsoos kya keh glamour ki duniya main dakhil ho kar us ne ghalat fehmi ki hai.
Woh sandal jo us ne seeriyoon par chhod diya, us ka zikar iss baat ko batata hai keh us ne nazar-fareb (glamour) ki duniya se jo kuch hasil kya, us se us ko nafrat hai. Woh haqeeqat main wapas aa gayi, auto se utar kar sandal sahi karte hue hopital main aati hai. Us ko mehsoos hua keh woh apne khawab main chhoda hua sandal pehen kar haqeeqat main aa gayi hai. Us ne mareez ko kaha keh kabhi kabhi be wajah bechain ho jatay hain aur phir us ne mareez ke kamre se bahir nikal kar bahir aa gayi
@sanobartuba
MEANING OF THE SONG
He is her patient and she has started liking him. While she's on her way to attend her patient(actor); she puts in her earplugs and starts listening to a song. While coming from her home, she doesn't wear her footwear properly.
Now she starts thinking of him and his lavish lifestyle. Now that she's thinking no one is able to see her. While the actor and few other people are getting their pictures clicked she imagines herself next to him in that gorgeous white Saari(my fav part of the song). The guy who jumps in the pool hands over his glass to her. Now that she's part of this image, she realizes they are able to see her and runs away(this is still the scenario in her head). Loose footwear seems to have been left behind but as soon as she reaches, the songs over so is her imagination. She gets down, fixes the footwear and comes to see him. this is a beautiful video and Ali Sethi's voice is just so soulful. The song is mostly about betrayal (Where did you spend your night, my beloved?)but the video shows a different perspective where our protagonist is shown to have spent her night imagining things which are not possible. It's just amazing! :)
SOURCE: A Comment from a blog from chatofworld.com
@Faismajeed
English Translation:
O' my lover tell me where you spent the night
My heart brims with explanations (none console me, I worry for you)
On the roof (kotha), in the room on the roof (kothra) my love, (where she waits for him)
On the roof are vegetables left to dry and wither
I stayed awake many nights (on the roof) measuring the distance of separation between us (I too have withered)
On the roof (kotha), in the room on the roof (kothra) my love, (where she waits for him)
On the roof a crow (raven) caws
I will become a fish (only) for you and you can be a crane, dive and devour me (But there are only crows here. I worry for you, no explanation consoles me)
@shadabm9543
Translation of Lyrics in English :
Basically, its a Punjabi (Seraiki dialect)track and Punjabi songs (tappay, mahiyey, dohrey) are structured in such a way that every alternate verse is written to make rhythm for the following verse which actually holds the meaning whereas the previous verse doesn’t.
This is how it goes..
Chann Kithan Guzari ae raat ve..
Medha Jee daleela’n de vaat ve..
My love, where have you spent the whole night, My heart has been reasoning with me about possible reasons for which you might have spent the night out.
Kotthray utay kotthra mahi..
Kotthray suk diya tooriyan..
Kaliyan raatan jaag ke assan..
Ginniyan teriyan dooriyan ve..
(In Punjabi, kotha is terrace) There is a terrace over the terrace and on the terrace, the vegetable (tooriyan is plural of tori, a vegetable name in punjabi) is drying on the terrace. I have spent lonely nightsstaying awake and contemplating how far you are from me
kothray uttay kotthra mahi..
kotthay betha kaan bhalla..
Mein ban jawan maachli..
Tu baghla ban k aa bhalla..
There is a terrace over the terrace and a crow is sitting on the terrace. May I become a fish and you come in the form of a great white heron and take me with you.
Source : https://qr.ae/pGJAI1
@anahasnain
Here is the translation for the sake of everyone’s understanding.
Basically, its a Punjabi (Seraiki dialect)track and Punjabi songs (tappay, mahiyey, dohrey) are structured in such a way that every alternate verse is written to make rhythm for the following verse which actually holds the meaning whereas the previous verse doesn’t.
This is how it goes..
Chann Kithan Guzari ae raat ve..
Medha Jee daleela’n de vaat ve..
My love, where have you spent the whole night, My heart has been reasoning with me about possible reasons for which you might have spent the night out.
Kotthray utay kotthra mahi..
Kotthray suk diya tooriyan..
Kaliyan raatan jaag ke assan..
Ginniyan teriyan dooriyan ve..
(In Punjabi, kotha is terrace) There is a terrace over the terrace and on the terrace, the vegetable (tooriyan is plural of tori, a vegetable name in punjabi) is drying on the terrace. I have spent lonely nightsstaying awake and contemplating how far you are from me
kothray uttay kotthra mahi..
kotthay betha kaan bhalla..
Mein ban jawan maachli..
Tu baghla ban k aa bhalla..
There is a terrace over the terrace and a crow is sitting on the terrace. May I become a fish and you come in the form of a great white heron and take me with you.
Via : Quora - Mian Umar Farooq
@im.vixstar
For all those who are curious about the meaning of the lyrics....
Chann Kithan Guzari ae raat ve..
Medha Jee daleela’n de vaat ve..
My love, where have you spent the whole night, My heart has been reasoning with me about possible reasons for which you might have spent the night out.
Kotthray utay kotthra mahi..
Kotthray suk diya tooriyan..
Kaliyan raatan jaag ke assan..
Ginniyan teriyan dooriyan ve..
(In Punjabi, kotha is terrace) There is a terrace over the terrace and on the terrace, the vegetable (tooriyan is plural of tori, a vegetable name in punjabi) is drying on the terrace. I have spent lonely nightsstaying awake and contemplating how far you are from me
kothray uttay kotthra mahi..
kotthay betha kaan bhalla..
Mein ban jawan maachli..
Tu baghla ban k aa bhalla..
There is a terrace over the terrace and a crow is sitting on the terrace. May I become a fish and you come in the form of a great white heron and take me with you.
Thank you..!!
@AliSethiOfficial
Listen or Download the song...
https://bit.ly/ChanKithan-AliSethi
@V08
I keep coming back to this video. I couldn't understand a word at first, but then it all makes sense. Thank you sir.
@mohammedsadaqat2026
Your beautiful voice has made the song even more captivating, much love and respect from Mumbai, India. Stay blessed
@bdsrockstar7126
When things were way normal between India and Pakistan than now why didn't you try in Bollywood? I am sure you would be more popular than Atif Aslam or Arijit Singh
@saniamehboob5370
Ali Sethi waoo what a song
@nabeelajabeen3766
💜
@IndusSingh89
This song was written by my father's grandmother in Dera Ismail Khan pre partition.
@Rehankhan-yu9tx
ohh goodness. Great masterpiece
@sayings_muslimthings
wow
@anamfatima2893
What a masterpiece it is