Yin and Yang

Yin and Song

The inane, insane eTV serial Chandramukhi has been going on and on day in and day out for the past one year. ( The adjectives ‘inane’ and ‘insane’ qualify both the adjective eTV and the common noun ‘serial’, I hope my grammar is fine..I do not find that the other channels are different in any way, in this respect..This is to be expected as the producers seem to sincerely believe that their creativity ought to be tailored for an idiot box’ ),The advertisement jingles are welcome interludes.
In this long drawn bizarre serial tale, ( other serials like, Bharyamani, Abhishekam, Aadade aadharam etc., of eTV are no exception) the lead characters who love each other greatly, , are kept apart by means of one improbable intrigue or the other, contrived by the director or writer or whoever is responsible for the sadism against the viewers, One welcome outcome of the serial, however is that the two lead players got vexed and found themselves made for each other in real life, and tied the knot.

This jingle of Kotak Life in Telugu sounds familiar., “If and when some one like you enters my life, it’s fulfillment enough for me.”
I begin to turn the jingle on and on around in my mind. My grey cells are still faithful. The tube-light lights up at last.The tags are ,Nazia Hassan, Biddu, Feroz Khan, Zeenat Amaan, Qurbani, Aap jaisa koyi…

The early eighties.
I am in a cassette shop. In Punjagutta. A Coney cassette album entitled ,”London Calling” of Hindi/Urdu pop songs catches my eye. On an impulse, I buy it.
I play it in my old Panasonic stereophonic cassette recorder/player, that night .. ( This tape recorder is serving me faithfully to this day.).
The Indipop songs from Europe are catchy and invigorating. One of the songs I particularly liked was, “aap jaisa koyee.”
A few days pass.There is an article in a film journal. about the Hindi movie Qurbani, due for release soon.. There is mention of a great pop song, “aap jaisa koyee,” sung by a beautiful teen aged British girl of Pakistani origin, which was the highlight of the movie.
The teen-age crooner and her brother, soon become a sensation in Asian circles across the continents of Asia, Europe and North America, with the hugely successful Indi-pop album Disco Deewane and its successors.

As a tribute to her I translate the song “Aap jaisa koyee… ” for the benefit of those who are not familiar with Urdu or Hindi.

If only, someone akin to you ……

If only, someone akin to you should pervade my life ,
I’m sure my life gets fulfilled.,
Yes and yes again, my life gets fulfilled
A blossom needs the spring,
The spring craves for a garden,
A heart seeks another heart,
And a body needs another, – for its fulfillment,
Everything needs to connect itself
Physically, with its complement to get fulfilled
If only a kindred heart like yours, latches on to mine,
I’m sure my life gets fulfilled..
Yes and yes again, my life gets fulfilled
I am a human, not a being-divine,
And bereft of love, i’m afraid my forlorn heart may go astray.
But, there is none else like you.
And my heart craves for no one else.
If only someone akin to you should pervade my life ,
I’m sure, my life gets fulfilled.
Yes and yes again, my life gets fulfilled.

The beautiful girl with the feisty voice, received several awards and accolades, but. unfortunately passed away prematurely of lung cancer. while still in her early thirties, at the turn of the millennium, ironically and sadly ‘unfulfilled’ and disillusioned.

Life’s an inane and insane tale
Told by an idiot, full of sound effects and fury,
Signifying nothing.
Or is it so, indeed ?
Believe me,I do not know, honest.
Yes and yes again, I do not know, honest.