Waheeda Rehman happened to be one of the finest dancers of Hindi film industry. Watch her move like a nimble footed gazelle in this song with unusual lyrics by Sahir Ludhianvi that take alliteration to another level and enchanting music by Jaidev (so that's a Punjabi duo at deft work there....Err Punjabi rappers aka Honey Singh, take a leaf I guess!). The surprise package of this song is Sunil Dutt who otherwise had such a genial,sweet and clean visage. He looks particularly menacing with dark, piercing eyes and deadly mannerisms. She a fairy-like nautch girl in pristine white and he a notorious dacoit from the ravines of Chambal. Much of this film was shot in Bhind and Morena, areas we passed everytime we went to our previous location where we lived before Delhi in Babina near Jhansi. This was practically the dacoit hot bed, the outback that created real life anti-heroes once such as Paan Singh Tomar and Phoolan Devi. The dacoits are now long gone but even today when one passes that area at night in a train from Delhi, there is a tendency to check all doors nervously and see if your bags are in order....and if you listen hard enough through the rambling of the rail, you can hear faint gunshots in the background...well almost!;-)
A translation of this masterpiece by Sahir Ludhianvi, one of my favourite Urdu poets ever. Pardon a few poetic liberties:
The night is asplash with drizzle.
Dense clouds overcast.
The brave moon at half mast
Holds fort in the choppy skies.
If you come this way in this mizzle,
The tinkle of my anklets will open its eyes,
And find its lost sizzle.
Whom do I tell this?
How do I tell this?
What is the state of my heart today
My thoughts are in disarray.
There is some peace and bliss
but then only slight.
The pain may have gone away
But a dull ache I still do fight.
The dewdrops of love from your eyes dart
And quell the flames of my scorching heart,
Before my emotions begin to scatter.
As a blazing forest stands to gain
Doused by an incessant rain
Pitter patter pitter patter.
My senses may be in a daze
But my unconsciousness is not absolute.
The will to attain you is resolute.
Even if I end up lost in this maze
And even if the sky today is mostly grays….
And the dense clouds overcast.
But the brave moon at half mast
Holds fort in the choppy skies.
If you come this way in this mizzle,
The tinkle of my anklets will open its eyes,
And find its lost sizzle…………
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