Zindagi kaisi hai paheli

Zindagi kaisi hai paheli, haaye
Kabhi toh hasaaye, kabhi yeh rulaaye
Zindagi kaisi hain paheli, haaye
Kabhi toh hasaaye, kabhi yeh rulaaye

Kabhi dekho mann nahi jaage
Pichhe pichhe sapno ke bhaage
Kabhi dekho mann nahi jaage
Pichhe pichhe sapno ke bhaage
Ek din sapno ka raahi
Chala jaaye sapno se aage kahaan
Zindagi kaisi hai paheli, haaye
Kabhi toh hasaaye, kabhi yeh rulaaye

Jinhone sajaaye yahaan mele
Sukh-dukh sangh-sangh jhele
Jinhone sajaaye yahaan mele
Sukh-dukh sangh-sangh jhele
Wohi chunkar khaamoshi
Yun chaley jaaye akele kahaan
Zindagi kaisi hai paheli, haaye
Kabhi toh hasaaye, kabhi yeh rulaaye

Movie: Anand (1971)
Director: Hrishikesh Mukherjee
Singer: Manna Dey
Lyricist: Yogesh
Music Composer: Salil Chowdhury

Truly, life is a riddle. This movie was a tearjerker when it released and still is, I guess. And this song brings on the feels as well. Especially the last verse seems to strike a chord now, as so many people watch their loved ones fall silent. Listening to this song makes me think of a friend who passed away a few years ago. He did make my life brighter and now he’s left on his solitary journey where we cannot accompany him.

Manna Dey’s lovely voice, the music, that unusual but somehow fitting use of the trumpet all make this song a memorable one. It’s not a forward-looking song, this one, at least not for me; it’s more a memory of things lost in the past. But there is beauty in its introspective sorrow. ~ R