Phir se aaiyo badra bidesi

Phir se aaiyo badra bidesi,
Tere pankhon pe moti jadungi
Bhar ke jaiyo humari talaiya,
Main talaiya kinare milungi
Tujhe meri kaali kamli waale ki saun
Ho, tujhe meri kaali kamli waale ki saun
Phir se aaiyo badra bidesi,
Tere pankhon pe moti jadungi

Tere jaane ki rut main jaanti hoon,
Mudh ke aane ki reet hain ki nahin
Kale darga se poochungi jaake,
Tere mann mein bhi preet hain ki nahin
Kachchi puliya se hoke gujariyo,
Kachchi puliya kinaare milungi
Phir se aaiyo badra bidesi,
Tere pankhon pe moti jadungi
Tujhe meri kaali kamli waale ki saun
Ho, tujhe meri kaali kamli waale ki saun

Tu jo ruk jaaye meri atariya,
Main atariya pe jhaalar laga doon
Daaloon char tabeez gale mein,
Apne kajal se bindiya laga doon
Chooke jaiyo humari bageechi,
Main peepal ke aade milungi
Phir se aaiyo badra bidesi,
Tere pankhon pe moti jadungi
Tujhe meri kaali kamli waale ki saun
Ho, tujhe meri kaali kamli waale ki saun

Movie: Namkeen (1982)
Director: Gulzar
Singer: Asha Bhosle
Lyricist: Gulzar 

Music Composer: R D Burman

S’s selection for last week sent me on a Gulzar binge, bringing this old favourite to the fore. Coincidentally, this movie shares the same leading pair, in Sanjeev Kumar and Sharmila Tagore, as S’s last post. However, this song is picturised on Shabana Azmi who plays the mute middle sister in this Gulzar-directed movie that tells the tale of a mother and her three daughters. The romantic middle sister is secretly in love with Sanjeev Kumar, a truck driver who is a tenant in their home for a few months.

The itinerant hero could be the badra bidesi or the young woman might be literally addressing the travelling clouds stopping by in her neck of the woods. And Asha Bhosle takes Gulzar’s lines and seems to be singing for all romantic souls everywhere. That wonderful blend of the everyday and the fantastical in Gulzar’s lyrics, R D Burman’s music and Asha Bhosle’s voice. This alchemy has always worked for me. What about you? ~ R