# Chalre Chalre Waal: Cross-Border Saraiki Song Resonates

> A Saraiki song from Pakistan’s Dera Ismail Khan becomes a viral hit in Indian social media, bridging communities through shared heritage.
- Title: Chalre Chalre Waal: Cross-Border Saraiki Song Resonates
- Summary: A Saraiki song from Pakistan’s Dera Ismail Khan becomes a viral hit in Indian social media, bridging communities through shared heritage.
- Keywords: saraiki, chalre chalre waal, dera ismail khan, pakistan, indian punjab, partition of india, saraiki waseb, saraiki movement, india, Scroll
- Source: Scroll — https://scroll.in/article/1096796/chalre-chalre-waal-what-indians-dont-hear-in-the-saraiki-song-thats-become-a-cross-border-hit
- Author: Ehtesham Hassan
- Published: 2026-11-07T01:00:00+00:00
- Read time: 1 min
- Topics: saraiki, chalre chalre waal, dera ismail khan, pakistan, indian punjab, partition of india, saraiki waseb, saraiki movement, india, news, politics
## Childhood Sound
In the early 2000s, growing up in Dera Ismail Khan, Pakistan, my childhood had a specific sound: the whirring of an old cassette tape recorder playing Chalre Chalre Waal.
## Cross-Border Viral Surge
A new rendition by Pakistani singers Shanzy Sial and Mohsin Lashari went viral in Indian social media, with Indian creators dancing to its rhythm on Reels.
## Saraiki Identity
For millions of Saraikis in Pakistan, the song resonates with identity, historical trauma, and the struggle for recognition as a distinct language.
## Saraiki Waseb
Saraiki Waseb, a historic region in southern Punjab, faces severe underdevelopment despite being in Pakistan’s most prosperous province, Punjab.
## Resource Disparity
The region suffers abject poverty with severe underinvestment in education, healthcare, and basic infrastructure despite generating billions in tax revenue.
## Saraiki Movement
The Saraiki movement, emerging in the 1970s, demands official recognition for Saraiki as a separate language and a separate administrative unit.
## Partition Legacy
Before Partition in 1947, Dera Ismail Khan housed Hindu and Sikh Saraikis who migrated to India after violence forced them to leave their ancestral homes.
## Shared Heritage
For Indian Saraikis, hearing Chalre Chalre Waal is an acoustic link to the courtyards of Dera Ismail Khan, Multan, and Mianwali their families left behind.
## Key takeaway

The Saraiki song Chalre Chalre Waal, played by Pakistani singers Shanzy Sial and Mohsin Lashari, connects Indian and Pakistani Saraikis across borders through shared cultural identity.