पूछो न कैसे मैंने रैन बितायी

Shahnaz Akhtar gave a very memorable performance of this song on Sa Re Ga Ma Pa 2012, and Shankar Mahadevan had a lot of praise.

Good expression of pain in a person's mind.

ಮಂಗಳಾರತಿ ತಂದು ಬೆಳಗಿರೆ ಅಂಬುಜಾಸನ ರಾಣಿಗೆ

This is a nice arati song. Stumbled on to the a video through a Google search of "Kannada Lakshmi aarti song". The lyrics are also available in a PDF form, crafted by Meera Subbarao.

साँस में तेरी साँस मिली तो

Yash Chopra breathed his last on week ago today. This post is to recall his contribution to romance cinema.

तेरी ख़याल में डूब के अक्सर अच्छी लगी तन्हाई

To be able to be comfortable with oneself is a valuable trait. The poet notes here, through the female lover, that being in love is capable of turning even 'being alone' into a comfortable state.

ओ साथी रे, तेरे बिना भी क्या जीना?

Male lover sings about how life cannot be without his female lover.

पिया बिना पिया बिना

A female lover sings that separation [from her lover] is unbearable. How much unbearable? Consider the effect of separation:

• Without my lover, the flute is unable to produce good music, my singing seems 'false' or 'incorrect' ...
• Without you, my lover, my world seems empty, the nightingale has remained silent, the peacock has forgotten to 'speak' [in the woods]

When a Lata Mangeshkar sings about the separation, there is a certain relishable quality even to the feeling of separation (for the listener, that is, and not for the person undergoing separation).

What do you say, dear reader?

जाने वो कैसे लोग थे जिनके प्यार को प्यार मिला

A heartbroken individual sings:

When I wished only for [beautiful] buds, I got a garland of thorns ... 

Life may not always produce such extremes, but Bollywood can cook up beautiful songs. Why not?

You can also enjoy Jagjit Singh's tribute to Hemant Kumar here.

माही वे

Elaborate description of a female by a male lover — तेरे गाल गुलाबी रब्बा रब्बा, चाल शराबी रब्बा रब्बा —
her response — बजे मन में हलके हलके शहनाई रे — and,
a mother's wish — खुशियाँ जितनी है सब ढूंढ ढूंढ के लाऊँ — all rolled into one song.

And, the lyricist is — drum roll — Javed Akhtar.

एक परदेसी मेरा दिल ले गया

A recent suggestion by someone is the prompt for this post.

"A foreigner stole my heart ..."

अनार्कली disco चली

Item numbers have become a fairly regular feature in Bollywood movies these days. In addition, the lyrics have recently tended to mix words from other languages too — in this case English and Hindi. (The word 'item' itself is part of the lyrics, and refers to the dancer as a 'coveted female').

This song has a definite beat to it, and is quite funny in the way the old man — Boman Irani — describes the dancer [in English translation]:
...
please give me some attention
that will reduce my tension
...

अभी, मुझ में कहीं, बाकी थोड़ी सी है ज़िंदगी

The poet describes three occasions, or three moments, that highlight

1. The tenacity — लगन — that the human mind capable of 
2. The compassion — रहम — that can exist in this world
3. The prick, i.e., pain, — चुभन — that can be experienced when an attraction lights up in an otherwise desolate life

and has the character sing:

Whether I should feel a little happiness, or sadness
Whether I should die or live [a little].

Wonderful music using the violin. Very moving.

कोरा कागज़ था ये मन मेरा

Today marks the end of an era. Rajesh Khanna: The death of Romance.

In memory of his contributions, I present this song that describes, in poetic manner, how lovers declare their love to each other.

जब दीप जले आना, जब शाम ढले आना

In a recent Indian Idol show, one of the contestants, Devinder Singh, evoked a standing ovation from Padma Vibhushan Pandit Jasraj, after rendering this song. It seems that this episode of Indian Idol focused on songs based on classical ragas.

Although I don't quite know the context of the song in the movie story, it is obvious that the lovers are certainly reminiscing about their early days of courtship.

चौदवीं का चाँद हो, या अफताब हो

Sonu Nigam's concert in San Jose on 23 June 2012 reminded of how beautiful this song is.

Description of a lover. The brilliance of the female [face] is likened to the full moon, sun, ... and the description culminates in "whatever you are, you are second to none."

Hair, face and lips are described, in poetic fashion.

[Note: You are recommended to understand the meaning before you enjoy the song in its fullest].

ನೀ ಮಾಯೆಯೊಳಗೋ, ನಿನ್ನೊಳು ಮಾಯೆಯೋ

Tricky recursive use of words to describe God, by Kanakadaasa.



... ♫ ♫ ♫ ♫ ...
[ನೀ ಮಾಯೆಯೊಳಗೋ, ನಿನ್ನೊಳು ಮಾಯೆಯೋ] - 2
[ನೀ ದೇಹದೊಳಗೋ, ನಿನ್ನೊಳು ದೇಹವೋ?] - 2

... ♫ ♫ ♫ ♫ ...
[ಬಯಲು ಆಲಯದೊಳಗೋ, ಆಲಯವು ಬಯಲೊಳಗೋ?] - 2
ಬಯಲು ಆಲಯವೆರಡೂ, ನಯನದೊಳಗೋ? ನಯನದೊಳಗೋ?
[ನಯನ ಬುಧ್ಧಿಯ ಒಳಗೋ, ಬುಧ್ಧಿ ನಯನದ ಒಳಗೋ?] - 2
ನಯನ ಬುಧ್ಧಿಗಳೆರಡೂ ನಿನ್ನೊಳಗೋ, ಕೃಷ್ಣಾ?
... ♫ ♫ ...
ನೀ ಮಾಯೆಯೊಳಗೋ, ನಿನ್ನೊಳು ಮಾಯೆಯೋ
ನೀ ದೇಹದೊಳಗೋ, ನಿನ್ನೊಳು ದೇಹವೋ?

... ♫ ♫ ♫ ♫ ...
[ಸವಿಯು ಸಕ್ಕರೆಯೊಳಗೋ, ಸಕ್ಕರೆಯು ಸವಿಯೊಳಗೋ?] - 2
ಸವಿಯು ಸಕ್ಕರೆಯರಡೂ ಜಿಹ್ವೆಯೊಳಗೋ? ಜಿಹ್ವೆಯೊಳಗೋ?
[ಜಿಹ್ವೆ ಮನಸಿನ ಒಳಗೋ, ಮನಸು ಜಿಹ್ವೆಯ ಒಳಗೋ?] - 2
ಜಿಹ್ವೆ ಮನಸುಗಳೆರಡೂ ನಿನ್ನೊಳಗೋ, ಕೃಷ್ಣಾ?
... ♫ ♫ ...
ನೀ ಮಾಯೆಯೊಳಗೋ, ನಿನ್ನೊಳು ಮಾಯೆಯೋ
ನೀ ದೇಹದೊಳಗೋ, ನಿನ್ನೊಳು ದೇಹವೋ?

... ♫ ♫ ♫ ♫ ...
[ಕುಸುಮದಲಿ ಗಂಧವೋ, ಗಂಧದಲಿ ಕುಸುಮವೋ?] - 2
ಕಸುಮ ಗಂಧಗಳೆರಡೂ ಆಘ್ರಾಣದೊಳಗೋ? ಆಘ್ರಾಣದೊಳಗೋ?
[ಅಸಮಭವ ಕಾಗಿನೆಲೆಯಾದಿಕೇಶವರಾಯ] - 2
ಉದುರೆಲ್ಲೆನಳವಲ್ಲ ಎಲ್ಲ ನಿನ್ನೊಳಗೊ, ಕೃಷ್ಣಾ
... ♫ ♫ ...
ನೀ ಮಾಯೆಯೊಳಗೋ, ನಿನ್ನೊಳು ಮಾಯೆಯೋ
ನೀ ದೇಹದೊಳಗೋ, ನಿನ್ನೊಳು ದೇಹವೋ?
ನೀ ಮಾಯೆಯೊಳಗೋ, ನಿನ್ನೊಳು ಮಾಯೆಯೋ
ನಿನ್ನೊಳು ಮಾಯೆಯೋ, ನಿನ್ನೊಳು ಮಾಯೆಯೋ

तारीफ़ करूँ क्या उसकी, जिसने तुम्हे बनाया

One of the interesting things in this song's lyrics is the manner in which the male describes his lover's beauty:

What appreciation shall I show him/her [God], who made you [so beautiful]?

An indirect way of saying to her: "You are beautiful."

विष्णु सहस्रनाम स्तोत्रम् - Stanza 1

ॐ विश्वं विष्णुर्वषट्कारो भूतभव्यभवत्प्रभुः |
भूतकृत भूतभ्रृद्भावो भूतात्मा भूतभावनः || 1 ||

Attribution, for Sanskrit parsing & translation:
Swami Chinmayananda. Vishnu Sahasranama: Thousand Ways to the Transcendental. Chinmaya Mission, 1989, 266 pages.

---

1. विश्वं- He, whose manifestation is the entire universe (विश्वं) ...
2. विष्णुः - ... That which pervades everywhere is Vishnu ...
3. वषट्कारः - ...
4. भूत-भव्य-भवत-प्रभुः- ... Lord(प्रभुः) of Past (भूत), the Future (भव्य), and the Present (भवत) ...
5. भूतकृत्- ... Creator (कृत्) of all creatures (भूत) ...
6. भूतभ्रृत्- ... who nurtures ... all living creatures ...
7. भावः- ...
8. भूतात्मा- The very 'Be' (आत्मा) in all living beings (भूत) ...
9. भूतभावनः- ...

---

 

क्या खूब लगती हो, बड़ी सुन्दर दिखती हो

[A reader of this blog requests this song, primarily for its getting filmed in an Afghanistan locale].

Romantic exchange.

तुम ने किसीसे कभी प्यार किया है?

A female lover engages with the male to understand his romantic intentions, but the male has something else on his mind ... The female does not seem to fully comprehend the male: She, in her own dream world, hears him say दीदार as दिल हार.

It almost seems like a nice sounding Bollywood song can be composed, no matter what the emotional situation.

सुहानी चांदनी रातें, हमें सोने नहीं देती

A male lover reminisces, with sadness.

जादू तेरी नज़र, ख़ुशबू तेरा बदन

Another SRK love song.

ನೀ ಸಿಗದೇ ಬಾಳೊಂದು ಬಾಳೇ, ಕೃಷ್ಣಾ

An honest cry, it seems, of a humble person to seek God.

तू जो मेरे सुर में

Lovers sing about how they can build their future.

ಮತ್ತದೇ ಬೇಸರ, ಅದೇ ಸಂಜೆ, ಅದೇ ಏಕಾಂತ

A lover sings in despair, unsure of whether the [other] lover will return. The emotional feeling to be noted here is the singer's belief that, upon the return, the existing lethargy of the mind, and the gripping silence because of the lover's absence, would both be driven away by the lover's arrival.

भँवरे की गुंजन है मेरा दिल

Bollywood chooses to project high standards of expressing love. Male lover declares:
"My love for you is taller than the sky ..."
But, when the same is delivered in the form of a song, poetically, it does seem very relevant.

तेरी मेरी मेरी तेरी प्रेम कहानी है मुश्किल

"When we are made for each other, we got separated from each other" — each lover sings to the other in sadness and desperation. And, then each goes on to elaborate on that one theme.

You can see intense collusion between Bollywood's storywriters and lyricists. It almost seems that each feeds the other inexorably in creating the final product, the movie.

पहली पहली बार मुहब्बत की है

Long distance romance, Bollywood style. The male lover, presents in a somewhat hotter Kerala climate,  exhorts his lover to send the cooler Nainital climate ...

ज़िंदगी कैसी है पहेली

"Life is a mystery; it makes us laugh sometimes, and cry some others."

ऐसी दीवानगी, देखी नहीं कही

Nice melody, nice drums or tabla. After listening to this song, I became aware this was Shah Rukh Khan's debut film in Bollywood, and Divya Bharti died soon thereafter.

Notice how the male declares his love:

तेरी चाहत की चांदनी मेरी आँखों में बस गयी
Translation: The wish for you — as the moon — is fixated in my eye ...

आहिस्ता, आहिस्ता

This song has excellent rhythm, and you cannot help but tap your feet to it. In addition, it also has a rare description how one can feel when experiencing romance. The male lover sings:

... Either the Moon has come down or it is your — i.e., his lover's — brightness,
And, it just feels like the Earth is flying, [ever so] slowly ...

And, the female lover sings:

... Let us get lost in our dreams ... in a bed of flowers ...

तू ही हकीकत, ख्वाब तू

The poet compiles nice dualities to describe that sublime feeling, love. The male lover sings [in background]:

You are reality, [as well as] you are dream
You are the river, [as well as] you are the thirst
You are the [reason of] restlessness of my heart, [as well as] you are peace

ये जो देश है तेरा, स्वदेश है तेरा, तुझे है पुकारा

Patriotism, when accepted voluntarily, can be an overwhelming emotion. As you reflect more on life, you feel the power of where you were born, raised, etc., in other words, a certain sense of belonging to where you were born.

(Although posted on April 1, this post is not an April Fool's joke).

Give me some sunshine, give me some rain

This song captures the sentiments that we — my classmates and I — used to talk about when we were engineering undergraduates. (Although the story involves engineering undergraduates, it was reportedly shot in a business school campus, namely Indian Institute of Management, Bangalore).

The narrations, interspersed with musical stanzas, makes the song memorable. The fact that lyricist स्वानंद has carefully used technical terms routinely used in engineering, makes engineering students — former and present — appreciate the nicely disguised humor. Of course, in order to appreciate the Hindi language humor, it helps if you know Hindi.

दिल के अरमाँ आँसुओं में बह गए

When you listen to this song, even without knowing its context¹, you can sense the feeling of sadness that the singer exudes. But, when you understand the meaning of the lines, it is even more touching. In particular, the feeling of loneliness — हम वफ़ा करके भी तनहा रह गए — is not something that anyone relishes.

You wish always that no one goes through the kind of feeling that the song describes.

(After I published this post, I learnt that Ravi, the music director for this song, passed away just two days earlier).

कसमे वादे प्यार वफ़ा

Why the singer shows despair in this song is not clear in my memory, although there seems to be a parallel between the singer's despair, and the main character's. Nice music only makes it memorable.

ये इश्क, हाये, ...

A female expresses her love to her lover. She starts:

"There must be a reason why, just like that, living has become fun [& pleasant]" and goes on:
"This love ... has shown me heaven."

आगे भी जाने न तू, पीछे भी जाने न तू

The song starts out on a philosophical note: "You don't know the future, you don't know the past, whatever there is, is just the present moment ..."

How this philosophical note is woven into the music, and the story, is somewhat of a unique contribution of Bollywood to world cinema.

"Living in the present" is such a popular phrase that, if you google for it, you'll find many web sites that collect quotes on that subject. One example is Famous Quotes on Living in the Present... posted by John Kuypers.

मैं कोई ऐसा गीत गाऊँ, के आरज़ू जगाऊँ

Wooing, Bollywood style, penned by जावेद अख़्तर.

हे शोना हे शोना

Nice conversational piece by lovers, sharing their romantic thoughts.

साथिया ... साथिया ... पगले से दिल ने ये क्या किया

The female lover sings how her [miscreant] heart has chosen its lover without her knowledge ... 

The poet has chosen to refer to the heart in third person, as though the real she is different from her heart. Such separation helps in understanding when the heart does good things and bad, a clear ingredient in making the head rule the heart. That all of this woven to memorable music is, of course, the beauty of this creation.

लग जा गले के फिर ये रात हो न हो

Image Source: Wikipedia

This song is an interesting way to convey that the relationship has to end. My blogger friend Atul has a greater description of the context of this song.

I encountered this song in a recent episode of यहाँ मैं घर घर खेली. Looks like TV serial producers in India have been making use of past melodies from Bollywood films to suit their stories.

Good business for those owning copyrights on these old songs.

नीला आसमाँ सो गया (female)

This is the Lata Mangeshkar version that sings about lost love.

"The night got killed when the moon disappeared in [my] tears.
Loneliness is what fills in [the rest of my] life"

The music punctuates the narration of the story nicely to bring out the emotion. You can relish the male version here.

फूल तुम्हे भेजा है ख़त में, फूल नहीं मेरा दिल है

"I have sent you a flower in this letter, but it is my heart and not just a flower,
Oh, my dear, please write me, whether this [heart] is worthy of your liking."

This kind of poetic outpour is at least good to visualize, even if one is not able to express it to one's lover.

देखो, ओ दीवानों, तुम ये काम न करो, राम का नाम बदनाम न करो

Simple philosophy built into lilting music. The exhortation to 'know God' and 'conquer the mind by studying the [Bhagavad] Gita' is deceptively simple, lyrics-wise.