Our Boliyan Workshop celebrates the powerful role of traditional Punjabi folk songs in wedding festivities. Boliyan are short, lively verses sung to express joy, tease loved ones, and bring the community together during dance and celebration.
These playful, heartfelt folk verses are more than just lyrics — they are storytelling, celebration, teasing, love, and laughter woven into rhyme. Sung during mehndi, sangeet, jago, and dance moments, boliyan bring people together and keep the wedding spirit alive.
Our first session was filled with warmth, nostalgia, and the sound of voices reconnecting with tradition. Participants explored the meanings behind popular shaadi boliyan, discovered their rhythms, and learned how these verses have travelled through generations.
One of our lovely participants shared a heartfelt story about how Boliyan started — a reminder that these verses are not just sung but lived, passed from generation to generation with joy and pride.
This mix of learning, storytelling, and connection created a warm, nostalgic atmosphere where every voice added to the celebration.
The workshop has become a space where:
- voices are strengthened through practice
- memories are exchanged and preserved
- culture is celebrated through shared experience
All of these contributions feed into our wider Shaadi Parampara project, helping us document and protect the oral heritage of Punjabi wedding culture.
Boliyan are living memories. They carry the humour, wisdom, and spirit of Punjabi weddings — keeping families connected and traditions alive.
By learning, singing, and creating these verses together, we honour not just the songs, but the people and stories behind them.
