Punjabi · ਪੰਜਾਬੀ
A morning call in Punjabi, for your Bebe.
Meenira rings your mother in Punjab every morning in Punjabi — ਤੁਸੀਂ throughout, Bebe (ਬੇਬੇ), Biji or Mummy ji, whatever your family says — has a short unhurried chat, and sends you a plain English summary. For the near-million Canadians who speak Punjabi, the call lands in Punjab's morning: the evening before, in Brampton and Surrey.
- Meenira
ਪੈਰੀਂ ਪੈਣਾ ਬੇਬੇ ਜੀ! ਮੈਂ ਮੀਨੀਰਾ ਬੋਲ ਰਹੀ ਹਾਂ, ਰਵੀ ਦੀ ਅਸਿਸਟੈਂਟ। ਤੁਸੀਂ ਅੱਜ ਸਵੇਰੇ ਕਿਵੇਂ ਹੋ ਬੇਬੇ?
Respectful greetings, Bebe! I am Meenira, Ravi's assistant. How are you doing this morning, Bebe?
- ਬੇਬੇ
ਮੈਂ ਠੀਕ ਹਾਂ ਧੀਏ, ਬਸ ਗੋਡਿਆਂ ਵਿੱਚ ਥੋੜ੍ਹਾ ਦਰਦ ਹੈ।
I am alright, child, just a little pain in my knees.
- Meenira
ਅੱਛਾ... ਇਹ ਦਰਦ ਕਦੋਂ ਤੋਂ ਹੋ ਰਿਹਾ ਹੈ ਬੇਬੇ?
Oh... since when has this pain been happening, Bebe?
- ਬੇਬੇ
ਕੋਈ ਦੋ ਕੁ ਮਹੀਨੇ ਹੋ ਗਏ ਨੇ ਪੁੱਤ।
It's been about two months, child.
- Meenira
ਦੋ ਕੁ ਮਹੀਨੇ, ਅੱਛਾ... ਤੇ ਬੇਬੇ, ਤੁਸੀਂ ਕੁਝ ਖਾ ਲਿਆ?
About two months, I see... and Bebe, have you eaten?
- ਬੇਬੇ
ਹਾਂ, ਮੈਂ ਪੋਹਾ ਖਾ ਲਿਆ ਸੀ ਤੇ ਨਾਲ ਚਾਹ ਪੀ ਲਈ ਸੀ।
Yes, I had some poha and tea.
- Meenira
ਚਲੋ ਬਹੁਤ ਵਧੀਆ। ਮੈਂ ਰਵੀ ਨੂੰ ਤੁਹਾਡੇ ਗੋਡੇ ਦੇ ਦਰਦ ਬਾਰੇ ਦੱਸ ਦਿਆਂਗੀ। ਤੁਸੀਂ ਆਪਣਾ ਖ਼ਿਆਲ ਰੱਖਣਾ ਬੇਬੇ। ਮੈਂ ਕੱਲ੍ਹ ਫਿਰ ਫ਼ੋਨ ਕਰਾਂਗੀ। ਰੱਬ ਰਾਖਾ!
That's great. I will let Ravi know about your knee pain. Take care of yourself, Bebe. I will call you again tomorrow. Goodbye!
Voiced for the demo. On a real call she speaks live and remembers what your parent tells her.
Why Punjabi
Thirty-three million people in India gave Punjabi as their mother tongue in the 2011 census, and a remarkable number of their children live somewhere else. Nine hundred and forty-two thousand Canadians could speak Punjabi in the 2021 census, three in four of them born outside Canada; Southall, Birmingham, Yuba City and Melbourne each have a Punjab of their own. A mother in Ludhiana or Jalandhar with a son in Brampton is the ordinary shape of a Punjabi family now. Meenira's Punjabi is built for that call.
Listen for the small things
- ਪੈਰੀਂ ਪੈਣਾ. The recording opens the way a younger woman greets an elder in a Punjabi home, not with a textbook namaste; in a Sikh household she says Sat Sri Akal. A Hindu or Christian family tells us what is said at their door, and she says that.
- ਤੁਸੀਂ, never ਤੂੰ. The respectful plural throughout, and the verbs that go with it. Like Hindi, Punjabi changes its verb with who is speaking and who is listening; Meenira speaks as a woman, addresses your mother as a woman and your father as a man, and keeps it straight for the whole call.
- The word for mother. Bebe (ਬੇਬੇ) in the sample; Biji (ਬੀਜੀ), Mummy ji or Maa in other families. Tell us at sign-up and she uses it. For a father, Bapu ji, Papa ji or Daddy ji.
- ਪੁੱਤ and ਧੀਏ. When your mother calls her putt or dhiye — child, daughter — as the mother in the recording does, Meenira takes it as the warmth it is and does not correct her.
- Switching. Punjabi parents move between Punjabi, Hindi and English in one breath. Meenira follows the language your mother uses and stays there.
How the first call goes
Before any call, your mother receives a message on her own phone, in Gurmukhi, saying who asked for the calls, how often they would come, that the call is written down so you can be told how she is, and a code to give you if she agrees. Nothing is dialled until you enter it.
On the call, Meenira says who she is — Ravi's assistant, as in the recording — and that the call is recorded. Then: how she slept, whether the parathas were made, the tablets, the gurdwara, and whatever came up yesterday. Two or three minutes. If she would rather not talk today, that is fine; she tries again tomorrow.
Canada, Britain, and the timing
| Her time (IST) | Toronto, Brampton, Montreal | Vancouver, Surrey, Abbotsford | London, Southall |
|---|---|---|---|
| 8:30 am | 10:00 pm / 11:00 pm the evening before | 7:00 pm / 8:00 pm the evening before | 3:00 am / 4:00 am |
| 10:00 am | 11:30 pm / 12:30 am | 8:30 pm / 9:30 pm | 4:30 am / 5:30 am |
| 6:00 pm | 7:30 am / 8:30 am | 4:30 am / 5:30 am | 12:30 pm / 1:30 pm |
The first figure is winter time, the second summer time; India does not change its clocks. A call in her morning is on your phone before you sleep, and your own call, at your Saturday breakfast, is her Saturday evening.
Hear her ring your own phone For families abroad
Questions families ask
Does Meenira speak Punjabi?
Yes — Punjabi as spoken in Indian Punjab, with the respectful ਤੁਸੀਂ form, and Bebe, Biji or Mummy ji as your family says. The sample call on this page was voiced for the demo; on a real call she speaks live.
What time does the call reach my mother in Punjab if I live in Canada?
Whatever time you choose, in her day. If she is called at 8:30 am in Ludhiana, that is 10 pm the evening before in Toronto and Brampton in winter (11 pm in summer), and 7 pm in Vancouver and Surrey (8 pm in summer). The summary is on your phone before you go to bed.