Murty Classical Library of India discussion

Sufi Lyrics

Bulleh*

That's what I thought too but they seem to have opted for a different transliteration :)

Bullhe is a phonetically accurate transliteration of the original بُلھے but Bulleh is more commonly used. The latter caught on partly because that's how it was first transcribed in Roman alphabet. A more likely reason is native pronunciation that tends to de-stress the consonant ھ or 'h' of Bullhe, and when it is pronounced together with an elongated ے or 'aa', it resembles more closely with Bulle, but without a 'h' at the end. Maybe that's why old editions prefer a pronunciation-based transliteration?

I have yet to read a translation of Bulleh Shah I can really admire. Christopher Shackle is a renowned translator from various Indic languages and I'm hoping this edition will convey the spirit and diction of the original. Can't wait to get my hands on it. I love this poet!