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This song is from the movie Anari (1959) and is composed by Shankar Jaikishan, sung by Mukesh and the lyrics are penned by Shailendra. Do check out other songs by Mukesh, many of them are sad songs, but have beautiful lyrics and are sung superbly.
I have always been inspired by this song. It really imparts an invaluable life lesson on how you should live. It also teaches us what our priorities in life should be and how other so-called-important things aren’t of relevant importance. I’ve always wanted to write about something like this and I decided to pass on my view and message through the translation of this song because this is one of those songs which is very close to my heart.
I’m going to break down the lyrics and for every few lines, I’ll write about my interpretations, so here goes:
Kisi ki muskurahaton pe ho nisar
Kisi ka dard mil sake to le udhaar
Kisi ke waaste ho tere dil mein pyaar
Jeena isi ka naam hai
The lines literally translate to “To fall for someone’s smile, to borrow someone’s grief, to love someone deep within, that is what life is all about.”
These lines are so beautiful and explain so much more than what they literally translate to. A genuine smile is the best feature of any person. Even if it is lopsided, or imperfect, if the smile reaches the eye and is from the heart, then that genuine smile makes a person beautiful. Smile your heart out, it has the power to brighten someone’s day.
When given the opportunity, we should borrow someone’s sorrows. Sorrows are best overcome when shared with people and it is always important to be a friend to someone in times of grief. Be a friend to make a friend. Borrow someone’s grief so that someone borrow’s yours. Life is a vicious circle and what goes around comes around.
Always love people, love is the most positive emotion in the world. Always have love for someone in your heart, get rid of the negativity and try to stick to the positives and then you will love. An attempt to do these is an attempt to live life at its fullest.
Maana apni jeb se fakeer hein
Phir bhi yaaron dil ke ham ameer hein
Maana apni jeb se fakeer hein
Phir bhi yaaron dil ke ham ameer hein
These lines translate to “I agree that if you look in my pocket, you’ll see that I’m poor. In spite of that, I am rich at heart”.
I love these lines. This is my motto in life. You don’t have to be rich to love and be loved. It is what you are at heart that defines your personality and not how affluent you are. I remember having gone up to one smiling man living on the streets and striking up a conversation.
“Bhai, kaise ho aap?”, I asked.
“Acche hai sahab”, was his reply.
“Maine dekha ki aap has rahe ho, aur apne parivaar ke saath khush ho”
“Haan sahab, has has ke guzaara chala lete hai”
I couldn’t resist so I asked, “Itni mushkil hai zindagi, phir bhi aap khush reh lete hai, accha hai!”
“Sahab, zindagi kiski mushkil nahin hoti, agar main udas rahoonga toh mere biwi bacche udaas rahenge, aur mera ghar sansaar khush nahin hoga, isliye hum koshish karte hai ki hum khush rahe. Khana kum hai, paisa kum hai par sahab jaan bahut hai.”
I had no words to say. I gave the vada pav stall next to them some money and told him to feed them as much as they wanted to eat. Since then I’ve realized that wealth doesn’t necessarily promote health. Wealthy or not, it is important to try to be happy and spread happiness to people around. You’re living life only if you’re finding reasons to be happy, reasons to spread laughter. And so, irrespective of how rich or poor you are, having a big heart is what makes you a good person.
Mitte jo pyaar ke liye woh zindagi
Jale bahaar ke liye woh zindagi
Kisi ko ho na ho hamein to aitbaar
Jeena isi ka naam hai
These lines say, “Life is what perishes for love, life is what craves for spring, we have belief whether others have or not, and such is life.”
Everybody wants to be loved in life. I always feel that to be loved is a need that isn’t professed as often because of social awkwardness. It is so easy to proclaim to want food, to want water, to want to be entertained, to want the presence of someone and even to want to use the washroom. The want to be loved is just the same, but people shy away from saying it for the fear of misinterpretation. We end our lives loving and craving for love. It is a natural process and there is nothing shameful or embarrassing about it.
Also, in life, we crave for happiness and joy. Spring is supposed to be the happiest, the greenest and the most beautiful of all seasons. We crave for spring in life. There are so many difficulties that life has to offer that we constantly hope for better and constantly await spring. Cycles in life change like the cycles in weather and everybody goes through a rough patch, but that is when we should know in our hearts that spring is not far away.
In the wait for spring, to have belief and to have faith is absolutely necessary. Being a pessimist has helped no one in life for long. It is essential to keep an optimistic outlook towards life and all that it has to offer. People say that it is important to be at par with reality and to not be overly optimistic, and that is true. But being too close to reality makes pessimism look very tempting and so it is important to know the reality, but be optimistic about overcoming bad times.
Rishta dil se dil ke aitbaar ka
Zinda hai hami se naam pyaar ka
Rishta dil se dil ke aitbaar ka
Zinda hai hami se naam pyaar ka
“Every heart to heart relationship is about trust and belief, love lives on because of us”
Everyone deals with insecurities in life. No two people are same, but when you share any relationship with a person, trust is vital. If you learn to trust, you learn to strengthen relationships. And when you are involved in strong relationships, you are a happier person.
Set yourself as an example for others when they talk of love. When people talk about loving, and about being loved, they should always remember you. Be that person that is known predominantly for loving and not for being moody or for hating.
Ki marke bhi kisi ko yaad ayenge
Kisi ke aansuo mein muskuraanyenge
Kahega phool har kali se baar baar
Jeena isi ka naam hai
These are the last few lines and some of my favorite few and they mean “That even after death you are remembered, that we will smile through someone’s tears, and every flower will tell the bud on and on, this is what life is.”
Be the person who is remembered fondly even after death. People die every now and then, and everybody mourns for some time and then the dead are forgotten. Create such an impact in someone’s life that you are always remembered even after death. Be such a good friend, or the one that always had a big heart, or the one that always borrowed everyone’s grief. Be that person and be remembered fondly even after death. Be the memory behind the tears and be the reason behind the smile induced with those tears. If you succeed in being the person that is set as an example on how to live life, then you’ve lived life. If a parent can show a child on what ideals are important in life and that you are the person to look up to, then you’ve lived life.
Try and be happy in life. Borrow people’s sorrows and be a good friend. Smile and be the reason that others smile. Love people, look over their negatives and appreciate their positives. Keep a large heart, forgive and forget and be rich at heart. As long as you live, crave for love, it isn’t a bad thing. As long as you live, love and be loved. Adopt optimism as a way of life, wait for that spring to come in life when going through a rough patch. Remember life is a cycle, if the times aren’t good right now, then the good moments are just around the corner. And life is a cycle, so also learn to enjoy and appreciate the good moments. Savor all the positives of the good moments so that you have the strength to face the next cycle. Have faith and keep believing in good. People around may tell you that the world is a terrible place and that life is all hardship and no fun, but believe that good times are there, have faith and trust yourself to overcome the hardships in life and live happily. Whether others trust you or not, always back yourselves. Also, learn to trust others. You aren’t trusting others for them, it is you that benefits most out of it, and even if as a selfish motive, learn to trust others. That trust will help in times of need. Shape yourself such that you are cited as an example predominantly for love and less for any vice in you. Life your life such that you are remembered fondly after death. Be that person whose memory induces tears in the eyes and a smile on the face.
These days YOLO is a very popular term and it is an abbreviation of ‘You Only Live Once’. People have terrible interpretations of the term. But you have only one life, try to imbibe these qualities and make the most of this life. After all you only live once, and Jeena Isi Ka Naam Hai.
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Zindagi Ka Safar 