Love: Then and now…

Since I made a promise to translate one song per week, here I am with the first song for the year. I have to say, there’s hardly just one webpage with the lyrics of this song in Hindi and that too wrong in many places. Now I have to say the movie is not very popular but you have to admit that this might be the best looking Manoj Kumar you have ever seen. Personally, I became a fan of his looks after watching this song where he looks as handsome as any male protagonist off the cover of a Mills and Boon.

A few words about the context of the song. Manoj Kumar is on a journey to meet his friend with a lot of money in cash. The other three people in the song are thieves trying to steal the money. Now the song specifically talks about how the face of love has changed in the present times (the movie was made in 1963) and how lovers especially women do not take love seriously any more but rather use such emotions to their own end (in this case he already has realized that the woman sitting next to him is a con woman and you will see how he hints to it in the song as well).

The lyrics are quite lovely and well thought. Heavily laden with Urdu, the poetry is rather taunting and sarcastic but with the right amount of fun. Some Urdu words are quite uncommon and the song also alludes to the three most famous love stories from the Indian subcontinent viz. Shireen-Farhad, Laila-Majnoo and Heer-Ranjha.

Here is the video of the song called ‘Ab mohabbat main jo…‘ from the movie Banarasi Thug starring Manoj Kumar and Vijaya Chaudhary. The singer is my all time favourite Mohammed Rafi sahab. You can even watch the movie on Amazon Prime Video in India. The movie is good enough with nothing extraordinary to offer other than the killer looks of Manoj Kumar (I cannot praise him enough!). Hope you like my attempt at translation of the song. I will try to explain some exotic Urdu/Hindi terms in the glossary at the end.

Female: Haaye mar gye hum teri mohhaabat me

English: Ahhh…I died in your love (it is more like a sigh while saying that I got annihilated in your love, something that shows extremes of devotion to someone)

Male: Aaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaa aa ho haaye Ab mohabbat me jo pehle thi vo taseer nahi
Ab mohabbat me jo pehle thi vo taseer nahi
Ab vo shireen nahi laila nahi vo heer nahi
Ab vo shireen nahi, ab vo laila nahi
Ab vo shireen nahi laila nahi vo heer nahi
Ab mohabbat me jo pehle thi vo taseer nahi
Ab vo shireen nahi laila nahi vo heer nahi

English: (after a long aalaap)

Nowadays, love doesn’t have the same efficacy as it used to have earlier

These days there is neither that Shireen, nor that Laila nor that Heer

These days there is neither that Shireen, nor that Laila

Nowadays, love doesn’t have the same efficacy as it used to have earlier

These days there is neither that Shireen, nor that Laila nor that Heer

Sath marne ki tadap ab kahan haseeno me
Yaaro jhuthi hai chamak husn ke nagino me
Pyar daulat se ye karte hai inhe pyar nahi
Ab hume inki wafao ka etbar nahi
Ab vo shireen nahi, ab vo laila nahi
Ab vo shireen nahi laila nahi vo heer nahi
Ab mohabbat me jo pehle thi vo taseer nahi
Ab vo shireen nahi laila nahi vo heer nahi

English: Where is that yearning to die together, in these beauties nowadays

My dear friends, the brilliance in the gems of beauty is absolutely fake

They only love money, they are not truly in love

Now we do not have any faith on their faithfulness

These days there is neither that Shireen, nor that Laila

Nowadays, love doesn’t have the same efficacy as it used to have earlier

These days there is neither that Shireen, nor that Laila nor that Heer

Na inhe paas-e mohabbat na inhe paas-e wafa
In ka pesha hai sitam, in ka sheva hai jafa
Pyar kehti hai ye duniya jise vo pyar nahi
Kisko dil den ke yaha koi bhi dildar nahi
Ab vo shiri nahi, ab vo laila nahi
Ab vo shiri nahi laila nahi vo hir nahi
Ab mohabbat me jo pehle thi vo tasir nahi
Ab vo shiri nahi laila nahi vo hir nahi

English: Neither do they have regard for love, nor regard for faithfulness (or fidelity)

Their occupation is oppression, their habit is to transgress the rules of propriety

That which this world calls as love is not love

Whom to give this heart to, when there is no one generous enough to give their heart

These days there is neither that Shireen, nor that Laila

Nowadays, love doesn’t have the same efficacy as it used to have earlier

These days there is neither that Shireen, nor that Laila nor that Heer

Ye haseen dhokhe, sanam banke diya karte hai
Ishq ki kha ke kasam, loot liya karte hai
Fir bhi kehte hain ye hum se ke wafadar nahi
Fir bhi rote hai koi inka bhi dildar nahi
Ab vo shiri nahi, ab vo laila nahi
Ab vo shiri nahi laila nahi vo heer nahi
Ab mohabbat me jo pehle thi vo taseer nahi
Ab vo shiri nahi laila nahi vo heer nahi

English: They give you beautiful deception, after becoming your beloved

All the while swearing on love, they rob you

And yet they tell us that we are not faithful

And yet they weep for the fact that they do not have a lover

These days there is neither that Shireen, nor that Laila

Nowadays, love doesn’t have the same efficacy as it used to have earlier

These days there is neither that Shireen, nor that Laila nor that Heer

Glossary:

1. Mohabbat: Deep affection and love
2. Taseer: Efficacy or effect. This word is quite important in Ayurveda as well which refers to the intrinsic property of a food item in terms of the effect it produces inside the body (probably needs an article of its own for the explanation).
3. Shireen: Shireen is the female protagonist of a famous tragic romance written by Nizam Gajnavi (1141-1209). The story is known originally as Khosrow and Shireen, which is an exaggerated fictional account of the love story of the Sassanian king Khosrow and an Armenian princess, Shireen. As the story travelled with Persians to the Indian subcontinent, it started to be known as the tale of ‘Shireen and Farhad’ and is quite famous in the popular culture (such as Bollywood).
4. Laila: Layla-Majnun is a very famous story of Arabic origin based on the 7th Century Bedouin poet Qays ibn al-Muwallah and his lady love Layla bint Mahdi which became more popular when the Persian poet Nizam Gajnavi composed their tale in a poem. Famously regarded as Romeo and Juliet of the East, this story has been a favourite in the popular culture around the Middle East and the Indian subcontinent.
5. Heer: A tragic romance from the state of Punjab in India, Heer Ranjha was written in around the 18th Century by Waris Shah although nobody knows the exact origin and date of the story. The story is approximately six centuries old now and lovers visit their mausoleum in Jhang, Pakistan till date.
6. Aalaap: Opening section of a Indian classical music performance typically based on ragas
7. Tadap: Yearning, craving
8. Haseen: Drop dead gorgeous, extremely beautiful woman, one who has husn
9. Yaar: A close friend or sometimes even lover
10. Husn: Beauty and elegance
11. Nagina: Gem or jewel, precious stone
12. Pyar: Love, fondness
13. Daulat: Money and wealth
14. Wafa: fidelity, faithfulness
15. Etbar: Trust or faith
16. Paas-e mohabbat: Regard or respect for love
17. Paas-e wafa: Regard or respect for fidelity
18. Pesha: Occupation or job
19. Sheva: Habit or usual behaviour
20. Jafa: Tyranny of beloved, infidelity (It is the antonym of wafa)
21. Duniya: World
22. Dildar: One who gives his heart easily i.e. a generous person
23. Dhokha: Deceit, cheating or betrayal
24. Sanam: Beloved
25. Ishq: Love
26. Kasam: Oath or promise
27. Loot: To rob or steal from someone (mostly in a way that they are left with nothing)
28. Wafadar: Who gives fidelity easily which means someone who is quite faithful