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