Phir Raat Kati (Paheli)

Today being Gulzar's birthday, I think I owe it to this blog to come out of my 2-month long hiatus and bring the blog back to life.

"Phir raat kati" is a quirky little composition by M.M. Kreem and Gulzar, capturing and underlining the fact that "Paheli", in its heart, is a folklore brought alive on screen. The mood of the song is just as beautifully executed by choreographer Farah Khan on screen, bringing out the magic of a folk tale using puppet-like moves.

It's slightly ironic that the stunning cinematography and choreography work so well for the song that the lyrics and the imagery it paints get somehow sidelined. So I thought I'll attempt translating the song, steal some limelight from the dance and put the focus on the lyrics :). 

Lyrics, and Translation

Phir raat kati, aur din nikla

Jab din nikla to raat chadhi

Phir preet ki aisi peeng badhi, rab raakha beliya 
(heyyy-ho, heyyy-ho)

[[Like any other story, this one begins simply enough. The days and nights are succeeding each other like they're meant to, and life is moving at its natural pace.

When one sudden day, this love story is set in motion. And what a love story it is, may God be our saviour!

Kanu's comments: "Peeng badhana" is a term usually used in reference to swings (jhula), and it means pushing the swing to increase its pace and set it in motion.]]

Oontni par jab chaand chale, aur chaand ke peechhe raat chale
Aur taaron ki baaraat chale, rab raakha beliya 
(heyyy-ho, heyyy-ho)

[[(The story is set in the deserts of Rajasthan, about a newly-wed bride on the way to her in-laws place. The baaraat (marriage procession) halts at a baoli where a ghost falls in love with the bride, enchanted by her beauty. This is their love story.) 

I like to believe that "Oontni pe jab chaand chale" is a reference to the beautiful (moon-like) bride travelling by camel through the desert. So the story starts when the bride, along with the baaraat is on her way to the sasuraal.]]

Har raat kahaani chalti hai
Kabhi hawa sunaati hai baatein, kabhi baat zubaani chalti hai
Rab raakha beliya 
(heyyy-ho, heyyy-ho)

[[Ever since then, the story has travelled far and wide; at times taking the wings of the wind, at others by word of mouth.

I love this reference to the beautiful custom of how at nightfall, stories are exchanged - whether on a chaupaal; or as bedtime stories told by mothers and grandmothers to children. And before one knows it, these stories have travelled to far away places, and become lores.]]

Deh ki reti ud jaavegi, preet sada rah jaavegi
Arey samay gujar jaavega babu, lok katha rah jaavegi
Baat puraani ho jaavegi, naam sada rah jaavega
Arey maaroothal mein baalu tab tak unka naam rahega
(Phir raat kati...)

[[Even after the sand of our bodies has flown away (we are long dead), love  remains.

Time passes, dear sirs, but these folk lores stay behind.

The stories may get old, but the names are never forgotten...

As long as there is sand in the desert, their names will live on ... 

(Maaroothal is a tadbhav of the word "marusthal" meaning desert.)]]

Bahut baras jab gujar gaye aur laakh chaand jab utar gaye
Peepal par ek padaav hua, aur phir janme ka chaav hua
Tab se har ek kahaani mein, wo aate hain aur jaate hain
Arey maaroothal mein baalu tab tak unka naam rahega
(Phir raat kati...)

[[(Again the song gives a glimpse of the story...)

The ghost had been dead many years, many moons had passed;

When one day a procession halted under his peepal tree. And it was on this day that he wanted to be born again and have a mortal body (because of the beauty of the bride)...

And ever since then, these characters keep popping up in various tales...

(And I'm telling you,) as long as there is sand in the desert, they will live on]]

I hope you enjoyed the translation and it took you back to the time when you were kids and heard bedtime stories under a star-lit sky.

I also have two very personal reasons to like this song - first, since I've spent 8 years in Rajasthan, the place is very dear to me. The people are so warm and the place so colorful... it's like living in a story. And second, because this dance was  performed by my juniors in college, and those days are very close to my heart...

Saathiya (Title track)

So I was on the road today, when some FM channel started playing 'Do pyaar karne waale' from Jungle. And I thought, there are some songs that I could listen simply for Sonu Nigam's voice. Now add AR Rahman and Gulzar to the mix, and the song is sure to feature in my all-time favorites (think 'Satrangi Re' from Dil Se). Saathiya title track is no different. So it was a happy moment for me when it won a Filmfare Award each for its musical trio of Sonu, Rahman and Gulzar (Filmfare has often disappointed me in the past).

The lyrics of this song are hardly what you'd call linear or simple. In fact, I feel they are less like Gulzar's Bollywood work, and more like his poems - metaphors, allegories and analogies galore! But the thought is pretty simple - it's a love song from a boy to girl. A boy with a pretty vivid imagination too! Such is his love, that his entire world revolves around this girl. 

Lyrics, and translation

Translating this song literally will kill its beauty. So please ignore the literal translation, and focus on the feelings behind it.

Saathiya, saathiya, maddham-maddham teri geeli hansi

Saathiya, saathiya, sun ke humne saari pi li hansi

[[Literally: My beloved, your laughter is soft and fluid, which I drank upon hearing it.

'Geeli' (wet) is not an adjective used very often for laughter. These lines could could mean that our hero drank up the laughter like someone who has been thirsty. Or it could mean that he is drunk on (intoxicated by) this girl's laughter. Or it could mean that like a liquid seeps inside surfaces, the laughter has soaked his soul. You prefer!]]

Hansti rahe tu hansti rahe, haya ki laali khilti rahe

Zulf ke neeche gardan pe, subah-o-shaam milti rahein

Saundhi si hansi teri, khilti rahe, milti rahe

[[May you keep smiling forever, your cheeks blushing

May the mornings and evenings keep meeting at the nape of your neck, under your hair.

May your fragrant laughter keep blooming for ever.

I wish more poets would think beyond the eyes and lips of a girl! How sensuous is the description of the dark hair brushing the fair neck of the girl - how beautiful is its comparison to the meeting place of mornings and evenings! The blush of the girl's cheeks is like the redness of sky at dusk or dawn.]]

Peeli dhoop pahan kar tum, dekho baag mein mat jaana

Bhanvre tumko sab chhedenge, phoolon mein mat jaana

[[Don't go out in the garden, dressed in (yellow) sunshine

All those insects will bug you, don't go near the flowers

(PS: Bhanvra is a black insect that eats flower nectar. What's it called in English?)]]

Maddham-maddham hans de phir se

Sona-sona phir se hans de

[[Smile that soft, beautiful smile of yours yet again]]

Taaza gire patte ki tarah sabz laan* par lete hue

Saat rang hain bahaaron ke, ek ada mein lapete hue

Saavan bhaadon saare tumse

[[Like a freshly fallen leave, lying still on the green lawn.

Yet containing all the shades of spring in every glance

(It's as if) all my seasons are because of you


*Laan = lawn]]

Mausam-mausam hanste rahna

Maddham-maddham hanste rahna

[[Keep smiling that soft smile of yours in every season]]

Saathiya, saathiya ...

Kabhie neele aasmaan par, chalo ghoomne chalein hum

Koi abr mil gaya to, zameen pe baras lein hum

[[Some time, let's go on a stroll through this blue sky

And rain down on the earth, when we come across a cloud

(At times, I wish it was just you, me and the sky and the rain - we would be one with each-other, and one with the nature)]]

Teri baali hil gayi hai

Kabhie shab chamak uthi hai, kabhie shaam khil gayi hai

[[A flicker in your earring

Makes my nights glitter, makes my evenings bloom]]

Tere baalon ki panaah mein, ye siyaah raat guzre

Teri kaali-kaali aankhein, koi ujli baat utre

[[I wish I could spend these dark nights in the shade of your hair

And see your dark eyes sparkle when a bright idea flits through your mind]]

Teri ik hansee ke badle, meri yeh zameen le le

Mera aasmaan le le

[[I could sacrifice my earth and sky in exchange for even one of your smile]]

Saathiya, saathiya ...

Barf giri ho vaadi mein, oon mein lipti simti hui...

Barf giri ho vaadi mein, aur hansi teri goonje

Oon mein lipti simti hui, baat kare dhuaan nikle

Garm-garm ujla dhuaan, narm-narm ujla dhuaan

[[Some time, when the valley is snow-clad; shivering despite being clad in woolen clothes...

Some time, when the valley is snow-clad, I wish it was echoing with your laughter

And I can see you clad in woolen clothes, smoke coming out of your mouth as you speak

A warm, bright, soft smoke]]

My three cents

1. The line 'Teri ik hansi ke badle, meri yeh zameen le le, mera aasmaan le le' is by far my favorite line of the song. So simple, yet all-giving. He's ready to give everything up just to see his beloved smile once. That's how deeply a girl wants to be loved. Plus, this line is sung with such intensity by Sonu Nigam, it's as if he really means it. Wow, I get goosebumps every time I listen to it!
2. My favorite part - Gulzar's use of colors throughout the song - haya ki laali khilti rahe (red), peeli dhoop pehen ke tum (yellow), taaza gire patte ki tarah (green), kabhie neele aasmaan par (blue), yeh siyaah raat guzre (black), barf giri ho vaadi mein (white), saat rang hain bahaaron ke.
3. The song is picturised (and performed) well. Even Manish Malhotra's costumes for Rani are in tandem with the colors (see 2 above).