The Heritage Chutney

Is this love…

The intoxication of love

After a long gap, I am back with another song which is a permanent member of my playlist. This song comes from a not very well known movie released in 2002, ‘Kya yehi pyar hai‘ starring Aftab Shivdasani, Amisha Patel, Jackie Shroff and others. If you look at its IMDb ratings (don’t even bother), you will find out that it is not even a highly appreciated movie. To be honest, it was a super-flop at the box office.

I have my own opinion on the movie though. It’s not a very well thought out and well made movie, but the intention was right. Unlike the highly romantic 90s and 2000s Bollywood movies, which championed the never-accept-no kind of stalker style love on part of the male protagonist, this movie tried to depict the downfalls of a crazy juvenile college long-time-stalker type love. Aftab looks cute and Amisha looks beautiful (that’s something which didn’t last for long).

Now Bollywood called it love, what in real life is understood as stalking. But that is another debate. Nonetheless, this movie had quite an unusual climax given the rest of Bollywood movies of its time. After having lost his loving elder brother by the end, Aftab Shivdasani finally manages to win the heart of Sandhya (whom he stalked for the first 1 hour 45 minutes of the movie) but refuses to accept it ultimately. In his words, ‘If you attain love only after losing everything, then I don’t want such love.’ The moral of the story, ‘Love is not the heart of life, it is only a part of life. Young men should definitely fall in love but only after they have fulfilled the dreams of their parents and loved ones.’

No wonder the film didn’t do well at the box-office. Who wants to go all the way to the cinema to watch a guy dramatically pursue a single girl for about 2 hours just to see him reject it all at the end rather than to get that romantic happy-ever-after ending! In short, it’s not a feel good movie and not even serious enough to be able to be considered as an art movie. In most of the parts it is too dramatic, starkly contrasting with a too practical (yet over-the-top) ending. At any moment in the movie, either the girl or the guy will be acting extremely stupid and crazy in love. I do feel that the movie is made from the perspective of the crazy lover boy Rahul who has some illogical justifications for loving a girl for her heart. A girl he has never even talked to ever, clearly he is only in love with her for her face. Because how did he ever get to know that she has a beautiful heart just by stalking her from a distance for four years?

The girl definitely has sane reasons for not indulging in something like teenage love. She is a bright student who thinks of advancing in her studies and career before anything else. She has her priorities set. But the treatment of the movie makes her the villain of the plot (kind of). The cherry on the top comes when Sandhya’s mother tells her, ‘You can get any gold medal with your hard work, but a good life partner is something you can get only by good fortune‘. It’s kind of confusing whether she is telling her that the gold medal she got with her hard work is not important any more or that now she shouldn’t think of her academics as much as of trying to find the perfect life partner, since she just finished her bachelors with top grades? And if you get a good life partner only with luck, then you anyway cannot do anything about it. You just grab it when it comes to you. And lastly, what credentials did Rahul ever show for being considered by them as a good life partner? Just by stalking her for four years, not having a good job or academic background, hanging out with weird friends and fighting like hooligans on the streets, could he have proved with all this that he is the perfect life partner for Sandhya? The content could have been more sensible. But alas, I wasn’t the script writer.

Having said all that, I’ll now talk about the song. This here is a love song with a passive aggressive feel to it. Perhaps it’s more about the feeling of frustration due to unrequited love. The words express extreme and deep love but the music seems to have a certain boldness and robustness which you won’t find from just a soft love song. The very beginning shouts out the eponymous ‘Is this what love is…’ (Kya yehi pyar hai) in a sort of painful drawl. Listen to the song to understand better.

‘Dil pe chhane laga hai’ video song from ‘Kya yehi pyar hai’

I can’t say if this song is the title song of the movie because there is another song with the title of the movie. The lyrics are pretty straight forward with very few big Urdu words. Words commonly used in conversations. Nothing that you rush to open the lexicon for. While the song is amazing, the same can’t be said about the video which seems to be a flurry of dancers in various clothes filmed on a conspicuous movie set.

Male: Kya yehi pyaar hai…
Kya yehi pyaar hai

English: Is this what love is…
Is this what love is

Female: Dil pe chhaane laga hai nasha pyaar ka
O dil pe chhaane laga hai nasha pyaar ka
Ab to aane laga hai mazaa pyaar ka

English: (My) Heart is suffused with the intoxication of love
O (My) heart is suffused with the intoxication of love
Now I have started getting enjoyment out of love

Male: Bekhudi chha gayi, bekhudi chha gayi
Aashiqui aa gayi, kya yehi pyaar hai
Dil zara tu bata
Dil pe chhaane laga hai nasha pyaar ka
Ab to aane laga hai mazaa pyaar ka

English: Senselessness has spread, senselessness has spread
Love has arrived, is this what love is
(My) Heart please tell me
(My) Heart is suffused with the intoxication of love

Female: Meri, meri nazar mein jaadoo, jaadoo, jaadoo basa hai
Meri, meri har ek ada ka tu hai tu hai deewana

English: My, My glance is filled with magic, with magic,
My, My every graceful gesture is what you are, you are crazy for

Male: Jaadoo, jaadoo to tera mujhpe, mujhpe chala hai
Uske, uske asar se main hoon, main hoon deewana

English: Magic, magic of yours is what worked on me
By its, by its effect, I have, I have become crazy (in love)

Female: Tu bata de zara, yeh tujhe kya hua
kya yehi pyaar hai, dil zara tu bata

English: Tell me at least, what has happened to you
Is this what love is, (my) Heart please tell me

Male: Dil pe chhaane laga hai nasha pyaar ka
Ab to aane laga hai mazaa pyaar ka

English: (My) heart is suffused with the intoxication of love
Now I have started getting enjoyment out of love

Male: Hey chanda, chanda sa jaana tera, tera badan hai
Uspe, uspe, uspe qayamat tera yuhi sharmana

English: Hey like moon, like moon is, darling, your, your body
On top of that, on top of that, catastrophe is your being shy for no reason

Female: Tera, tera sanam yeh kaisa, kaisa deewaanapan hai
Tune, tune banaya yuhi kaisa afsana

English: Your, Your, sweetheart, what kind of craziness is it
You, you created such a romantic tale for no reason

Male: Pal mein dil yeh gaya, pal mein dil yeh gaya
Kuch pata na chala, kya yehi pyaar hai
Dil zara tu bata

English: This heart left (me) within a moment, this heart left (me) within a moment
(I) Couldn’t even realize it, is this what love is,
(My) Heart please tell me

Together: Dil pe chhaane laga hai nasha pyaar ka
Ab to aane laga hai mazaa pyaar ka

English: (My) heart is suffused with the intoxication of love
Now I have started getting enjoyment out of love

Glossary:

Chhaana: To spread, to suffuse,
Nasha: Inebriety, intoxication, drunkenness
Mazaa: Fun, enjoyment
Bekhudi: Bekhudi is made up of the khudi (self-consciousness) with the prefix be (without). So a person who is not conscious of himself or herself is bekhud and thus living in the state of bekhudi i.e. a state of aloofness from reality and even from one’s own self. It can also be equated to the feeling of being intoxicated or inebriated. This person doesn’t have any control on him/herself.
Nazar: Glance, vision, eye
Jaadoo: Magic, spell
Deewana: Crazy lover, mad for someone or something, lunatic, lover
Asar: Effect
Chanda: Moon
Jaana: Beloved or darling. Literally comes from the word jaan which means life. So somebody who is your life can be also called jaan or jaana.
Badan: Body
Sharmana: To be shy, to be coquettish
Deewaanapan: The state of being a deewana
Afsana : Fictional tale, legend, romantic tale

The promise of love

You complete me…

This one is a song from the famous movie ‘Sooryavansham‘. Why famous? Coz Sony Max broadcasts it almost every other day in India. Set Max’s obsession with ‘Sooryavansham’ has made it the subject of a lot of memes.

One of the examples of memes on ‘Sooryavansham’

Is it a really good movie though? I would rather not comment on that. In case you wish to figure it out, you can watch it for free on YouTube as well.

‘Sooryavansham’ Full movie on youtube

Needless to say, I have seen it hundreds of times. Therefore, I think I deserve to recount the well-known story one more time. Amitabh Bachchan is a big shot Thakur in a village helping the villagers against the atrocities of another Thakur. With a big family, out of all his kids, surprisingly the youngest looks exactly like him (of course Amitabh Bachchan as a young man). This was one of last successful attempts to hold on to his image of the angry YOUNG man while ageing like fine wine. The make up doesn’t hide those wrinkles at all.

Coming back to the song, the video has the feel of a bildungsroman, wherein Amitabh starts living his life with his wife in poverty, having been ousted from the rich household of his father. Within the song you will get to see how they build a fulfilling life for both of them with love and come up to be rich and successful by the other end of the song. Yes! Anything can happen in Bollywood! I wouldn’t tell you the full story of the movie. Suffice it to say that, living very away from the love of my life, I recently felt quite emotional while watching this song. And therefore, here I am trying to dedicate this one to my love and all the promises of our future together.

The song, in the sweet voice of Kumar Sanu and Anuradha Paudwal (Bhajan queen), is not heavy on its vocabulary. Quite easy Hindi words and poetry but I do love the melodious tune.

‘Kore kore sapne mere’ song from Sooryavansham

Male: Kore kore sapne mere
Barson se the kitne adhoore
Dheere dheere rang saja ke
Toone kar diye unko poore
Vaada hai vaada, chaahenge tumko
Jeevan se zyada, hai vaada vaada

English: Blank blank, my dreams
Since years, were so incomplete
Slowly and slowly, by decorating with colours
You completed all of them
It is the promise, I will love you,
More than life itself, it is the promise

Female: Kore kore sapne mere
Barson se the kitne adhoore
Dheere dheere rang saja ke
Toone kar diye unko poore
Vaada hai vaada chaahenge tumko
Jeevan se zyada hai vaada vaada

English: Blank blank, my dreams
Since years, were so incomplete
Slowly and slowly, by decorating with colours
You completed all of them
It is the promise, I will love you,
More than life itself, it is the promise

Male: Kore kore sapne mere
Barson se the kitne adhoore

English: Blank blank, my dreams
Since years, were so incomplete

Female: Taaron ko ghar mein laayenge hum
Asha ke deep jalaayenge hum
Male: Aayi hain bahaarein aayi hain
Khushiyon ke nazaare laayi hain

English: We will bring stars into our home,
We will light the lamps of hope,
Has come, springtime has come,
Has brought scenes of happiness

Female: Kore kore sapne mere
Barson se the kitne adhoore
Male: Dheere dheere rang saja ke
Toone kar diye unko poore
Female: Vaada hai vaada, chaahenge tumko
Jeevan se zyada, hai vaada vaada
Male: Kore kore sapne mere
Barson se the kitne adhoore

English: Blank blank, my dreams
Since years, were so incomplete
Slowly and slowly, by decorating with colours
You completed all of them
It is the promise, I will love you,
More than life itself, it is the promise
Blank blank, my dreams
Since years, were so incomplete

Male: Panchhi kabhi bhi rote nahin
Patthar ke aansu hote nahin
Female: Pana hai, kisi ko khona hai
Hona hai yahan jo hona hai

English: Birds never cry,
Stones do not have tears
Gain somebody, you have to lose somebody
What has to happen, happens right here

Female: Kore kore sapne mere
Barson se the kitne adhoore
Male: Dheere dheere rang saja ke
Toone kar diye unko poore
Male: Kore kore sapne mere
Barson se the kitne adhoore
Female: Dheere dheere rang saja ke
Toone kar diye unko poore
Male: Vaada hai vaada chaahenge tumko
Jeevan se zyada hai vaada vaada

English: Blank blank, my dreams
Since years, were so incomplete
Slowly and slowly, by decorating with colours
You completed all of them
Blank blank, my dreams
Since years, were so incomplete
Slowly and slowly, by decorating with colours
You completed all of them
It is the promise, I will love you,
More than life itself, it is the promise

Glossary:

Kora: Blank
Barson: Years
Adhoora: Incomplete, unfinished
Dheere: Slowly
Rang: Colour(s)
Poora: Complete
Vaada: Promise, oath
Taara: Star
Ghar: Home
Asha: Hope
Deep: Earthen lamp
Jalana: To burn or light up
Bahaarein: Springtimes or blooms
Nazaare: Scenes or spectacles
Panchhi: Bird(s)
Patthar: Stone
Aansu: Tear(s)
Pana: To get or achieve
Khona: To lose

If I do not get you…

World without you…

Sorry for this long hiatus in my song updates. Thanks to the delay in writing this whole month, I will have to post five songs within the few next days (or as soon as possible). It took me some time to find a song fit enough to translate and one which has not been translated yet online. This song here from the 2010 movie ‘Aashayein‘ (Hopes) has been a constant member of my music playlist and is quite modern as far as Hindi Bollywood music goes. The saxophone adds quite exciting notes to a racy song.

The movie stars John Abraham and Sonal Sehgal and was directed by Nagesh Kukunoor, who is known for his deeply humanistic and sensitive movies. This movie is about a compulsive gambler who gets to know that he is suffering from terminal cancer and therefore leaves his fiance and goes to live in a rehabilitation centre for terminally ill patients, where he understands the real meaning of life and love.

This song talks about life without the love of your life and how this life is unbearable and worthless. It literally describes the everyday living condition of a person who has to live without his or her love. A lot of beautiful Hindi and Urdu words, this song is as beautiful in melody as in words. The voice of Tulsi Kumar (daughter of Gulshan Kumar), adds a freshness and uniqueness unlike any other song. I have to confess, there was a time when I didn’t appreciate her highly nasal voice but she has grown on me since then. Shaan as always is energetic and bold with his singing which is just what this song needs. Though the words seem quite sad and depressing, the music is rather more towards venting out your anguish with a certain fervour. Therefore, it has that punch and passion unlike most of the sad songs out there.

Even then, there’s a charm in listening to very sad tunes, but there are just some times when such busty melodies help vent out the frustration much better. This one is all about braving the absence of the love of your life without sinking deep into perpetual darkness.

‘Dilkash Dildaar Duniya’ song from Aashayein (2010)

Male: Tere Bagair Tarpa Karein
Tere Bagair Sapne Rootha Karein
Maana Ke Hai Duniya Haseen
Tere Bagair Duniya, Hum Kya Karein

English: Without you (I) feel tormented
Without you, dreams are upset
Agreed that the world is beautiful
Without you (my) world, what should I do

Male: Dilkash Dildaar Duniya, Tera Deedaar Duniya
Hum Jo Na Payen Tujh Ko, To Hai Bekaar Duniya
Dilkash Dildaar Duniya, Tera Deedaar Duniya
Hum Jo Na Payen Tujh Ko, To Hai Bekaar Duniya

English: Captivating generous world, Your sight is this world
If I do not get you, then this world is worthless
Captivating generous world, Your sight is this world
If I do not get you, then this world is worthless

Female: Tere Bagair Beraunaqi
Tere Bagair Khushiyan, Hum Kya Karein
Mausam Sabhi Hain Dard Ke
Tere Bagair Aur Yeh Tanha Karein

English: Without you no charm
Without you (my) happiness, what do I do
All the seasons are of pain
Without you they (make me) feel more lonely

Male: Dilkash Dildaar Duniya, Tera Deedaar Duniya
Hum Jo Na Payen Tujh Ko, To Hai Bekaar Duniya
Dilkash Dildaar Duniya, Tera Deedaar Duniya
Hum Jo Na Payen Tujh Ko, To Hai Bekaar Duniya

English: Captivating generous world, Your sight is this world
If I do not get you, then this world is worthless
Captivating generous world, Your sight is this world
If I do not get you, then this world is worthless

Male: Dhoop Pheeki Lage, Din Udaasi Bhara
Shaam Roothi Lage, Haal Yeh Hogaya
Jaagte Hum Rahein, Karwaton Se Kahein
Khwaab Hi Wo Koi, Dhoond Laye Naya

English: Sunshine seems dull, day full of sadness
Evening seems upset, this has become (my) condition
I stay awake, Ask my sleepless turns
Why don’t you search and bring me a new dream

Female: Neendein Meri Baaghi Hui
Tere Bagair Raatein, Ab Kya Karein
O Bekhabar, O Beqadar
Tere Bagair Har Pal Bikhra Karein

English: My sleeps have become rebels
Without you (my) nights, now what to do
Oh (you) ignorant, Oh (you) ungrateful
Without you (I am) scattering every second

Male: Dilkash Dildaar Duniya, Tera Deedaar Duniya
Hum Jo Na Payen Tujh Ko, To Hai Bekaar Duniya
Dilkash Dildaar Duniya, Tera Deedaar Duniya
Hum Jo Na Payen Tujh Ko, To Hai Bekaar Duniya

English: Captivating generous world, Your sight is this world
If I do not get you, then this world is worthless
Captivating generous world, Your sight is this world
If I do not get you, then this world is worthless

Glossary:

Bagair: Desire, even used synonymously for love.
Tarapna: To suffer, to be tormented, to be agonized or agitated in your mind and body
Sapne: Dreams
Roothna: To be angry or upset about something or with somebody
Dilkash: Captivating or alluring. Something that pulls (kash) your heart (dil) towards itself. Literally heart (dil) pulling (kash)
Deedaar: Sighting or glance of someone, the view or sight of something or someone beautiful
Bekaar: Useless, worthless
Beraunaqi: The condition of being without (be) lustre, charm, brilliance, splendour (raunaq)
Khushiyan: Happinesses
Mausam: Season, weather
Dard: Pain
Tanha: Lonely, alone
Dhoop: Sunlight
Pheeki: Dull or bland
Udaasi: Sadness or grief
Shaam: Evening
Haal: Situation or condition
Jaagna: To be awake
Karwat: Turns on each side for sleeping. Therefore, there are only two karwat for anyone i.e. baanyi (left) karwat (sleeping on the left side) or daanyi (right) karwat
Khwaab: Dreams
Naya: New or novel
Neendein: Sleep(s)
Baaghi: Rebel
Raatein: Nights
Bekhabar: One who is without (be) any information or news (khabar).
Beqadar: One who is without (be) any appreciation or value (qadar). It can mean either the person who doesn’t have any value or the person who doesn’t value somebody else who should be valued
Har: Every
Pal: Moment, second
Bikhrna: To scatter or to disperse

How she fell in love…

Part 1 of our love story….

Have you ever dreamed of falling endlessly from a cliff or from the top of a building? If yes, then you might remember how this fall tugged strongly at your heart and you would suddenly wake up in the middle of the night feeling disoriented and horrified. That something from our unconscious could affect our emotions and feelings without our will is not novel. But most of the times, we choose to ignore these voices from our unconscious.

In a world full of billions of people, most of us go around a lot, trying to find that special someone. Why? Because popular media and notions have formed this idea of that perfect prince charming for each girl who is going to fall in love with us when we dress sexy, flirt confidently and paint our faces efficiently with make up to hide each and every blemish that a normal person might have. And where will you find this proper someone? This perfect guy for you?

Perhaps in a discotheque? Perhaps in a wedding? In college, in the seat right next to you or in school, that high school sweetheart, who had a crush on you since forever? On tinder or on a matrimonial site? On a blind date setup by a friend or on a trip to a strange land? There could be various ways that you might meet that one guy, who makes your heart flutter and feel butterflies in your stomach. And that feeling of falling in love for someone is magical. Little by little, during the process of meeting first time, chatting on text messages, talking on phone calls, you develop an attachment for someone who becomes your habit. A habit that you are too lazy to ever let go of. Because, if God forbids, you ever have to take that decision, it brings a lot of chaos and turmoil for you in your mind as well as in your life.

I have had all those. I have had a terrible crush on a guy from school who had a crush on me but was never brave enough to confess. I tried to woo my first love from college for four whole years, all the while running after him to notice me. I flirted with my senior on facebook, with whom I got into a long distance relationship, only because he was the first guy ever who showed a romantic interest in me. I even made my first love from college fall in love with me, after five years out of college. I dated another guy while being in a vulnerable situation and feeling too lonely in a foreign land. And mind it, each and every one of these guys was a very nice person.

So how did I fall in love with my one and true soulmate? I didn’t consciously go out on a romantic date with him! I didn’t meet him through a matrimonial site, trying to be the best version of myself! I didn’t flirt with him, seeing what an attractive person he is!

I didn’t put on my best dresses to make him feel attracted towards me. I didn’t think and calculate how he has a good career and is good looking and of a good age to be a life-partner who will provide me social and financial security. I didn’t consider or even think of wooing him because that’s what we are supposed to do, to find love. Pretending to be your best self-consciously, to make somebody love you, is not the way to go. Something novel happened with me that had never happened before. Something that doesn’t happen quite frequently and for everybody. This was something that gave rise to a feeling, which tugs at your heart powerfully. Something you had always been searching for, but you never knew.

To be continued…

How to move on after break-ups?

Well somebody else has moved on !!!

Let’s look at this in terms of life, not in terms of trend or morality, but in terms of life. When I say that, you need to understand that your body contains a lot of memory on various levels. And you need to understand that every day you are imbibing so much memory. Within this memory, if there is a certain kind of congruence, if there is a certain kind of cohesiveness, this memory will become productive. If there is a certain kind of chaos to this memory, then you may know everything but this memory will work against you because it’s contradictory and conflicting within itself.

When you think of a relationship and when you ask the question about how to move on after a break up, the question itself is arising because this relationship mattered to you, isn’t it? If it had not mattered to you, you could have just forgotten about it and gone on with your life, like an old pair of jeans. But it matters to you because you invested your thoughts, your emotions, your body. Once you have invested all these things, there is a profound sense of memory about that.

If you create a lot of contradictory memories in your system, life will tell you later that you have everything but you will feel like you have nothing because your body memory is confused, its joyless. It does not have exuberance. Its very important to understand that the mechanism that you have been provided with, is a very sophisticated machine. If you treat it sensitively, if you treat it properly you can do everything in a phenomenal way, otherwise your body will only do mediocre things. Therefore, before getting in touch with anything, before getting yourself involved in anything, you must foresee what is the level of involvement you wish. You must see where do you want to take this to. You must also see what are the different impacts it will have on you. Whether or not, this will work well for this life or will work against this life. Otherwise you will become a ‘loose life‘. Loose in terms of not fulfilling your aspirations and not following the direction in your life you wish to go in. Bringing some integrity to this life, intellectual integrity, emotional integrity and physical integrity to your life, is very very important. Well, beyond that if something goes wrong, you just have to understand when you were born, you came alone, when you will die, you will go alone.

Even if you put yourself through horrible situations, either you can come out of such an experience as a better human being or you can use it as an experience to become a horrible mess. So whenever something hurts you, there are two options: you can either become wounded or wise. These are the only two choices. The more things hurt you early on in your life, the wiser you become. But unfortunately, most people become wounded. This is simply because they just need an excuse to turn their own intelligence against themselves. That’s all.

Love forever…

Love will never leave me.

This week is a big leap from the black and white songs of 1960s-70s to this song from an unreleased movie of 2003 ‘Ek Hindustani‘ starring Sunil Shetty and Raveena Tandon. I am not a big fan of Sunil Shetty’s looks and acting, but Raveena was my favourite once long back (seems like ages now). You have to see her in Parampara, that’s Raveena at her most beautiful, if you ask me, before she started donning the most outrageous outfits in her movies with Govinda.

This movie directed by Tinnu Anand was never released so I cannot discuss the context of the song. The song is heavily laden with Urdu words and I like the poetry. It is playful, romantic and somewhat apologetic at the same time. Mostly describes a phase in love when you are not sure whether you should go ahead with this newfound feeling or not. You try to deny the existence of any feelings of affection until love grabs you by your collar. There is no full length video of the song but you can hear the song here in the beautiful voice of Alka Yagnik and Udit Narayan.

‘Mohabbat ko ham chhod den’ from Ek Hindustani.

Female: Mohabbat ko ham chhod de
Haan…Mohabbat ko ham chhod de
Mohabbat hume chhodti hi nahi
Mohabbat hume chhodti hi nahi
Chahat ye ham chhod de…
Chahat ye ham chhod de
Yeh chahat hume chhodti hi nahi
Yeh chahat hume chhodti hi nahi

English: I might let go of love
Yes…I might let go of love
Love doesn’t let go of me
Love doesn’t let go of me
I might let go of this desire…
I might let go of this desire
This desire doesn’t let go of me
This desire doesn’t let go of me

Male: Oh khuda ki kasam tum pe marte hain ham
Magar dur rehte hain darte hain ham

English: Oh I swear on God (Khuda) that I am head over heels for you
But I still keep a distance, I am fearful

Female: Gali se teri jab guzarte hain ham
Jhukate hai sar, sajda karte hain ham
Jhukate hai sar, sajda karte hain ham
Yeh aadat ko ham chhod de…
Yeh aadat hume chhodti hi nahi
Yeh aadat hume chhodti hi nahi
Mohabbat ko ham chhod de, mohabbat ko ham chhod de
Mohabbat hume chhodti hi nahi
Yeh chahat hume chhodti hi nahi

English: Whenever I pass by your lane
I bend my head, I bow down (in reverence)
I bend my head, I bow down (in reverence)
I might let go of this habit…
This habit doesn’t let go of me
This habit doesn’t let go of me
I might let go of love, I might let go of love
Love doesn’t let go of me
This desire doesn’t let go of me

Female: Ye chahat nhi hai shararat se kam
Aji baz aye mohabbat se ham

English: This desire is not short of being a mischief
Better to refrain (give up altogether) from love

Male: Nahi yeh adayen qayamat se kam
Pareshan hai teri nazakat se ham
Pareshan hai teri nazakat se ham

English: These graceful styles are not short of being a catastrophe
I am annoyed with your sophistication
I am annoyed with your sophistication

Female: Nazakat ko ham chhod de
Nazakat hume chhodti hi nahi
Nazakat hume chhodti hi nahi
Male: Mohabbat ko ham chhod de
Female: Mohabbat hume chhodti hi nahi
Male: Mohabbat hume chhodti hi nahi

English: I might let go of sophistication
Sophistication doesn’t let go of me
Sophistication doesn’t let go of me
I might let go of love
Love doesn’t let go of me
Love doesn’t let go of me

Together: Mohabbat hume chhodti hi nahi

English: Love doesn’t let go of us

Glossary:

Chahat: Desire, even used synonymously for love.
Khuda: God, Almighty
Kasam: Swear, oath, pledge
Magar: But, Nonetheless
Dur: Far, distance
Darna: To be afraid
Sar Jhukana : To bend or stoop the head.
Sajda: To bow in prostration (mostly in Islamic prayers) while worshipping and praying for displaying veneration.
Aadat: Habit
Shararat: Mischief
Baz ana: To revoke a declaration or proposition; to unsay what has been said; to retract, to withdraw or repudiate formally and publicly (opinions formerly expressed); to contradict, as a former declaration; to take back openly; to retract; to recall, to renounce, to backtrack. To give up something with the intent of never claiming it back again.
Adayen: Roughly this word could be translated to beauty, grace and charm. It is very difficult to translate this word into English but it means gesturing, posturing, posing, behaving in a way that is intended to impress, attract or mislead.
Qayamat: According to Islam, the day of judgment or doomsday. Here it means a huge catastrophe or disaster.
Pareshan: Worried or distressed. Here it means only irritation or annoyance.
Nazakat: Elegance, delicateness, poshness, gracefulness. In this context it has been used with a bit of a negative connotation in terms of sophistication (a tad too much).

Life without you…

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.

Anita (1967) full movie starring Manoj Kumar and Sadhana on YouTube.

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.’

‘Tum bin Jeevan Kaise beeta’ song from Anita (1967) on YouTube

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

Down the memory lane…

Remembering days of freshly

sown love…

This second week is dedicated to another very old song from the movie ‘Hamraahi‘ released in 1963. I have to say that the movie has a lot of beautiful songs and almost all of them are quite popular and must have been so at that time as well. The songs of this movie have a certain sense of innocence in terms of the themes, the words and the melody. The lyrics are not very complicated and therefore easily understandable. No highly difficult Hindi or Urdu words to find among these lyrics.

‘Woh din yaad karo’ from Hamraahi (1963): Singers: Lata and Md. Rafi

This is one song you might have heard on the radio quite sometimes (if you ever listened to Bollywood songs on radio in the Vividh Bharati era). A jumpy, cheery tune with melodious voices of Lata Mangeshkar and Mohammed Rafi Sahab, this song takes you on a dive into the sea of nostalgia. It’s one of those songs which make you remember the good old days. Unsurprisingly, the theme of the song is nostalgia as well.

This song has been filmed on Mehmood (one of the greatest comedy actors in Bollywood, if ever) and Shobha Khote (also known for her comic timing), a couple which is many into marriage given their three kids. Mehmood plays the elder brother of the main protagonist Rajendra Kumar (or shall we say…Jubilee Kumar!) who is trying to rekindle the flames of romance with his wife by trying to send her down the memory lane to the start of their courtship. A coy and shy Shobha keeps evading his advances while the kids watch the spectacle with much interest.

For all those in love who feel like the charm and passion is not the same like before, this song is a good inspiration to light those flames again. Remember, love takes continuous efforts no matter how many years you have passed with your partner. The passion should be kept alive and in full swing. Enjoy these lyrics by Shailendra and Hasrat Jaipuri (two of the best lyricists of the industry).

Male: Woh din yaad karo
Woh din yaad karo
Woh chhup chhup ke milna
Woh hasnaa hasaana
Woh din yaad karo

English: Remember those days
Remember those days
Those meetings in secret
Those laughs and making each other laugh
Remember those days

Female: Woh din yaad karo
Woh din yaad karo
Woh phoolon ki chhainyyaan
Woh mausam suhaana
Woh din yaad karo

English: Remember those days
Remember those days
That shade under the flowers
That charming weather
Remember those days

Male: Phirte thhe azaad ham to chaman mein
Chaand aur sooraj hain jaise gagan mein
Phirte thhe azaad ham to chaman mein
Chaand aur sooraj hain jaise gagan mein
Ab to yeh jeewan hai uljhan ki seema
Dhadkhe mera dil ab dheema dheema
Woh din yaad karo

English: We used to wander around freely among the flower gardens (more like the area where they live)
Just like the moon and the sun in the sky
Nowadays this life is the height of confusion
My heart beats slowly and slowly
Remember those days…

Female: Woh din yaad karo
Woh din yaad karo
Woh phoolon ki chhainyyaan
Woh mausam suhaana
Woh din yaad karo

English: Remember those days
Remember those days
That shade under the flowers
That charming weather
Remember those days

Female: Jab main kali thhi
Tab hi bhali thhi
Tab hi bhali thhi
Koyi na gham thha
Main manchali thhi
Main manchali thhi
Meri gali se teraa guzarnaa
Nainon ke raste dil mein utaarna
Woh din yaad karo

English: When I was only a flower bud
I was doing absolutely fine (more like that was the best time of my life)
I was doing absolutely fine
Had no sorrows
I was buoyant and free willed
I was buoyant and free willed
Your passing by my lane
Your descent into my heart through the path of my eyes
Remember those days

Male: Woh din yaad karo
Haay
Woh din yaad karo
Woh chhup chhup ke milna
Woh hansnaa hansaana
Woh din yaad karo

English: Remember those days
Remember those days
Those meetings in secret
Those laughs and making each other laugh
Remember those days

Male: Ham to wohi hain
Din woh kahaan hain
Dil to hamaare
Ab bhi jawaan hain
Ham to wohi hain
Din woh kahaan hain
Dil to hamaare
Ab bhi jawaan hain
Dil mein hi tadpe yeh armaan saare
Pyaase ke pyaase hain nadiyaa kinaare
Woh din yaad karo

English: We are still the same
Where are those days?
Our hearts though
Are still quite young
We are still the same
Where are those days?
Our hearts though
Are still quite young
All these desires only cause agitation in my heart
We are as thirsty as ever, even by the river bank
Remember those days

Female: Woh din yaad karo
Woh din yaad karo
Woh phoolon ki chhainyyaan
Woh mausam suhaana
Woh din yaad karo

English: Remember those days
Remember those days
That shade under the flowers
That charming weather
Remember those days

Together: woh din yaad…

English: Remember those days

Glossary:

Din: Day/Days
Yaad: To remember
Chhupna: To hide or in secret
Hasnaa: To laugh
Hasaana: To make somebody laugh
Phool: Flower/flowers
Chhainyyaan: Shade (a colloquial word)
Mausam: Weather
Suhaana: Charming, pleasant, agreeable
Azaad: Free
Chaman: Flower garden, little garden. In 60s Hindi songs, it mostly refers to the self expression of the world where the person is living
Gagan: Sky
Jeewan: Life
Uljhan: Confusion, complication, intricacy
Seema: Limit or boundary
Dhadkana: The verb for beating of the heart
Dil: Heart
Dheema: Slow/slowly
Kali: A flower bud
Bhali: Nice, fine, good
Manchali: Free willed. The word comes from two Hindi words Man + Chali i.e. Mind + Walking. So a person who follows his or her mind all the time is a manchala (male) or manchali (female). While in these lyrics, the word is used in a positive sense when somebody else gives you this title, it is mostly with a negative connotation.
Gali: Lane or street
Nain: Eyes
Rasta: Path or way
Jawaan: Young
Armaan: Wishes, desires
Pyasa: Thirsty
Nadiya: A colloquial word for a river
Kinara: Corner, bank of a river, sea shore (depends on whether it is used in the context of a river or the sea)

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:

Mohabbat: Deep affection and love
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).
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).
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.
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.
Aalaap: Opening section of a Indian classical music performance typically based on ragas
Tadap: Yearning, craving
Haseen: Drop dead gorgeous, extremely beautiful woman, one who has husn
Yaar: A close friend or sometimes even lover
Husn: Beauty and elegance
Nagina: Gem or jewel, precious stone
Pyar: Love, fondness
Daulat: Money and wealth
Wafa: fidelity, faithfulness
Etbar: Trust or faith
Paas-e mohabbat: Regard or respect for love
Paas-e wafa: Regard or respect for fidelity
Pesha: Occupation or job
Sheva: Habit or usual behaviour
Jafa: Tyranny of beloved, infidelity (It is the antonym of wafa)
Duniya: World
Dildar: One who gives his heart easily i.e. a generous person
Dhokha: Deceit, cheating or betrayal
Sanam: Beloved
Ishq: Love
Kasam: Oath or promise
Loot: To rob or steal from someone (mostly in a way that they are left with nothing)
Wafadar: Who gives fidelity easily which means someone who is quite faithful

52 weeks, 52 songs

My mother tongue…

‘Premi, pagal, deewana; ashiq, majnoo, awara…’

The first words, I have been told, that ever came out of my mouth were the lyrics to this song from the Bollywood movie ‘Phool aur Kaante‘ (Flowers and thorns) which was released in 1991 starring Ajay Devgan and Madhoo. Ajay Devgan’s debut was released the same year that I was born.

Even before I could talk in normal sentences, I started singing. It might sound weird but it is nonetheless the truth. I am sure many of us out there might have a similar experience. At home family talked to me in Kumauni, I started conversing for the first time in Hindi, at school they taught me in English.

They say that no matter how many languages you are fluent at, when you hit your toes, the first words that come out of our mouth will be in your own mother tongue. The idea being, you always will give the most impulsive responses in your mother tongue because it is your first language in which you don’t have to put even a single thought, before reacting. Words from your first language come to you instantly and without conscious efforts because that is how deeply it is entwined with your consciousness. Reacting in your mother tongue is a reflex action just like jerking your hand away as soon as you touch something too hot.

In that light, I realized quite recently that my first language is music or rather songs. Mostly Bollywood songs because that is what I have grown on. It so happens, then, with me that on most occasions, I break out into a song in reaction to any conversation. When I have to be civil and professional, I keep the track playing just inside my head. But on other instances, I let it find its way out in good company. The truth is that, in response to almost every conversation, the first thing that comes to my mind is a song.

I wake up every morning with a song in my head. I work hard and put a lot of efforts to not to break into songs every now and then. And yet every little isolation, every little chance that I get, I let the song out of my head. I sing it out loud. I relish the movement of the lyrics on my tongue, I admire the poetry in my head. In my half sleepy state, I cook up tunes sometimes.

In fact many times, people around me wondered out loud, ‘How do you break out into the most relevant song, so instantly?’ After all these years finally, I realized what it is. Songs are my mother tongue and I hardly think before I react with songs. Music comes from deep within and my love for music knows no bounds.

Songs for me are not only about music. Unlike many others, I feel that lyrics are as important. A song with good music and even better lyrics is a treasure. Like most of the poetry in this world, love is a central theme for Urdu and Hindi poetry as well. I am not a poet and until one time, I heard every kind of love song with a pinch of salt. I loved the music, I appreciated the beautiful poetic expression of such emotions with such strong words. Sometimes, the ideas are enchanting. It was hard to believe for me that there might be an emotion such as ‘love‘ which makes people express emotions with such magnificent and soulful imagination. Creativity reigns supreme.

Now that I have fallen in love, I break out into love songs more often than before. Since I always struggled to express feelings in plain words, my first language has been quite helpful. Although, having to sing for a person whose only common language with me is English, is quite challenging. I am not well-versed with English songs, for that matter.

Thanks to this exercise, I realized many a beautiful pieces of song lyrics have not been translated properly into English for everybody to appreciate. Therefore, i have decided, as a personal project, to translate some of my favourite songs into English for readers. I will only try to find songs which do not already have a good translation somewhere on the internet. The target is to post one song per week, for at least a year.

Now I am not a poet, my translations might not be poetic enough because my focus is going to be on being as close to the real meaning as possible. Hopefully, I will be able to inspire you to dive deeper into poetic songwriting from this part of the world.

In case music is your first language as well and if you want to suggest any particular songs for translation, please comment.