Hukus Bukus

Hukus Bukus is a popular Kashmiri nursery rhyme that has been passed down through generations. The rhyme is usually sung to children as a lullaby and has become a symbol of the region's cultural heritage.

Actual Poem
Tse Kus Be Kus
Teli Wan su Kus
Moh Batuk Logum Deg
Shwas Khich Khich Wang-mayam
Bhruman daras Poyun chokum
Tekis Takya bane Tyuk

How the poem is generally sung:
hukus bukus
telli wann che kus
onum batuk loddum deag,
shaal kich kich waangano,
Brahmi charas puane chhokum,
Brahmish batanye tekhis tyakha

Meaning of the poem

Tse Kus Be Kus Teli Wan su Kus
Who are you and who am I, then tell us who is he the creator that permeates through both you and I

Moh Batuk Logum Deg
Each day I feed my senses/body with the food of worldly attachment and material love (Moh = attachment)

Shwas Khich Khich Wang-mayam
For when the breath that I take in reaches the point of complete purification (Shwas = Breath)

Bhruman daras Poyun chokum
It feels like my mind is bathing in the water of divine love (Bhruman = nerve center in the human brain, poyun = water)

Tekis Takya bane Tyuk
Then I know I am like that sandal wood which is pasted for divine fragrance symbolic of universal divinity. I realize that I am, indeed, divine (Tyuk = Tika applied on the forehead)

The message of this poem is rooted in Kashmiri spiritual tradition. The poem is attributed to Lal Ded's time, other's say it dates back to the origin of Kashmir and Kashmiri culture itself. The poem, in later years, was made a song for children.