Life as a Teacher - My Thoughts on Do Dooni Chaar (2010)

Guru Vishnu, Guru Brahma, Guru Maheshwara,
Guru Saakshaat ParaBrahmaa, Tasmay Shri Gurevey Namaah .....

I once had a teacher .... a woman of iron with a heart of gold and a voice of velvet.... to be frank, she was not my teacher, she was my surrogate mother, my grandmother and elder sister, all rolled in one .... Years have passed, since I last saw her, Nineteen years to be precise but I don't think there has been a single day when I have not prayed for her well-being, and that's a strange thing to say, for I am an atheist and know no God.... Her name was Mrs. Poornima Sarkar and this post of mine is dedicated to the memory of the one woman who has never left my heart....

A nation is made of it's teachers.... a nation is made of it's professors.... a nation is made of it's lecturers.... for only they can be of the most use to the nation, who can mould the fiery spirit and innocence of childhood to a beautiful dream of a different tomorrow when the today is far from perfect... and they always end up among the poorest sections of society, except of course those teachers who have made teaching into a commercial enterprise and education a commodity to be sold at the highest price to the richest bidder.... but then, we are not discussing the snakes in the garden today, today our focus is on the gardener who creates the beautiful garden and gives it his blood, his sweat and his dreams...

Indeed, there have been many interesting movies on the educational system which have captured the imagination of the people and depicted the most beautiful relationship between a teacher and a student, notable names would mean Imtihaan starring Vinod Khanna and Taare Zameen Par starring Aamir Khan but very few films have focused on the life of the teacher himself.... a few have used it wonderfully as a support base to depict other parameters of the story but the life and times of a teacher have been rarely presented.... Do Dooni Chaar is a film that looks at this aspect of the teacher's life and does so wonderfully....

It is indeed an irony of nature and a travesty of our political system that our teachers earn less than what the peons earn in Municipal offices.... they travel in buses and scooters while the students they teach graduate to the the cars within no short time.... When did it become so difficult for a Teacher to buy himself the basic requirements of his life? Is it not a matter of great concern, if just to graduate from a two-wheeler to a four-wheeler, a teacher has to be forced to be ready to sell his soul? What kind of society is this when the one who gives us weapons for our dreams is often unarmed himself / herself?

The nation needs to think and think hard.....There is a gap here, a gap which can make the most idealist of teachers break down and sell his wares to a Duryodhana, the way Drona was forced to do for the sake of his child and his love of his child.... and this is the premise that the film beautifully captures....  Drona would have never taken Eklavya's thumb, had it not been for the fact, that despite being the best teacher in the country, his wares were for sale and had been sold to the Bharata clan... Time to stop and ponder...!

Rishi Kapoor as a middle-aged professor who loves to teach is a revelation ... as I have often noted in this blog, in his heyday, his branding as a romantic hero often failed to do justice to his immense talent and it's not strange then that once he has put down the yoke of an image, that often stopped him from proving his brilliance, the man has grown rapidly, whether it's the unmarried, still-deeply-in-love, middle-aged lover boy in Delhi-6, the mature and worldly-wise father figure in Love Aaj Kal or the increasingly assertive, used to see things in his way patriarch in Patiala House or a common middle class mathematics professor, trying desperately to indulge in his favourite passion - teaching and also trying simultaneously to juggle a highly-dissatisfied family in ever-increasing inflationary times.....

It's a beautiful role and it has been performed with a panache that comes from being secure... and security comes from trust in self, faith in one's abilities and belief in the premise of the story....  lack on even one parameter is enough to destroy one but Rishi has no such qualms... he is Santosh Duggal and we never can forget that, such is his command over the role....

Neetu Singh is unbelievable.... She left the industry when I was not even conscious of her as an actress and every time I say a film of her, it only made me think of her as this beautiful, young girl who lived only to have fun.... so it was a treat to see her perform.... what a performance... I will confess, I never knew that Neetu had such a brilliant knack of seeing through.... I mean, her performance in this film as Kusum Duggal, is the complete anti-thesis of the person she actually is but who can say that after seeing a performance as towering as this one ..... We missed you Neetu .... We really did

Aditi Vasudev and Archit Krishna as the teen-aged kids of the house are just picture-perfect... the girl's frustration at her father's social status is so very common that it points out a sorry picture for our education system... a system which makes people aware of their inadequacies but does not let them take pride in their background is a sure recipe for the making of a hypocritical nation... Indeed this is where nations are made and destroyed.... and this is where India lost it's story.... There is a lot of spontaneity in Aditi's performance making her an actress to watch out for....

The boy is also a victim of the same circumstances... the only difference being that in place of becoming a hypocrite, he has become a smooth operator of the system .... I am not very confident of whether this guy will make it big because in some of the other scenes, where a little subtlety is required, the face does get emotionless but then he does have a spark and it would be nice to see how this spark turns out to be...

Akhilendra Mishra turns in a brilliant performance as the next door neighbour, Farooqui. Supriya Shukla is also well-suited for the role of the sister but I really loved the woman who plays Mrs. Farooqui and the guy who plays the role of the Inspector....

Habib Faisal has proved to be a good addition to the director's fraternity.... at a time when making picture-postcards has become an obsession with the industry and the art of directing films is almost forgotten, the movie comes as a breath of fresh air... we hope he redeems himself by such beautiful movies and the times of the masters can at least be remembered fondly, if not re-assessed!

Lastly, I will end by stating that the Shlok I invoked in the beginning gives the Guru a place greater than even God.... they are not asking to be made Gods but at least let them live like Men so that they do not have to be forced to go to the Devil .... Think about it!

To India With Love From Bharat - My Thoughts on Peepli [Live] (2010)

There are two different India that inhabit the bosom of my country, the one we call India where I reside, with it's 24 hour Internet Services, Credit Card Services, Anytime Banking, Malls and all other facilities - then there is the other India, also called as Bharat, whose limits start within India itself and go on deepening as we recede from the neon lights of the cities and move to the moonlight of the interior... This India has not even heard of the internet, does not know the meaning of the word 'Credit', has not seen a well-functioning bank and only knows malfunctioning tractors and has no idea of malls.... Strange as it seems to people living in Mumbai, Delhi, Chennai and Kolkata, such an India does exist ... but then we are so used to our own comforts, where do we have the time to observe an India that's so different from us!

Today is the 61th Anniversary of our Republic Day ... on 26 January 1950, we bequeathed to our selves a constitution that remains the pride of every Indian .... but there is a lot in India that needs to be looked at carefully if we intend this pride to remain constant forever.... today, on the occasion of the Republic Day, I would like to move beyond India and speak of a beautiful film from Bharat that made me think of the differences between the two...

Anusha Rizvi's Peepli Live is one of the few films that have taken a very interesting and satirical take on the problem of farmer suicides that has become endemic in Bharat..... Banks loan money to farmers for seeds and other implements at very high, exorbitant rates; the farmer (even after 64 years of independence) depends on the rains for a good crop that mostly fails, fails in re-payment of the loans, the loan-sharks start attaching properties and enforcing payments leading to more destitution among the farmers finally leading to a cycle of debts to pay up debts an often ends into Suicides..... the perfect example of Chakravyuh in today's world..... The nation has so far failed to alleviate the concerns of the farmers and have left them to die in their own misery.... Despite being a topical issue, no other filmmaker had dared take an interest in the subject and hence Peepli [Live] has a fresh look to it's recipe....

The film works brilliantly due to an excellent directorial effort by Anusha - the excellent performances by the ensemble cast - specifically Raghubir Yadav and Omkar Das Manikpuri who play the roles of the two debt-ridden brothers who have failed in their attempt to save their farms from the Loan Sharks....

Omkar Das (as Natha), a new find as the younger brother, is exceptional in his use of body language and eloquent use of Silence as he tries to find out his way from the melee created by the entire episode..... Raghubir Yadav, complements him fully as the elder brother, who can go to any extent to clear the debt but had not bargained to see the extent of uproar it could create.... The film primarily works on the brilliant and exceptional chemistry shared by the two brothers.... The pain of penury, the fear of loss and the expectations and hopes of a better future - a future that is dependent on the death of the dreamer is dark and requires a lot of effort on the part of the actors and the director... Needless to say, it comes out well....

The character of the nagging wife played by Shalini Vatsa is so true to form that I could remember a person I met when I used to visit villages for my Social Service Classes in College... And her interactions with her mother-in-law make for some interesting observations in the saas-bahu saga (Ekta Kapoor, are you listening?)

The 'tamasha' called the press has also been very-well depicted .... like Rann earlier in 2009 but in more deeper shades, the business of creating news has been laid threadbare for our inspection.... Nandita, the hoi-polloi big newscaster from ITVN is one of the best and most professional presentation of the breed on cinema. Nandita is from the big city and couldn't care less for the problems of Natha and his family - what she wants from the entire game is TRP ratings for her company and her career.... Malaika Shenoy brings a natural colour to the proceedings with her effortless performance... Pitted against her, as the Hindi Correspondent and Master Manipulator, is Deepak (Vishal O Sharma), a correspondent who is a reporter by profession but actually a propagandist by nature for the Ruling Party.... the divide between the regional and the English Channels is beautifully laid bare.... the fight for TRP and the fall from exalted standards to garner those TRP is so well depicted that beyond a limit, the crassness of the spectacle makes you revolt rather than laugh at them.....

And in between the two is Rakesh, a small-town reporter who dreams to make it big in the world of News, but who still seems to have some conscience - a man who actually senses the story before anyone else does and then tries to retain the human angle and the reporter's values as everything around him seems to crash down.... He is that rare breed of reporters that no longer exist; the last of those for whom reporting news was about the human aspect primarily and its fitting that he should die unknown and unsung while the paragons of what make news today live on to tell their story..... Nawazuddin Siddiqui plays the role with a real heart...

Interestingly, in a movie of such an anti-establishment nature, leaders and politicians  are often lampooned to such an extent that they end up as caricatures of the community. However, Peepli [Live] treats them with the respect of position and at the same time does not stop from hitting out a few lusty blows to the fraternity..... However, I think this aspect of the movie is on the whole not-as-convincing as the others....

The music is rustic and carries the charm of a full-throated, deep-chested, uncaring attitude.... the song 'Maare Saaiyan To Khub Hi Kamaat Hain' is such a beautiful gem that I cannot stop humming the song ..... It's just too good and Raghuvir Yadav sings with the lusty overtones of an intrepid singer, making it more melodious and effervescent.... the magic of the song lies in it's melody - simple and straight.... Maybe that's what is lacking in all the Sheelas and Munnis of the day....

A brilliant movie, which needs to be seen to be believed and a question that needs to be asked... How long will this state continue? How long can the country allow such a schizophrenic attitude to something as dangerous as this?

It's time for answers.... or else Natha will keep on dying and we will, to save our faces, keep on lying.... but that won't help because the Truth is out there and Truth will forever remain out there....

The Final Song ...... Lo Aa Gayee....

One of the greatest lyricists of his time, Shailendra once remarked:

Hai Sabse Madhur Woh Geet Jisse Hum
Dard Ke Dhun Pe Gaatey Hain ......

The most melodious are those songs, that the heart sings in times of pain .... what a thought, what beautiful and simple but profound words.... And indeed it is this power of the sad elegy, the haunted memorium, the sorrowful marsiya that touches us more deeply than the songs of happiness and cheer....

After all, did not another great poet-lyricist Majrooh write:

Sukh Hai Ek Chhav Dhalti, Aati Hai Jaati Hai
Dukh To Apna Saathi Hai ......

The adornment of Happiness is life a Shadow, it comes and goes on the mercy and majesty of the Sun ... But Pain .... it always remains with us like a True Friend..... The songs which I discuss today have this beautiful quality of being loaded with the various shades of sorrow .... what can be more sorrowful than a person on his death-bed remembering a lost love and waiting only for a last glimpse on the one she loved? And to add to it the tragedy that you never get to meet him as he reaches by the time you are already dead and gone..... Imagine the irony, if you already knew that you would be dead and gone by the time, he arrives....

The movie was Do Badan... in my humble estimation, one of the best albums of all-time containing three brilliant Rafi numbers, some such that you would not forget them even today, each and every one a glimpse in the pain of the lover for the beloved, an Asha number that talks of the pining of a lover for her beloved and I intend to very soon discuss the entire album in entirety some day ... For today, I intend to focus on a beautiful Lata Mangeshkar number, one of the best numbers to be shot on the death-bed.....

Lo Aa Gayee Unn ki Yaad, Woh Naheen Aaye ..... 

(It comes back... his memory ... but Alas! he doesn't)

Dil Unn Ko Dhoondhtaa Hai, Ghum Ka Singaar Kar Ke

Aankhen Bhi Thak Gayee Hai, Ab Intezaar Kar Ke

Ek Aas Rahe Gayee Hai, Woh Bhi Naa Toot Jaaye ....... 

(My heart searches for my beloved, with adornments of pure sorrow
My eyes have tired of the long watch they have kept for him till now
Just a hope bleeds within me.... Which won't last till 'morrow)

Roti Hain Aaj Hum Par, Tanhaeeyaan Humaari

Woh Bhi Naa Paaye Shaayad, Parchhaeeyaan Humaari

Badhhte Hi Jaa Rahe Hain, Maayuseeyon Ke Saaye .......

(Tears have also cried profusely on my Loneliness
To my Shadows, My Beloved may not even be a Witness
All round me I feel, the increasing shadows of Darkness ..... )

Lau Thartharaa Rahi Hai, Ab Shamma-E-Zindagi Ki

Ujdee Huyee Mohabbat Mehmaan Hain Do Ghadi Ki

Mar Kar Hi Ab Milenge ...... Jee Kar To Mil Naa Paaye

(The Candle of my life, finally in wait ends
My destroyed Love a guest of a few last seconds
Alive we could not meet ....  but on after death , hope depends)


The music is the genius of Ravi, one of the most stylish music directors of his time..... the lyrics by Rajendra Kishen if I am not mistaken.... and the voice of Lata Mangeshkar... this is my all-time favourite song.... I hope I can remember the song, when I am dying.... especially the last lines.....

Mar Kar Hi Ab Milenge.... Jee Kar To Mil Naa Paaye..... 

What a beautiful blind unconditional love .... only Gods can love with such intensity and truth! Mankind is not capable of such pure emotions....

Ashwatthama's Anthem of Regret - A song of Love

Talat has a very beautiful voice... a voice that can not only touch your heart but also ring within you feelings that you never knew existed. A calm voice, a voice that has got depth but is at the same time soft, velvety, has the occasional tremble (kapish) as we call it and a sonorous quality that resonates directly with the pain in your heart.

Mohammed Rafi was the 'voice of God', a voice that could move everything on Earth, Manna De was the 'sur' personified - a mainstream singer who could sing classical with depth and ease, Kishore Kumar was the 'voice of Innocence', the voice that resonated with the hearts of men and reminded him of the inner person that he really was, not what he showed himself to be, Mukesh was sorrow in human form - no one could crunch within three minutes, the pain of a lifetime as well as Mukesh.... Hemant Kumar was romance, even the most stone-hearted of girls would fall in love with that voice .... so where among this galaxy of great singers was Talat?

Talat was the voice of conscience - he spoke directly to the heart - in the tone that the conscience understood and loved....

It's said you can run away from the world and everyone in this world, but can you run away from yourself? No! That was Talat, you could never run away from his songs .... they struck you deep within you and made your conscience question your self.... a quality used to brilliant effect by brilliant composers like Ravi in the song that I wish to discuss today....

This beautiful composition, scored by Ravi and written by Prem Dhawan was a part of a beautiful movie, Ek Saal, starring Ashok Kumar and Madhubala. Look at the beautiful words, listen to the soul-rending tune and absorb the depths of the soulful rendition by Talat. This movie was released in 1957, a year that had such strong musical albums as Chalti Ka Naam Gaadi and  Pyaasa by SD Burman(arguably the second-greatest album of all time after Guide), Mother India by Naushad, Naya Daur by OP Nayyar, Do Aankhen Barah Haath by SN Tripathi, Parvarish and Sharda by Shankar-Jaikishen and many other brilliant movies but still this song is still remembered for it's beauty.

Karte Rahe Khiza Se Hum Sauda Bahaar Ka
Badla Diya To Kya Ye Diya Unn Ke Pyaar Ka

With cruel Autumn did we bargain using the beauty of Spring
Oh! What a fitting response did we give for her love, her Caring!

Every person on Earth has to plead guilty to this charge at least once in his / her life for every person has at one time or another broken a heart - a precious heart for reasons best known to themselves.... The above couplet states that when we found love, we did not bother about it but played with it's feelings and the matter is conveyed in such a beautiful manner ....

It's here at this moment itself that Talat touches deep within our heart, asking us for answers that we cannot give, for regrets that we cannot speak, for Truth that we are desperately trying to hide.

Sab Kucch Luta Ke Hosh Me Aaye, To Kya Kiya!
Din Mein Agar Chiraag Jalaaye, To Kya Kiya!

If after losing everything we ever had, we awaken, what's the use?
If in broad daylight, to light candles, we hasten, what's the use?

What an apt metaphor for a loss of a lifetime! Talat cuts straight to the bone by chiding the feeling of regret that burns within .... the poet asks bluntly and heartlessly (and why not!) a question that one would not dare to answer...... what's the use of regretting, an event that has come to pass following your own actions.... what's the use of crying over spilt milk? .... what's the use of action that's late and useless? .... What is of paramount importance is not to regret but to be able to exorcise your demons, when you had the time and opportunity to do so....

Hum Bud-Naseeb Pyaar Ki Ruswaayee Ban Gaye
Khud Hi Laga Ke Aag Tamaashaai Ban Gaye
Daaman Se Ab Ye Shole Bujhaaye To Kya Kiya.....!

We are the unfortunate who have today became a shame to Love's lofty name 
We, the audience to the roaring flames, are the ones who put our house aflame
If now, to douse the inferno, we run... what's the use?

Can you feel the pain of someone who has strangled his love with his own bare hands, someone who loved with truth and purity and still killed his own love with his own hands.... can you feel the tears of that action or the demons that haunt him, as he keeps pondering, moving ahead, running to escape the past, but unable to do so! Like a modern Ashwathhama, cursed to forever pain and regret by Lord Krishna, this behemoth survives but is that survival worth even being called a survival.... Listen to Talat as he puts forth the pain in his soft and subtle manner across and you will find, why this 'king of ghazals' ruled the early days of Independent India - a time when pain and hurt lined the psyche of our collective conscience....

Le Le Ke Haar Phool Ki, Aayee To Thi Bahaar
Nazren Uttha Ke Humne, Dekha Na Ek Baar
Aankhon Se Ab Ye Parde Hattaye, To Kya Kiya?

With flowers and blossoms for me, had come the Innocent Spring
In my Arrogance and Pride, I did not bother to look at it's Longing
If these blinds from my eyes, I now shun .....what's the use?

In every love story, there are two characters, the one who loves (the lover) and the one who's loved (the beloved) .... the lover goes beyond every extent for the sake of the lover and the beloved keeps demanding yet more from the lover... till the final day when, the bond itself cannot handle more and breaks down.. and then there's nothing left to salvage...

Nero can play fiddle while the city of Rome burns but mind you, once the city is burnt, there is nothing that remains to play fiddle to Nero's dreams of sovereignty and kingship. This is what every beloved has to face, if it doesn't understand the depth of the Lover's emotions. .... Now look at a person's conscience who did care but was forced to forever act unconcerned, whose heart burned with the city but was forced to play fiddle as the city burnt.... where will this son of Satan find peace? There is no place on Earth or beyond for him... no redemption.... only a pain that can be understood by this song and nothing more....

This is the song, that I think speaks more lovingly about the pain of a loser more than any other song. The song was recorded in two versions, Lata Mangeshkar and Talat Mehmood. Lata as expected is brilliant in her rendition of the song, but though it touches the heart, Lata's pain does not stir your conscience.... maybe because it's not the lover's lament, but the beloved's pangs that matter in this song.... Plus, Lata was never comfortable in the higher notes and that is quite evident in her rendition - still, it's a very beautiful rendition .. that proves the versatility and greatness of the 'Nightangle of India'

One other parameter that has often escaped the gaze of the regular listener is the brilliance of Ashok Kumar... his sense of frustration, his regret, his pain, his sorrow, his hurt that oozes forth like the pus that keeps oozing forth from Ashwatthama's forehead, reminding one and all of his crime..... Ashok in his silence takes the role to another realm altogether... added to it is the second Ashok in the song ... the conscience, that with a smirk and smile conveys the shattering pain and frustration in a neutral and intense way..... this use of conscience was something very well used in the 50s and 60s to show duality of emotions (remember Raj Kapoor in Shree 420 and Dilip Kumar in Aadmi .. it was used by Dilip Kumar as a merciless voice in Bairaag in 1976... the last time, this prop was used?) .... Ashok is an added asset to the song.... one that not only adds allure but makes it possible to connect with the singer and the song and the lyricist, who could write such a beautiful piece of moving poetry.

To end, I would say, sometimes it's good to be silent and let life take it's course but sometimes, it's important not to be so.... Love is something very precious, one gets it only once in life.... it would be foolish to strangle it with one's own hands....

As for the song, for the first time ever, I am adding the song, for those who wish to listen to it..... And as for Love... it will survive, in some hearts as deep despicable hatred, in some as an innocent folly, in some as an inevitable pain and in some as the pure Love it always was, is, and shall always remain!

Songs to Remember - Dil Ke Armaan from Nikaah

Sometimes, all that can be gained from a relationship is a feeling of pain, a feeling of pain, a feeling of loss and nothing else...... What remains when not even hope remains, a heart bleeding, a mind burning and a soul blaspheming .... nothing else.... the only thing that one can do in such circumstances, is to wring one's hands in despair, bow one's head in shame and to break one's soul in regret ..... Despair for the loss, Shame for the choice and regret for one's own true love.....

Hindi Cinema has surprisingly given many a beautiful gem that have often been very successful in putting across the pain of the loss very eloquently ... Often in an auditorium, one can see many eyes damp with tears when one such song suddenly rides the air waves..... But then ... as Sahir succinctly pointed out:

Kaun Rota Hai, Kissi Aur Ki Khaatir? Ae, Dost!
Sab Ko Apni Hi Kisi Baat Pe Rona Aaya .....

(Who cries on the plight of the unknown, my friend
  Every Tear is a Story of the Pains we ourselves go through)

The other day, I was having a debate with some close friends on music in the Eighties ... the overwhelming idea is that the Eighties have been wooden compared to the golden fifties, the silver sixties and the swinging seventies .... I cannot definitely compare the eras; for the Eighties in numbers can never match even the Naughty Nineties ..... forget the three decades that predated them .... still, what they lack in both numbers and quality, they still can put a claim to some astonishingly beautiful compositions ..... yes, that may be an exception that proves the rule but it also establishes the fact that talent can never be hidden ....

As proof, today I present one of the best sad melodies of the 80's ..... (a very rare occurance on my blog) .... a song sung by the Pakistani singer, Salma Agha for an Indian movie, Nikaah, made by B R Films, released in 1982 - one of the last Hindi - Urdu movies that boasts of a score by the great Ravi

Dil Ke Armaan Aansuoon Mein Bahe Gaye
Hum Wafaa Karke Bhi Tanha Rahe Gaye

The Poet states: All Hopes of my heart have left my heart alongwith the Tears that flow from my heart. Despite all my fidelity, I have still been left all alone to fend for myself..... What pain, what frustration.....

I can feel the pain that must be the psyche of a person drawn to make a statement as sad as the above. Man lives on Hope and when Hope goes, what remains .. and what can be worse than Hope that has left with tears .... I cannot even imagine! I have been brought up to believe that Loyalty and Fidelity are always awarded but imagine a position wherein your Fidelity has failed .... despite being loyal, your love has left you for better prospects ..... then all you can say, is....

Hum Ba-Wafaa Thhey Iss Liye Nazron Se Gir Gaye,
Shaayad Unhein Talaash Kisi Be-Wafaa Ki Thi

Good Thought, but will it resolve your pain? No.... the fact remains that your loyalty has failed you and you are alone. The Poet continues:

Zindagi Ek Pyaas Bankar Rahe Gayee....
Pyaar Ke Qissey Adhurey Rahe Gaye

What a couplet..... Life has become nothing more than an unquenched Thirst of Love. Those stories of love, that were being heard so earnestly, have been left incomplete..... This is unrequited love at it's worst ... Imagine being the gardener of a garden that has beautiful blossom but was raided by locust.... Imagine looking around at the garden that was, the dreams that were and the flowers that could have been ..... Tears will flow....  And soon, you would wish you were blind!

As a Child, the thing I used to hate the most was incomplete stories, especially the ones where I would fall asleep midway ..... so, I can understand the pain of being a listener to a story that ends when it should not have.... At such times, the only thing you feel like telling the recounter is ....

Bahot Gaur Se Sun Raha Tha Zamaana,
Tum Hi So Gaye, Daastaan Kehte-Kehte ....

God forbid but it's true, unrequited love like unquenched thirst and unanswered prayers is something that one carries in his heart for ever and ever and ever. The poet continues:

Shaayad Unka Aakhri Ho Ye Sitam,
Har Sitam Ye Sochkar Hum Sahe Gaye.....

Nothing hurts more than to know that your emotions have been used, taken for a ride ...  This is the most painful feeling ever; you keep on forgiving, you keep on accepting, only to understand that the other party is too selfish and self-centred to ever understand your point. And there comes a point, where you regret, accepting the person back, the first time she walked out on you and still came back; the second time she walked out on you and still came back .... and everytime, on her terms and conditions .. while you were so enamoured of her, that you never could see the ways in which your love was being used and abused..... As the great poet, Mirza Ghalib pointed out:

Hum Ko Unn Se Wafaa Ki Hai Umeed,
Jo Nahin Jaantey Wafaa Kya Hai......

Still, a heart in love can never ever go against it's own feelings for Hope dies eternal...... The poet then finally summarizes with a beautiful couplet:

Khud Ko Bhi Hum Ne Mita Dala Magar
Faasle Jo Darmiyaan Thhey Rahe Gaye .....

I destroyed myself for the sake of my Love... Still, the Separation that was between us could not be reduced..... This is the fate of every unequal love and this will be the fate forever of every unequal love.....

Such a song in the 80's is a matter of pride for the 80's. A brilliant composition, this song proves, why you cannot take the 80s lightly..... And of course, this is also one of the few examples of Indo-Pak collaboration, which proves why Partition was indeed one of the worst things to have ever happened.

What about Love then? Well, About Love, the fact remains:

Zara Si Aahat Hoti Hai To Dil Poonchta Hai
Kahin Ye Woh To Nahin....

LOVE WILL WAIT FOREVER ......