Tunak Tunak Tun

"Tunak Tunak Tun" by Daler Mehndi is a part of the Canon at many sites, largely due to Mehndi's dance to the song on YouTube.

Carlisle

The song "Tunak Tunak Tun" first came to Carlisle in 00.2, when it was performed at the Lip-Sync and then played at the last dance. The next year it continued as Canon, and even had its own "Tunak Tunak Tun" Appreciation activity.

Saratoga Springs

The song "Tunak Tunak Tun" was choreographed and performed at the 03.2 Talent Show by a group of RAs who had watched the video. Some argue that the original dance had its origins here. The dance at Saratoga Springs has numerous differences from the dance at Lancaster; however, some of the basic steps, such as the air sitar, are shared by both variations.

At dances, the song is performed with everyone in a large circle around the edges of the gym, with Nevermores and Nomores in a separate circle in the middle. At the end of the song, select Nevermores form a human pyramid to the delight of their fellow CTYers.

In 2013.2, some Indian CTYers made a collectively smaller circle in the right-middle section of the gym and added more traditional steps, such as Bollywood and bharatanatyam steps (classical Indian dance from South India) to the dance. Hopefully, these moves will someday be incorporated into the site-wide traditional Tunak Tunak Tun dance in the future.

Lancaster

"Tunak Tunak Tun" became a part of LAN Canon in 05.2. The dance was first introduced in 04.2, but the song itself had been played irregularly for several years at dances (at least since 02.2). The dance is no longer performed due to cultural appropriation issues, and the song is not played as there is no dance to be done. “Tunak” has been removed from some LAN Canon lists as of July 2022.

How Tunak Came to Lancaster

Once upon a time at Lancaster, in Second Session, 2004, there was a hall called First Dietz. First Dietz was very secluded from the rest of Franklin and Marshall, so they had to make do with each other. A popular pastime of First Dietz was watching videos on RA Adam Roush's computer. One day, Adam showed them a video called "Tunak Tunak Tun." They were enthralled. This man was dancing with 4 iterations of himself, to a catchy beat, and playing an air sitar. They loved "Tunak Tunak Tun," and they loved Daler Mehndi.

Towards the end of the first week, First Dietz had a most outstanding idea. They would choreograph a dance to "Tunak Tunak Tun" and teach it to all. So a dance was choreographed, right in the 2nd Dietz lounge, for Dietz had only one lounge among its three floors. This dance was introduced to Lancaster during the Saturday activity "A Day at the Mall." And it was loved by all.

It was then played at every dance. On the final dance, it felt as if every single person in the F&M Campus was trying to put their hands in the center at the end of the song.

The following year, only one member of First Dietz was present during First Session. Patrick Liu tried very hard to get everyone into Tunak, but they just didn't understand the glory of it all.

It was to be Second Session, when First Dietzers Christian "Christ" Burnette, Gokul Krish, and Jeffrey Sachs had all returned. Now was the time to attempt that which hadn't been done before (at least for a while):

Adding a song to the canon.

And so, a vote was held. However, the ballot was pure evil. The very nature of the ballot was more confusing than Florida 2000. The ballot read thusly:

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Should Daler Mehndi - Tunak Tunak Tun (5:01) become part of the lower canon?

YES | NO

Should LA Style - James Brown Is Dead (5:43) remain part of the lower canon?

YES | NO

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Did the ballot really mean what is implied? That "Tunak" and "James Brown" could not coexist in the same canon? No it did not, but some were confused.

Both "Tunak" and "James Brown" were added in the Canon. James Brown Is Dead received just over 75% of the vote to remain in the canon, while Tunak Tunak Tun received a bit over 60% of the vote. As of 22.1, “Tunak” is no longer considered Canon and is not played at dances or quad time. Several complaints regarding the cultural significance of the song and possible offensiveness caused the removal, officiated by RA Cole.

During Lancaster 06.1, a group of intrepid Indians tried to change tradition by choreographing their own, more "Indian" dance to "Tunak Tunak Tun." It did not stick in 2007, but in 08.1, it was customary to have anyone of Indian descent dancing in the middle of the circle.

The Choreography (Lancaster)

During the "yodeling", sway left to right and look down.

Chorus:

• Air sitar: Pluck the strings with your right hand and go up the fret with your left hand. Hold the sitar vertically as opposed to horizontally.
• Make fists and point your pointer fingers out. Put your right hand above your shoulder and your left in front of your chest. Twist your fingers.
• Air sitar
• Pointed fingers
• Air sitar

Verse I:

• Act as if you are raving (this move was supposed to be a belly dance).
• At the end of the verse, Daler lets out a yell. At that time, put your hands into the "Kamehameha" form from Dragon Ball Z, except above your head. This is actually representative of summoning a fireball.

Chorus

Verse II:

• Extend your arms downwards and bring your arms around in a clockwise circle.
• At the end of this verse around the words "Tara Mehndi" there are 5 beats of a drum. You then pretend to hit a drum: Right, Left, Right, Left, Right.

Chorus

Instrumental I: Turn to your left and wave your arms at your side. This mimics a many armed god.

Verse I

Chorus

Verse II

Chorus

Instrumental II: Shimmy wildly

Verse I

Chorus

Verse II

Chorus

Finale: Everyone puts their hands in the center and goes down toward the ground and jumps up with a triumphant yell.

Baltimore

The choreography at Baltimore is relatively simple but requires quite a lot of energy and stamina to survive the whole five minutes.

During the introductory "yodeling," site royalty should encourage everyone to make a large circle around the dance floor.

Chorus: Stretch your right arm out forward and keep your left hand at the same elevation but closer to your torso, and shake your wrists for the first "tunak tunak tun." Switch to left hand out and right hand close by for the second "tunak tunak tun," and then back to right hand out, left hand close by for the final "tunak tunak tun." Clap three times with the "da da da." Repeat until this section is over. This section is typically enthusiastic, with jumping between each switch of hands and bouncing throughout. These moves are repeated with each chorus.

Verse I: Pair up with the nearest person. Hold hands with your left hands and raise your right hands, keeping your elbow bent at a 90-degree angle, and raise your knee. Hop on your other leg in a tight circle with the other person while shaking your right wrist. It is common for partners to switch the legs they are hopping on due to fatigue and switch directions and hands with their partners as they are doing so. As this section comes to an end, separate from your partner and raise your arms fully in the air, shaking your wrists until the chorus starts again.

Chorus: Repeat moves from first chorus.

Verse II: Start standing up with arms up in the air, then crouch down and slap the floor once, then go back up. If this is done properly, by the time the drums come in twice on the downbeats, you should be able to slap the floor twice in time with those two beats before standing back up. With the three beats at the end, raise your right hand, then left, then right in time with the music.

Chorus: Repeat same moves from beginning of the song.

Instrumental Section and Verse I: Repeat moves from Verse I.

Chorus: Repeat same moves from first chorus.

Verse II: Repeat moves from Verse II.

Chorus: Repeat moves from first chorus.

Instrumental Section and Verse I: Repeat moves from Verse I.

Chorus: Repeat moves from first chorus.

Verse II: Repeat moves from Verse II.

Chorus: Repeat moves from first chorus.

Finale: Stop dancing and catch your breath.

Canon

This song is currently part of the canon at...

• Carlisle
• Los Angelos
• Saratoga
• Baltimore
• Easton (However it hasn't been played in a while)

External Links

• Lyrics with Translation
• Original Video
• Song Download

--Jeff Sachs 08:23, 9 Aug 2005 (MST)