This morning I was listening to a programme called ‘Bhule Bisre Geet’ at old at Vividh Bharati-All India Radio. The above song sung by Talat Mahmood from the movie Ek Saal- ‘sab kuchh Luta ke hosh me aaye toh kya kiya’, caught my attention. As we all know old Hindi songs not only had melodious music, but also great poetry. These gained timeless popularity because of their thoughtful poetic expression. A poet is a thinker who contemplates on any facet of human life.
In this song the poet is describing the plight of the person who lost everything ignorantly. It emphasizes the importance of self awareness and being alert. Should you remain in slumber, you are not only likely to lose opportunities but you may also lose all that you have. The poet laments the futility of waking up after all is lost. Another point that is explained is that often we engage ourselves in useless activities. If we are self aware and consider what we are doing at a given time, probably we will not carry out any such useless activity.
Sab kuchh Luta ke hosh me aaye toh kya kiya (2)
Din ne agar chiraag jalaye toh kya kiya
(Burning lamps during the daylight is undoubtedly futile)
Sab kuchh Luta ke hosh me aaye toh kya kiya
In the next four lines (1st. Antra) the poet describes how a person loses his/her love because of his/her own folly. But once lost, you can do nothing about it. It shows how important it is to carefully nurture important but delicate relationships. Should you make mistake casually the results can be totally out of proportions and shocking.
Hum badnasib pyar kee rusawayee ban Gaye
Khud hee laga ke aag tamashayee ban Gaye
Daaman se apane shole bujaye toh kya kiya
Sab kuchh Luta ke hosh me aaye toh kya kiya
(Unfortunate me! due to my own wrongdoing, I became a butt of laughter. Firefighting, now, is of no avail)
Now let’s look at the concluding four lines (2nd Antra)
Le le ke haar phulon ke, aayee toh thee bahar
Najaarien uthha ke ham ne hee, dekha Na Ek bar
Aankho se abb yeh parde hataye toh kya kiya
Sab kuchh Luta ke hosh me aaye toh kya kiya
(Literally, spring had come with garlands but I did not care to look at it. Removing the curtain of darkness now has no purpose)
In the above Antra we find that the person realizes that pleasant opportunities did come. But these were neither recognized nor used. Looking back at these lost opportunities is of no avail now.
The song literally teaches us the lessons taught by the great management Gurus in simple but sweet poetic language, besides being a pleasant soothing melody.
