The 4 songs I know

I have been lucky enough to try lots of things in life. Painting, sketching, kathak, harmonium, writing (poetry, story, blogs), swimming, tailoring (stitching, knitting), trekking, cycling, public speaking (debating, paper reading), lecturing, social work (volunteering, counseling), sports (kabaddi, skipping, high jump, badminton), leading (organizing, managing), etc. I have been successful in some, reasonably okay in some. There is one thing in which though I have failed miserably, or let’s say performed unsatisfactorily and which makes me feel bad quite often. It is singing – an essential part of which is remembering the lyrics.

I do not want to curse my memory, I was teaching an engineering student a few days back here, and I amazed myself by finding out that I remembered all the trigonometric formulae I never touched after my high school exams. So I don’t want to think that it is to do with lack of memory. Rather I feel it has more to do with selective memory. I can’t remember definitions, my Economics teacher in school always wanted me to quote economists for definitions, but I could hardly do that. So I possibly can’t memorize statements verbatim. I am not sure where in is the exact problem.

Anyways, this post is about the few songs which I remember verbatim (which means I remember more than or equal to four lines of that song).

As a kid I would sing this song with my younger brother. I would make him don the role of Kajol in the song, and would play Shahrukh myself, and we would both enact the song.

Jaati hun main, jaldi hai kya, dhar ke jiya, woh kyun bhala…. Khud se main darne lagi hun, main pyar karne lagi hun… Khud se jo itna darogi, tum pyar kaise karogi… Jaati hun main, jaldi hai kya!!

The next song I know is also due to my younger brother. He loved the movie Guru, “Gurubhai Gurubhai awechhe”, he would say for days after he watched the movie. His favorite dialogues: “Jab koi tumhare baare mein baatein karne lage to samajh lo ki tarakki kar rahe ho”, and “naam tha nahi, hai, aur rahega , Gurukant Desai… “ He would speak them so many times, that I could not help but remember them. His favorite song:

Jaage hai der tak, kuchh der sone do, thodi si raat aur hai, subah to hone do, aadhe adhure khwab jo, pure na ho sake, ek baar phir se neend mein, woh khwab bone do.

Then when during masters in Delhi, I asked a friend of mine in the hostel (an amazing singer she is), to teach me a song. I chose the one written below. I remember we sat down at 9 after dinner in the night, and the session continued till 12 as she got tired and wanted to retire. I still practiced some more after she went away. All I learnt after that hard practice session were these lines:

Kaise bhoolungi, tu yaad hamesha aayega, tere jaane se, jeena mushkil ho jayega, din badle, duniya badle, waqt badlata nahi, dil tere bin kahin lagta nahi, waqt guzarta nahi, kya yahi pyar hai… kya yahi pyar hai…

(I am sure she will feel proud when she reads this, her mehnat has not gone into paani after all)

And the last song, which I learnt myself, must have sung these lines a hundred times by now:

O, palanhare, nirgun aondeya re, tumre bin hamra kauno nahi, hamri uljhan, suljhao bhagwan, tumre bin hamra kauno nahi… tumhe humka ho sambhale, tumhe humre rakhwale, tumre bin hamra kauno nahi…