Moonstruck is a fairly accurate description of being
swept by the feeling of love, and the slightly over the top behavior which it
ensues is forgiven with a knowing smile. But how do one forgive when a surging
bout of tenderness has ended forever, or what do we do when the emotion visits
us at an age when Cupid could be a grandchild.
Sahir Ludhianvi, the ‘magician’ of lyrics, and poems was
supposed to have met his ex-sweetheart right after a break-up, in a party
–among a roomful of people. What he must have felt is not difficult to guess,
but he poured out his feelings on to paper, and it became Chalo ek bar phir se (Come, let us be strangers once again) in the
film Gumrah,1963.
Gulzar, the poet filmmaker explored the other side of the
moon, with his intrinsic honesty –tracing the craters and jagged edges deftly
as love takes over the psyche of sextagerian for a woman half his age in Aise uljhi nazar (Bewitched eyes won’t
look away), Ishqiya,2010
Kabir Suman, the singer-songwriter who ushered in a band
culture successfully in West Bengal in the early nineties has his own take on
love in his Jatishwar (Reincarnation). According to him, the history of true
love repeats itself.
Chalo, ek bar phir se, Film-Gumrah, 1963,
Lyricist-Sahir Ludhianvi
Chalo
ek bar phir se, ajnabee ban jaye ham dono
Come, let us unwind our friendship, and be strangers once
again
Naa mai
tumse koyee ummid rakhu dilnavajee kee
Let
me not have any expectations great or small
Naa tum meree taraf dekho, galat andaz najaro se
Nor
should you allow your gaze on me to fall
Naa mere dil kee dhadkan ladkhadaye meree baton me
My
heart should not show up in my words smoldering slow
Naa jahir ho tumharee kashmkash kaa raj najaro se
Nor
should your eyes tell the secret of your rows
Chalo ek bar phir se, ajnabee ban jaye ham dono
Come,
let us unwind our friendship, and be strangers once again
Tumhe bhee koyee uljhan rokatee hai peshkadmee se
You
too have your demon that stalks and haunts
Mujhe bhee log kehte hain, kee yeh jalve paraye hain
People
are always reminding (me) bygones are bygones
Mere hamrah bhee rusvaiya hain mere majhee kee
My
shadow still wanders in the alleys from the past
Tumhare sath bhee gujaree huyee rato ke saye hain
You
too have those nights with you, smithereens that will hurt
Come,
let us unwind our friendship, and be strangers once again
Tarruf rog ho jaye toh usako bhulna behtar
When all that is left behind is decorum; it is best to
let go
Talluk bojh ban jaye toh usako todna achchha
When
all that remains is a load; it is best to forego
Woh afsana jise anjam tak lana naa ho mumkin
That reverie which cannot be brought to shore
Use ek khubsurat mod dekar chhodna achchha
Is best to be spun beautifully, and set afloat
Come,
let us unwind our friendship, and be strangers once again
Aisi ujli nazar,
Film-Isqiya,2010, Lyricist-Gulzar
aisi ulji nazar unse hatt thi nahi
As
if in trance, the eyes
won’t look away
daant se reshmi dor katt thi nahi
A
silken bond is the hardest to get away (from)
umar kab ki baras ke safaid ho gayi
Years
have turned white like a shroud
kaari badari jawani ki chatt ti nahi
Spring
still drifts in like a cloud
walla ye dhadkan bhadne lagi hai
(The)
heart is beating faster
chehre ki rangat udne
lagi hai
Face
is losing its luster
darr lagta hai tanha
sone mein ji
Sleep has
become a nightmare (now)
dil to bachcha hai ji
heart
thinks like a child
dil to bachcha hai ji
heart
acts like a child
thoda kaccha hai ji
raw
–at times
haan dil to baccha hai
ji
heart is a child!
aisi ulji nazar unse hatt thi nahi
As
if in trance, the eyes won’t look away
daant se reshmi dor katt thi nahi
A
silken bond is the hardest to get away (from)
umar kab ki baras ke safaid ho gayi
Years
have turned white like a shroud
kaari badari jawani ki chatt ti nahi
Spring
still drifts in like a cloud
kisko
patha tha pehlu mein rakha, dil aisa paaji bhi hoga
Who knew
that the cloistered heart would play such a prank
hum to hamesha samajhte
the koi, hum jaisa haaji hi hoga
Always
thought, it was a good Samaritan
hai zor karein, kitna
shor karein
Throws
a tantrum, creates a storm
bewaja baatein pe ainwe
gaur karein
Willfully
bends the norm
dil sa koi kameena nahi
Winks
–as it plays the tramp
koi
toh rokey, koi toh tokey
Catch
it (someone), hold it (someone)
iss
umar mein ab khaogey dhokhe
I
don’t want to be in the dumps
darr lagta hai ishq
karne mein ji
The
thought (of love) gives me goose bumps
dil to bachcha hai ji
heart
thinks like a child
dil to bachcha hai ji
heart acts like a child
thoda kaccha hai ji
raw-at times
haan dil to baccha hai ji
Heart is a child!
aisi udhaasi baithi hai
dil pe, hassne se ghabra rahe hain
Sadness has
spread like the dusk, it hurts to laugh
saari
jawani kathra ke kaati, piri mein takra gaye hain
Whiled away time seeking, it
took so long for the heart to start beating
dil dhadakta hai to aise
lagta hai woh, aa raha hai yahin dekhta hi na woh
(Already)
everything is fleeting
prem
ki maarein kataar re
Love
is a killer (I say)
tauba
ye lamhe katate nahi kyun
Why
is this moment forever?
aankhein
se meri hatt the nahi kyun
Why can’t the eyes look elsewhere?
darr
lagta hai mujhse kehne mein ji
I feel afraid even to
tell her…
dil to bachcha hai ji
heart
thinks like a child
dil to bachcha hai ji
heart
acts like a child
thoda kaccha hai ji
raw-at
times
haan dil to baccha hai ji
Heart
is a child!
Kabir Suman, Jatishwar (Reincarnation)
(I) Won’t live forever,(I) don’t even want to
Life finds a meaning when it seeks you (only you)
Moment grows up fast like a newborn, blinding a
reincarnation
Memories of last life, lost incantations
Torn pages of an ancient tome with wind breathes anew
Life finds a meaning when it seeks you (only you)
Cobra’s hood sways with the nostalgia of Lakhinder’s
plight
Behula can never be a widow, says Bengal’s sprite
The raft floats twice a day, carrying the same body
Died once, will die afresh –for love I am ready
Born several times; passed away always at your side
Denied salvation so that I did not lose you ever from my
sight
We two have come back always for the love of our earth
At times Gangur, at times in Kopai Kapotakksha’s art
Gangur has become Kaberi sometimes (2) Mississippi
Even Rhine or Congo’s idyllic euphony
Lyrics I never wrote, or shall ever write
In people’s songs through the ages, I want you by my side
I sought you out many times, many births ago
When Tathagato blessed our sunset, long time ago
His piety touched you to become a wanderer at heart
As it did me, who picked up a beggar’s shirt
I did cry out for your love then, as I do now
Bless my dream with your love, with bent knees I bow
Barricade the poem of love; with our lips entwined anew
Let a revolutionary kiss witness, as I find you (only
you)
A muse to my dreams, you have come several times
I was your desire each time, I was your rhyme
Whenever you broke your heart, you had found me
I had been your man always, forever your land of glee
Whenever you gave birth, I became a father
So many times, our sons, darling had set our pyres on
fire
Both of us came back again, as fresh as dawn new
Once again shall come back to say I seek you (only you).