Lyrics from the heart – Dil se!!!

As Gulzar, A R Rahman and Mani Ratnam come together again for Raavan, I thought it was time to revisit one of my favorite albums from the trio, and to focus on the sublime lyrics by Gulzar Saab. So here for you is my translation of the lyrics of Dil se!

CHAIYYA CHAIYYA (the train song – Sukhwinder Singh and Sapna Awasthi)
Amar meets a girl at the train station and is instantly attracted to her but she leaves on another train….

Chorus:
jinke sar ho ishq kii chhaon
He whose head is in the shadow of love

paon ke niiche jannat hogi
will have heaven beneath his feet.

jinke sar ho ishq ki chhaon
Whose head is in the shadow of love…

chal chhaiyya
Walk in the shadow.

paon jannat chale chal chhaiyya
Heaven beneath your feet, walk in the shadow.

vo yaar hai jo khushbuu kii tarah
There’s a girl(?) who is like a sweet fragrance,

Vo jiskii zabaan Urdu kii tarah
whose words are like poetry (lit. Urdu, the language of poetry),

merii shaam raat merii qainaat
who is my evening, my night, my existence.

vo yaar mera sainyya sainyya
She is my beloved!

Chorus

gulposh kabhii itarae kahin
Bedecked in flowers she flits around,

mahake to nazar aa jaaye kahin
Catch her fragrance and you may see her

taawiiz banake pahanun use
I will make her into a charm and wear it.

aayat kii tarah mil jaaye kahin
Like a miracle I will find her someday.

mera nagma vahi mera qalma vahi
She is my song, my declaration of faith

(kalama: the Muslim confession of faith, as in vo yaar hai jo imaam ki tarah – She is like a priest to me.)

mera nagma nagma mera qalma qalma
My song… my declaration of faith…

yaar misale os chale
She moves like the dew.

paon ke tale firdaus chale
She walks with the garden of heaven beneath her feet,

kabhii daal daal kabhii paat paat
sometimes through the branches, sometimes amidst the leaves.

main hawa pe dhoodhoonn us ke nishan
I search the wind for her trail!

Chorus

main uske ruup ka sedaaii
I am on a quest for her beauty.

vo dhuup chhaanhon sa harjaaii
She is as changeable as sun and shade.

vo shokh rang badalta hai
She mischievously changes colors;

main rang ruup ka saudaaii
Little knowing that I trade in colors and beauty.

Chorus

DIL SE RE ( sung by A. R. Rahman, Anuradha and Anupama) Amar tells the girl he loves her from the heart (Dil se), and imagines that even though there are storms gathering, there are chains and walls that separate them, life can go on and his love can triumph.

ik suraj nikla tha
The sun had come out;

kuchh paara pighala tha
the temperature had dropped.

ek aandhi aaii thii
A whirlwind kicked up

jab dil se aa niklii thii
just as a sigh came from the heart,

dil se re
rom the heart.

CHORUS:
dil to aakhir dil hai na
After all, the heart is only a heart;

mithii sii mushkil hai na
it’s a sweet hardship.

piya piya piya na piya
Beloved… (drink from the cup of life or ignore it)

jiya jiya jiya na jiya
Live Life itself… (live life to the fullest or be lifeless)

dil se re
from the heart

do patte patjhag ke pedon se utre the
Two fall leaves fell from the trees,

pedon kii shaakhon se utre the
from the tree branches they fell.

phir utne mausam guzare
Many seasons passed,

vo patte do bechare
and those two poor leaves,

phir ugane ki chaahat mein
in their desire to rise (sprout),

vo sehraaon se guzare
passed over many deserts.

vo patte dil dil dil the
Those leaves were our hearts…

vo dil the dil dil dil the
They were our hearts…

dil hai to phir dard hoga
a heart will know pain

dard hai to dil bhi hoga
and only one with a heart can feel pain!

mausam guzarte rahate hai
The seasons keep passing.

dil hai to phir dard hoga
a heart will know pain

dard hai to dil bhi hoga
and only one with a heart can feel pain!

mausam guzarte rahate hai
The seasons keep passing.

dil se
through my heart.

Chorus

bandhan hain rishton mein
There are bonds within relationships,

kaanton kii taaren hain
chains of thorns,

patthar ke darwaaze deewaarein
doors and walls of stone.

belen phir bhi ugtii hain
But even so, the vines take root,

aur gunche bhi khilte hain
and even so, the buds bloom…

aur chalte hai afsaane
and romances flower

kirdar bhi milte hai
characters in a story meet,

vo rishte dil dil dil the
and their ties are of the heart,

vo dil the dil dil dil the
they are of the heart…

gham dil ke bas chulbulen hain
The heart’s miseries are fleeting.

paani ke ye bulbule hain
Like bubbles of water

bhujhte hai bante rehte hain
they’re extinguished, and then they form again,

gham dil ke bas chulbulen hain
The heart’s miseries are fleeting.

paani ke ye bulbule hain
Like bubbles of water

bhujhte hai bante rehte hain
they’re extinguished, and then they form again,

dil se dil se dil se re
from the heart….

Chorus

SATRANGI RE (The seven shades of love – in Ladakh amidst the Tibetan ruins – sung by Sonu Nigam and Kavita Krishnamurthy)
Ancient Arabic literature classifies love into seven different shades…HUB…their eyes meet, it is like a touch…a spark…Attraction. UNS…the touch of the eyes was as if it was infatuation. ISHQ…the flame of the body is felt, his breath starts igniting…Love. AQIDAT…Reverence…she touches him like a whisper, as if silence is mixed in her eyes…he prays, kneeling down on the floor, a little consciously & a little unconsciously…IBADAAT…he is entangled in her charms…entangled in her arms…Love turns to worship. JUNOON…his living is an Obsession…his dying is an obsession…apart from this there is no peace…MAUT…let him rest in the lap of Death…let him drown his body in her soul… (This description taken from the Dil se! DVD cover) This song describes Amar’s journey through these seven shades of love. Note that she always walks away! The last stanza is the closing piece of the movie.

tuu hii tuu tuu hii tuu satrangii re
You, only you, of rainbow colors…

tuu hii tuu tuu hii tuu manrangii re
You, only you, of the colorful spirit…

Chorus:
dil ka saaya hamsaaya satrangii re manrangii re
The shadow on my heart is your seven colors, your colorful spirit…

koii nuur hai tuu kyon duur hai tuu
You’re like the light; why are you so distant?

jab paas hai tuu ahasaas hai tuu satrangii re
When you are near, you are feeling itself, many-colored one.

koii khwaab hai ya parchhaii hai satrangii re satrangii re
Are you a dream, or a shadow? many colored one…

is baar bata munhzor hawa thaharegii kahaan
Tell me now, when will this wild wind fall still?

ishq par zor nahiin hai ye vo aatish ghaalib
Love is an uncontrollable fire, o Ghalib! (Ghalib was a famous Urdu poet. This is a shair, or couplet, from one of his ‘ghazals’ — a form of poetry composed of couplets, in which the poet often included his own name in the verse. The verse is brilliant because ‘gaalib’ means ‘overcoming’ or ‘triumphant,’ so the line could literally read, ‘No one has control over love; it is a ‘gaalib,’ or triumphant, fire)

jo lagae na lage aur bujhae na bane
You cannot will it to start on a whim, and it cannot be extinguished if you try

ishq par zor nahiin hai ye vo aatish ghaalib
Love is an uncontrollable fire, o Ghalib!

aankhon ne kuch aise chhua (HUB – attraction)
Her eyes touched me like so –

halka halka UNS hua
lightly, lightly, and I was infatuated;

dil ko ye mahasoos hua
my heart filled up with feelings

tuu hii tuu tuu hii tuu jiine ki saarii khushboo
You, only you, you are all the fragrance of living!

tuu hii tuu tuu hii tuu aarzoo aarzoo
You are my longing, my longing itself

terii jism kii aanch ko chuute hii
Upon touching the flame of your body

mere saans sulagne lagate hain
My breath catches fire

mujhe ISHQ dilaase deta hai
My love consoles me

mere dard bilakhane lagte hain
When my pain urges me to weep

tuu hii tuu tuu hii tuu jeene ki saari khushboo
You, only you… You are all the fragrance of living.

tuu hii tuu tuu hii tuu aarzoo aarzoo
You, only you… You are my longing, longing itself!

chhooti hai mujhe sargoshi se
You touch me like a whisper,

aankhon mein ghulii khaamoshii se
your eyes softened by silence.

main farsh pe sajjaade karta hoon (AQIDAT – reverence)
On the floor I make my prayers,

kuch hosh mein kuch behoshii se (IBADAT – worship)
some conscious, some unconscious.

Chorus
terii raahon mein uljha uljha hoon
I am entangled in your ways,

terii baahon mein uljha uljha hoon
entangled in your embrace.

sulajhaane de hosh mujhe
Let me disentangle my wits;

terii chaahon mein uljha hoon
I am snared by your shadow!

mera jeena JUNOON mera marna JUNOON
My living is an obsession, my dying is an obsession

ab iske siva na koii sukoon
save this, there is no peace.

tuu hii tuu tuu hii tu satrangii re
You, only you, rainbow colored one

tuu hii tuu tuu hii tuu manrangii re
you, only you, of the colorful spirit…

ishq par zor nahiin hai ye vo aatish ghaalib
Love is an uncontrollable fire, o Ghalib!

jo lagaae na lage aur bujhaae na bane
You cannot start it on a whim, and it cannot be extinguished if you try

ishq par zor nahiin hai ye vo aatish ghaalib
Love is an uncontrollable fire, o Ghalib!

mujhe MAUT kii god mein sone de
Let me sleep in the lap of death!

terii ruuh mein jism dubone de
Let me drown my body in your soul,

satrangii re manrangii re
you of the rainbow colors, of the colorful soul

AE AJNABI (the song playing on the radio that Mehgna keeps turning on and off – Udit Narayan and Mahalakshmi) Meghna has run away in the night, Amar is devastated. Upon a listener’s request he plays his favorite song (he’s a DJ for All India Radio) over the radio.

paakhi paakhi pardesi
Wandering bird…

Chorus:
e ajnabi tu bhi kabhii awaaz de kahiin se
Hey stranger, please call out from somewhere.

main yahaan tukdon mein jii raha hoon
I’m living a fragmented existence here

tuu kahiin tukdon mein jii rahii hai
somewhere your life is fragmented too.

roz roz resham sii hava aate-jaate kehtii hai bata
Each day, as it comes and goes, the silken wind says, “Tell me!”

resham si hava kehatii hai bata
The silken wind says, “Tell me!”

vo jo duudh dhulii maasoom kalii
The one who is like a pale, innocent flower bud —

vo hai kahaan kahaan hai
that girl, where, where is she?

vo roshanii kahaan hai
Where is her light?

vo jaan si kahaan hai
The one who is my very life – where is she?

main adhura tuu adhuri jii rahii hai
I am incomplete, and you’re only half-alive.

Chorus
paakhi paakhi pardesi Distant bird…

tuu to nahiin hai lekin terii muskaraahatein hain
You’re not here, but your smile is.

chehara kahiin nahiin hai par terii aahatein hain
Your face is nowhere to be found, but the sound of your footsteps is.

tuu hai kahaan kahaan hai
Where are you, where?

tera nishaan kahaan hai
Where is there a sign of you,

mera jahaan kahaan hai
where is my world?

main adhura tu adhuri jii rahii hai
I’m incomplete, and you’re only half-alive.

Chorus