Nadeem F.Paracha
Kharee neem kay neechey by Mai Bhagi
Mai Bhagi’s ‘Kharee neem kay neechey’ (underneath a neem tree) is one of the most famous songs ever to emerge from the desert expanse of Tharparker (in the Sindh province).
Sung in the complex Thari language (the ancient Rajasthani dialect still spoken in the region), the song is believed to have been written by an obscure woman Sufi saint who lived in the Thar desert more than a century ago.
The truth is no one is quite sure exactly who wrote the song but the people of Thar are of the view that ‘it has always been around (in the region).’
Nevertheless, the song was first brought into the mainstream in Pakistan when it was performed by Mai Bhagi on Radio Pakistan in the early 1960s.
