Tuesday, December 06, 2011

ಅವರಿವರಾ ಜೊತೆ ಸೇರದೇ, ಅವರಿವರಾ ನುಡಿ ಕೇಳದೇ

The song is about lovers' romantic overture to each other, although one line in the lyrics is somewhat baffling: ನನ್ನನ್ನಷ್ಟೇ ... ಸಾಯೋ ಹಾಗೆ ನೀನು ಪ್ರೀತಿಸು1. The male lover exhorts the female "to love only him ... so as to make him -- her? -- feel dead." I wonder what the lyricists had in mind. This song is penned by two lyricists: Shashank Raj and Yogaraj Bhat.

As usual in Indian movies these days, this is a dream sequence that escapes from the main story line; nevertheless, there is a certain believable aspect to it.

Why I did I have to write a blog post on this song? Sonu Nigam is the male singer, of course, and the musical interludes are quite pleasant to listen to.




Saturday, November 12, 2011

आदमी जो कहता है

My blogger friend Atul has a more detailed discussion of this song. Briefly, this is a simple song that packs philosophy in every day words and experience.
Whatever a man says and hears [in his life],
Those voices keep following him throughout his entire life
Whatever [blessings] a man gives or is given,
[Those blessings] stay with him for his entire life



Wednesday, November 09, 2011

All izz well

Considerable poetic skill is required to craft a song using multiple languages. (It can also be argued that it is easier find rhythmic words if you use multiple languages). This song is a good composition that tries to provide a simple, lighthearted and humorous outlook on life.



Friday, October 28, 2011

तुम पास आये, यूँ मुस्कुराये यूँ ... कुछ कुछ होता है

An interesting description of being in a state of love.
"...बेचैनियों में चैन, न जाने क्यों, आने लगा..."
The singer sings "I don't know why I find peace even when I am consumed by lack of peace." Anyone who has experienced romantic love can probably relate to this seemingly anomalous statement.



Sunday, October 23, 2011

एक दिन आप यूं हमको मिल जायेंगे

The imagination that the lovers have on how they have fallen in love is a beautiful expression. Although real life love may not always be able to be expressed in such glorious terms, it is useful to see such possibilities.

It seems like there is no match for Javed Akhtar, the lyricist.



Saturday, October 15, 2011

कांची रे, कांची रे, प्रीत मेरी साँची

Lovers argue why each should not leave the other ... The true meaning cannot be conveyed by a drab translation ... you have to experience the song in all its melody and semantics. I didn't discover until recently that the raag ♫भूपाली is behind this melody.



Thursday, October 13, 2011

गाडी बुला रही है, सीटी बजा रही है

It is one of the unique characteristics of Bollywood lyricists to derive pragmatic values of life by observing everyday things — in this case a train. For example:

"responsibility of carrying people around, fire in its heart, smoke on its lips ... still keeps on singing, i.e., moving"
"[the train] won't bother about all that [thunder, rain & lightning], moves at the drop of signal, day or night"

Add to it the melodic singing Kishore Kumar can provide. A treat, although a nostalgic one.



Wednesday, October 05, 2011

ये ज़िन्दगी उसीकी है, जो किसी का हो गया

"The world is that person's, who belongs to someone else, gets 'lost' in love." In other words, if you are not loved for any reason, it can be very lonely and can give rise to all sorts of desperation.

Ultimately, while union with a lover and, by implication, with God is what is desired by everyone, it takes a skillful poet to bring that about in words, and a beautiful voice like what Lata Mangeshkar and Shreya Ghoshal have, to impart melody.



Monday, October 03, 2011

ज़रा सी दिल में दे जगा तू

When you understand the variety of pleadings of the male with the female for her love, you wonder how spontaneous this feelings can be in real people. But, you have to appreciate the poet's attempt to capture these thoughts.

The manner in which the singing is punctuated by the screeching halt of the automobile, and the dialogue about betting in a game of cricket,
"When you are so good at betting, why don't you become a bookie yourself?",
you have to credit the Bollywood creativity!



Saturday, September 03, 2011

Right Here Waiting


I had heard this song some years ago, and was pleasantly surprised to find it on YouTube.

This song describes the sentiment when lovers [have to] drift apart. The instrumental melody itself is very hummable. This song must have been so popular that it has garnered a Wikipedia article.



Friday, August 19, 2011

छूकर मेरे मन को, किया तूने क्या इशारा

"By touching my heart [or mind], what a gesture have you made?
This season changed, and the entire world seems lovely, wonderful."

Considering that an immensely desirable quality in a human being is to touch another at an emotional or at an intellectual level, it is only appropriate to have this quality immortalized in a song, crafted to hummable melody that only a Kishore Kumar can create.



Thursday, August 04, 2011

अल्लाह तेरो नाम, ईश्वर तेरो नाम

This song brings out the secular nature of God, although only two forms of God are mentioned here:
  1. Allah of the Muslim faith, 
  2. Eswar of the Hindu faith. 
It also wishes for goodness in the world, in expressing that:
  1. Everyone be blessed with good mind
  2. Wives not lose their husbands. (This is probably a reflection of the time; women tended to be more dependent on men those days than nowadays).
  3. Mothers' and sisters' not fulfilling their hopes
  4. Life not be stifled by a [weak] body
  5. Everyone be blessed with knowledge of God
The foregoing is nothing but an elaboration of another well-known Sanskrit phrase, वसुदैव कुटुम्बकं, or "The whole world is one family".
    Above all, it is a beautiful rendering by the incomparable Lata Mangeshkar.



    Sunday, May 29, 2011

    फूलों के रंग से, दिल की कलम से

    The man expresses love for his lover. Couple of examples:

    • "I write every day with my heart as the pen, with ink as colorful as flowers, ... "
    • "Wherever you went, you always smiled ..."

    The amount of praise he showers on her could make any girl blush ... or wonder whether she can live up to it!



    Saturday, April 30, 2011

    तेरे लिए, हम हैं जिए

    The reunited lovers describe how they have been separated for most of their youthful years -- another Yash Chopra love story. "दिल में मगर, जलते रहे, चाहत के दिये", what a powerful sentiment!