# Hindi, Urdu: बसिया



## MonsieurGonzalito

I would like to know what is बसिया, as in the sentence from the song "Tere Mast Mast Do Nain" of the movie Dabaang.

नैनों में *बसिया* जैसे, नैन ये तेरे 

which is usually translated as _"in my eyes they are like *at home*, these eyes of yours"_

The closest headword I could find is *बसना* (to dwell, to settle)
but I do not understand how to parse बसिया, what kind of word it is.

Could someone help me?
Thanks in advance.


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## MonsieurGonzalito

I found this entry in the Fallon dictionary
 ... _kahāṅ _*basāyo*_ gāoṅ.?  = where have you made your dwelling place?_

Still no clue about what the canonical form would be, though.
Some Hindi-speaking acquaintances told me that they do recognize the sense of the verse in the song as "being settled, at home", but they can't explain what word "basya, basaya, bansiya, basinya" is.


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## littlepond

"basiyaa" here is "base", the past tense conjugation for "basnaa" (to dwell, inhabit, settle). "nainoN meN base jaise, nain tere" (since "nain" is 2 eyes, i.e. plural). So, if it had been 1 eye, "nainoN meN basaa jaise, nain teraa".


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## MonsieurGonzalito

littlepond said:


> "basiyaa" here is "base", the past tense conjugation for "basnaa" (to dwell, inhabit, settle). "nainoN meN base jaise, nain tere" (since "nain" is 2 eyes, i.e. plural). So, if it had been 1 eye, "nainoN meN basaa jaise, nain teraa".


That makes a lot of sense, @littlepond 
Perhaps people who transcribed the song were misled by the fact that the singer lengthens that "e", making it last 2 syllables for the sake of metrics. ( I guess that's why no two transliterations I found online were the same for this word) 
Now I know this kind of hiatus is legal in Hindi too 
Thanks very much!

PS: I wish there were some sort of IMDB of Bollywood songs with the "official" transcripts!


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## littlepond

^ I have not heard the song, but both "basyaa" and "basiyaa" are valid: they give a rustic flavour to "base". So there might not be any transliteration issues.


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## aevynn

It might be worth clarifying @littlepond's comment a bit: the singer is definitely saying _basiyaa(N)_ and not _base_ in some elongated way (it's not entirely clear to me whether he's nasalizing the final vowel or not... sometimes it sounds like he is, other times it doesn't). This is not a grammatical form that's used in "standard" Hindi. That said, knowing only "standard" Hindi and almost nothing about its regional variants (as is the case for me), from context it's clear enough that _basiyaa(N)_ is a conjugation of _basnaa_ and that it probably corresponds to the "standard" Hindi _base_. 

That said, I don't know what regional dialect this conjugation belongs to. Complicating matters for me is the fact that it seems like the rest of the song is all in standard Hindi, so there are no other hints in the lyrics that I can use in determining what dialect this conjugation belongs to. But... comparing against Kellogg's Table XX_, _it seems like it could be East or West Raajputaanaa, or Kumaaonii.


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## littlepond

I have not heard the song, but actually it should be "basiyaaN" (nasalised), given that "nain" here is plural in number (a pair of eyes). Inserting randomly a dialectical word in standard Hindi or Urdu is common in film songs, esp. modern film songs, to give some kind of rustic or "authentic" flavour.

And, indeed, aevynn is right: I was never saying that the singer is saying "base" in some elongated way. He is saying "basiyaaN", and any Hindi speaker would understand it as a variant of "base". I, also, am not sure which dialect it belongs to: does not seem braj or awadhi.


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## MonsieurGonzalito

Impressive, gentlemen. Thank you!

BTW, @littlepond , how can anyone *not* know "_Tere Mast Mast do Nain_"?


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## littlepond

^ I do know _of_ the song, Gonzalito jii, as I have heard it being played in street corners or on TV sets of people, but as the song has not appealed much to my taste, I have not listened to it. That said, the next time I hear it, I guess I am going to listen to it.


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## Qureshpor

MonsieurGonzalito said:


> I would like to know what is बसिया, as in the sentence from the song "Tere Mast Mast Do Nain" of the movie Dabaang.
> 
> नैनों में *बसिया* जैसे, नैन ये तेरे
> 
> which is usually translated as _"in my eyes they are like *at home*, these eyes of yours"_
> 
> The closest headword I could find is *बसना* (to dwell, to settle)
> but I do not understand how to parse बसिया, what kind of word it is.
> 
> Could someone help me?
> Thanks in advance.



taakte rahte tujh ko saaNjh savere
nainoN meN *basiyaaN *jaise nain yih tere

baNsii = a fishing hook!


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## littlepond

^ Why would "baNsii" change to "basiyaaN" and not "baNsiyaaN"?


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## desi4life

^ Instead of using two nasalized vowels in the same word, I believe one can be omitted. However, doesn't the word بنسي बंसी _bansii _have a nasal consonant rather than a nasalized vowel? In which case, it should become _bansiyaaN_.


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## MonsieurGonzalito

Wait a minute: then, her eyes are not like _*at home* _in his, but are like _*fishing hooks* _in his?


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## MonsieurGonzalito

desi4life said:


> Instead of using two nasalized vowels in the same word, I believe one can be omitted. However, doesn't the word بنسي बंसी _bansii _have a nasal consonant rather than a nasalized vowel? In which case, it should become _bansiyaaN_.



I agree with @desi4life, the Chaturvedi dictionary spells it बंसी, hence, बंसियाँ

I listened to the song a couple more times, and, much as I would like to hear _ba-nsiya_, I hear _bã-siya_.
But I am not a native listener, and I would like very much it to be _ba-nsiya,  _it seems a simpler, more direct explanation than the complicated "elongated _base_ / pseudo-folk-dialectal" interpretation we have been assuming.

Could any native speaker please confirm that the singer *could be saying* _ba-nsiya, _and put this subject to rest?


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## Qureshpor

MonsieurGonzalito said:


> I agree with @desi4life, the Chaturvedi dictionary spells it बंसी, hence, बंसियाँ
> 
> I listened to the song a couple more times, and, much as I would like to hear _ba-nsiya_, I hear _bã-siya_.
> But I am not a native listener, and I would like very much it to be _ba-nsiya,  _it seems a simpler, more direct explanation than the complicated "elongated _base_ / pseudo-folk-dialectal" interpretation we have been assuming.
> 
> Could any native speaker please confirm that the singer *could be saying* _ba-nsiya, _and put this subject to rest?


I am NOT a native speaker. However, the singer DOES SAY "bansiyaaN"

(ham) taakte rahte (haiN) tujh ko saaNjh-savere
(hamaare) nainoN meN bansiyaaN jaise nain yih tere

We/I keep staring at you morning and evening
(Because) within my eyes are fish-hook~like eyes of yours
(which drag me towards yourself)

Very simply put:

When I look at you, I can not turn my gaze away, because your enchanting eyes simply penetrate right through me!

Faiz Ahmed Faiz (1911-1984), says about his beloved:

terii suurat se hai 3aalam meN bahaaroN ko sabaat
terii aaNkhoN ke sivaa dunyaa meN rakhaa kya hai?

The spring of this world has durance only because of your face
What else is there to see in this world apart from your eyes?

And Mir Taqi Mir (1723-1810)

naazukii us ke lab kii kyaa kahiye (The tenderness of her lips, what can one say?)
paNkhaRii ik gulaab kii sii hai (They are like petals of a rose!)

Miir in niim-baaz aaNkhoN meN (Miir, in these half-opened eyes)
saarii mastii sharaab kii sii hai (All the intoxication is akin to wine)


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## MonsieurGonzalito

That settles it for me.
Thanks, @Qureshpor!


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## littlepond

Well, as a native speaker, I do NOT hear "bansiyaaN", and I doubt any native speaker would. I do not think "bansi" could change to "baNsiyaaN": and if the singer had wanted to maintain the metre, he could have used the singular "bansi" (if fish-hook is what he wanted to say).


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## MonsieurGonzalito

We need the phone numbers of Sajid-Wajid ...


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## Qureshpor

MonsieurGonzalito said:


> That settles it for me.
> Thanks, @Qureshpor!


I think one needs to ask the following questions.

1) What is the word "*बसिया" *and is it found in any reputable Hindi dictionary? I could not find it and I believe neither has anyone else.

2) If this is a word from a dialect, what dialect is it and what does it mean? No information is available to us.

3) If it is connected with the verb "basnaa" as has been suggested, does the meaning of "to dwell" make sense in the opening couplet?

(ham) taakte rahte (haiN) tujh ko saaNjh savere
(hamaare) nainoN meN base* (haiN) jaise nain yih tere

* "base" (and NOT "basiyaaN") would only make some sense if "jaise" was not there. So "base" does not fit the context.

4. Does "bansiyaaN" make sense in the couplet?

A fish hook is bansii बंसी with the plural bansiyaaN बंसियाँ. I misspelt the singular with a nasal vowel N instead of a nasal consonant n in my post # 10.

The poet is saying:

Your eyes are *like* fish-hooks (in my eyes) which compel me to look into your eyes. Hence the reason for "taakte rahnaa".

5. Does the singer say *बसिया, बंसियाँ *or* बसियां  *? I misunderstood your question where you are talking about a "native speaker". To my ears, he is indeed nasalising the final vowel and therefore saying *बसियां *but he is not putting in the nasal consonant to make it *बंसियाँ*.

6. Is *बसियां *a valid alternative for *बंसियाँ *? I don't know and I can't readily think of any similar words to make a judgement one way or another.

I suppose, in the absence of a reliable transliteration, one could contact the poet Faiz Anwar and ask him what he had actually written and whether the non-native singer had messed up the pronunciation of the word he had written!

Here is a link to a blog which does give the word as *बसियां*

हिंदी फिल्म संगीत का खजाना : HFM Treasure: तेरे मस्त मस्त दो नैन-दबंग २०१०

Everyone is of course free to make up their own mind as to what exactly this word is.


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## littlepond

^ At least, you also agree then that it is "basiyaaN", and not "bansiyaaN". Some are hearing it as "baNsiyaaN", but anyway then, no one is hearing it as "bansiyaaN" - and that's important.

If "basiyaaN" is dialectical, it makes perfect sense for me: one doesn't need "jaise" and all that, why wouldn't it be standard then? It is clear that the singer is saying that your eyes have started inhabiting mine, if such is the case. Of course, I like the fish hook imagination, but it seems a bit stretched to me. Of course, as MonsieurGonzalito has suggested, only the lyricists of this song could maybe clear the point for all of us.


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## MonsieurGonzalito

Armed with some Punjabi, I am revisiting this thread.

vaśśīāṁ / وسّیاں / ਵੱਸੀਆਂ  could be a legitimate and regular plural feminine perfect participle of  _vaśśnaa_ "to dwell"


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## nikmahesh

In Marwari, I think basyo or basiyo would be the past tense form of Hindi “basna”. As the -o ending usually corresponds to an -a in dialects further west, this might be from a Western Hindi/Haryanvi, or an Eastern Rajasthani dialect.


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