Diving into the sea of love…
This time I am going to talk about a timeless classic from Mukesh Sahab who is one of my favourite singers (yet another), starring Manoj Kumar aka Bharat Kumar and Saadhna from the movie ‘Anita‘ released in 1967. Manoj Kumar is as handsome as ever and Saadhna is as elusive as ever. There was a time, when Saadhna was the queen of suspense thriller movies popularizing that eponymous ‘Saadhna cut’ for the want of a new hairstyle for girls. Having tried that hairstyle, I’ve to say she carries it off like no one else could. Its worth a try though!
I just realized how almost every movie of Saadhna has been a suspense thriller be it Woh Kaun thi, Anita or Mera Saaya. Saadhna plus the 60s Bollywood is an ode to haunting melancholy whodunnits. My favourite one though is ‘Woh Kaun thi’. Perhaps its the black-and-whiteness of the movie which gives it a quaint eerie feel and gets you to drown in the story. Eastman colour takes out most of that grey and chilling feel of a black and white movie. Some genres require it!
Enough about that though, right now we shall focus on ‘Anita’. You can watch the whole movie on YouTube if you are interested.
Its interesting to recall how I came to hear this song for the first time. It was introduced to me by my father while he was trying to remember how Nainital was the hub of shooting for Bollywood movies at one time (much before Karan Johar shifted the whole focus to Switzerland). And this is one song he remembered being shot in Nainital while he was living there with his parents. I fell in love with the song as soon as I heard it but to be able to see a familiar landscape of my ancestral home town was an added bonus.
All the songs of this movie are quite likeable and I might write about some more of those later. For now this song sung by Mukesh is about missing your lover. As you can understand with the music, it is a sad song and Mukesh’s melancholy voice does it justice. The protagonist Neeraj (Manoj Kumar) is in love with Anita (Saadhna) who commits suicide. In order to get over his pain of loss, Neeraj goes on a vacation to the best hill station in the world (according to me) i.e. Nainital. While he sings this song about the grief of having to live life without the love of his life, he can see Anita alive and wandering around, living her life as a Saadhvi. Or is it simply a ghost? I am not that person who gives away spoilers so… I’ll let it hang.
The lyrics are quite touchy and deep (literally). At places, instead of pure Hindi you will find colloquial Hindi words. Not too heavy on words, this one is pretty straightforward when it comes to conveying what it wants to convey: simply the sorrow of loving and losing. And that reminds me of the saying, ‘It is better to have loved and lost, than to have never loved anyone.’
Male: Tum bin jeewan kaise beeta,
Poochho mere dil se, poochho mere dil se
Tum bin jeewan kaise beeta,
Poochho mere dil se, poochho mere dil se
Poochho mere dil se, haaye, poochho mere dil se,
English: Life without you, how did it pass,
Ask my heart, ask my heart
Life without you, how did it pass,
Ask my heart, ask my heart
Ask my heart, ask my heart
Saawan ke din aaye, beeti yaadein laaye
Kaun jhukaakar aankhein, mujhko paas bithhaaye
Kaisa tha pyaara roop tumhaara,
Poochho mere dil se, poochho mere dil se
Tum bin jeewan kaise beeta,
Poochho mere dil se, poochho mere dil se
English: The days of monsoon arrived, brought past memories,
Who, by lowering her eyes, made me sit close to herself
How lovely was your appearance,
Ask my heart, ask my heart
Life without you, how did it pass,
Ask my heart, ask my heart
Prem ka saagar haay, chaaro taraf laheraaye
Jitna aage jaau, gehra hota jaaye
Gham ke bhanwar mein, kya kya dooba,
Poochho mere dil se, poochho mere dil se
Tum bin jeewan kaise beeta,
Poochho mere dil se, poochho mere dil se
English: Aaah! the sea of love ripples in all the four directions,
The further I go, the deeper it gets,
In the whirlpool of sorrow, what all drowned,
Ask my heart, ask my heart
Life without you, how did it pass,
Ask my heart, ask my heart
Jaise jugnu ban mein, tu chamke ansuwan mein
Ban kar phool khili ho, jaane kis bagiyan mein
Main apni kismat pe roya,
Poochho mere dil se, poochho mere dil se
Tum bin jeewan kaise beeta,
Poochho mere dil se, poochho mere dil se
English: Just like a firefly in the forest, you glow in my tears,
Blossoming as a flower, who knows in which garden,
I cried over my destiny,
Ask my heart, ask my heart
Life without you, how did it pass,
Ask my heart, ask my heart
Glossary:
- Saadhvi: A female ascetic, the female counterpart of a ‘saadhu‘. It is a Sanskrit term that literally means “virtuous woman” and refers to women who have renounced their possessions and chosen to live apart from society to focus on a spiritual life. The name for a man who has chosen this life is called a saadhu. Both names come from the root word, sadh, which means “gain power over” or “reach one’s goal.” Interestingly the Sanskrit word for a spiritual practice, sadhana (which is the real name of the actress as you might have noticed), comes from the same root.
- Jeewan: Life
- Poochhna: To ask
- Saawan: The season of monsoon, rainy season
- Yaadein: Memories
- Jhukaana: To downcast, to lower
- Aankhein: Eyes
- Paas: Close, nearby
- Pyaara: Lovely, lovable
- Roop: Appearance, beauty, elegance
- Prem: Deep love, affection
- Saagar: Sea
- Laheraaye: To ripple, to wave
- Gehra: Deep
- Gham: Sorrow. It is much stronger than the word ‘sorrow’, Gham is profounder in meaning. The uneasiness or pain of mind which is produced by the loss of anything good, or by disappointment in the expectation of good; grief at having suffered
- Bhanwar: Whirlpool
- Doobna: To drown
- Jugnu: Firefly
- Ban: Jungle, forest, a colloquial term for ‘van’ which means forest
- Chamakna: To glow, to shine
- Ansuwan: Tears, colloquial term for ‘aansu’ which means tears
- Khilna: To blossom, to flower
- Bagiyan: A small garden, colloquial term for ‘Bagiya’ which means a small garden
- Kismat: Destiny
The Heritage Chutney 