Monday, September 26, 2011

Tere bina zindagi se koi (Aandhi)

'Tere Bina Zingadi Se Koi' from Aandhi (1975) is one of the all time classics, in the voice of Kishore Kumar (amazing how he could yoodley and sing such soulful songs with equal ease) and Lata Mangeshkar (IMO, the greatest singer of all time). This song is composed by R.D. Burman and written by Gulzar. 

The stage is set  thus:
Aarti Devi (Suchitra Sen) and JK (Sanjeev Kumar) are married, but estranged (mainly due to her political ambitions). During one of Aarti Devi's election rallies, they meet again after many years. It's then that they begin to ask themselves, that though they have been living apart for so long, have they really lived all these years, (or merely existed)? This song conveys regret at losing one's love, and raises the question if anything you gained after sacrificing your love was worth it.

Lyrics, and translation:
Tere bina zindagi se koi, shikwa nahin (shikwa nahin, shikwa nahin)
Tere bina zindagi bhi lekin zindagi to nahin (zindagi nahin, zindagi nahin)
[[There is not much to complain about, in a life without you.
But then, a life without you is hardly a life]]


Kaash aisa ho, tere kadmon se, chun ke manzil chalein
Aur kahin, door kahin
Tum gar saath ho, manzilon ki kami to nahin
Tere bina zindagi se koi ...
[[I wish, walking in your steps, we could find new destinations/destinies for ourselves.
How I wish we could walk somewhere far away.
If you are with me, there is no dearth of destinations.
But in a life without you ...]]

Jee mein aata hai, tere daaman mein, sar chhupa ke hum
Rote rahein, rote rahein
Teri bhi aakhon mein, aasuon ki, nami to nahin
Tere bina zindagi se koi ...
[[I just want to cry, with my head in your lap.
Aren't your eyes moistening with tears as well?
There's not much to complain about, in  a life without you ...]]

Tum jo kah do to, aaj ki raat, chaand doobega nahin
Raat ko rok lo
Raat ki baat hai, aur zindagi baaki to nahin
Tere bina zindagi se koi ...
[[If you ask it to, even the moon will not set tonight.
Do make this night stop!
It's just a matter of one night - there's not much left to life after that.
There's not much to complain about, in  a life without you ...]]


My two three cents:
  1. Since Aarti Devi is a famous political figure by the time their paths cross again, she could not meet JK in broad daylight. Considering the fact that they could meet only at nights, last para becomes a notch extra special.
  2. This movie is not based on Indira Gandhi's life. In Gulzar's words, "Contrary to popular opinion, my story wasn’t based on Indira Gandhi’s life. It had nothing to do with Indiraji. She was just the role model for the lady politician. Frankly, who better could there be? She was such a dynamic lady." (Source)
  3. The songs is interspersed with dialogues, which as usual, was not taken well by Pancham, who told Gulzar "Do you have any idea of sur and taal? You cut in with your dialogue anywhere you want. It’s not done!" (Source same as above) 


16 comments:

  1. nice blog
    i love this song and also the dialogues in between, bhale hi dialogs ki parody ki gayi hai kai baar :)

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  2. thanks for reading! :)
    I don't know any such parody of its dialogues :D but I do love them too :)

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  3. http://eyes-of-a-child.blogspot.com/2008/04/life-that-doesnt-hold-you.html

    Have a look at this! Another translation of the same song by a friend who also writes really well..

    And I especially like your 2/3/n cents on this and other posts :)

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  4. I specially like the dialogue before the 3rd para, about it being a loooooong NEWMOON indicating thr darkness in their respective lives after separation- Tresa

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    1. yes... me too like the dialogue, such meaningful one.

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  5. @Divesh:
    that was really well adapted, thanks for introducing me to a new blog (and also for appreciating my 2 cents :P) :)

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  6. @Tresa di:
    I agree. All the dialogues are great, but that one (9 baras lambi thi na) leaves an indelible impression :)

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  7. Nice blog, and I like the wallpaper!

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  8. I've heard this song may be more than 100 times. and have thot on each n every line in every possible way. so don't need an explanation to it. Didn't found anything surprising in this post of yours, sorry to say that. bt still ur work is laudable :) Regards

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  9. @Rahul Bhomia
    really? the translations ("explanation") were written with the sole objective of surprising you. I'm so sad now :(

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  10. Great work as always. :) And I love how you have put Rahul Bhomia down. :P If I had a rupee for every a$$hole on the face of this earth...
    Btw, the technical term for Kishore da's "yoodley" is, surprise surprise, "yodeling" (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Yodeling - they have even mentioned Kishore da). And what would I not give to have been a fly on the wall during that exchange between Pancham and Gulzar...

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  11. most beautiful songs and dialogues written ever.The picturisation and melody superb.Simply mesmerising.The words nau baras simply shake one.It will never be matched

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