Translation by Dr. Sant Singh Khalsa
A person can grind away all day, pounding empty husks and wearing themselves out.
They feel heavy-hearted, like someone forced to work. They're never really there, even in their own home.
This one is about working hard at something empty until you're worn out.
Tuhu mooslahi chharaa-i-aa — pounding husks with a pestle. Husks are the empty shells of grain, with no seed inside. You can pound them all day and get nothing. It's a cousin of the ox at the oil press from earlier in this raag.
Khayd bha-i-o — he grows sad and weighed down, like a baygaaree, someone forced to work without pay. And ghar kai kaam na aa-i-aa — he is no use to his own home. He is so taken up with the grind outside that he's missing from the very life and people the work was for. Think of someone at the dinner table who is still typing work emails. Their body is there, but they aren't.
It's a picture of burning out, with a spiritual root. Work cut off from meaning tires you out. And it empties your home at the same time.
Is there a kind of 'busy' that actually takes you away from the people and things you care about?
Translation by Dr. Sant Singh Khalsa·How we use AI