‘Teri aankhon ke siwa duniya mein rakha kya hai
in mein mere aane waale zamaane
ki tasveer hai
chaahat ke kaajal se likhi hui meri taqdeer hai
ye uthe subah chale ye jhuke
shaam dhale
mera jeena mera marna inhi palkon ke tale’
Loosely translated-
What is there in this world except your eyes
In them (I can see) the image of my future (generations)
Also my destiny, written with the kohl of love
When they look up, morning sun shines, when they are cast down, twilight
comes
My life and my demise depend on these eyelashes…
A
smitten lover sings this beautiful song to his lady love, in the movie
‘Chiraag’ (1969) (lyricist : Majrooh Sultanpuri, music: Madan Mohan,
singer: Mohammed Rafi). I especially like the line- 'in mein mere aane waale…’-
(The exact translation would be ‘In your eyes resides the image of my time that
is yet to come’, but I prefer the loose translation). It talks not about a
momentary infatuation, nor a love that will last a life time, not even a love
between two people that is eternal. But it talks about a bond that had been,
and will be continuing through generations. It is not between two people alone.
When he looks into her eyes, he can see how his sons and daughters are going to
be like, and their sons and daughters, too. And when he sees his daughter, he
can see a part of his own, and her (his lover lady’s) own, mother, and
grandmother. They are just a couple in a timeless bond, a bond that is so
natural, so much a part of evolution, that there is no way it can be broken, no
way it cannot exist.
In
India generally marital bond is (or at least, it was) considered timeless, a
strong bond between families, between clans, communities, kingdoms,
generations. We have that culture encoded in our system and so it is taken for
granted that once married, we remain married, forever. Usually a young couple’s
married life is colorful and joyful in the first few years. Then it becomes
even more joyful and meaningful once a baby enters their lives. The whole
family- including all relatives take part in the rearing of the children, and
children are supposed to belong not only to the parents, but to the entire
family, their past and future generations. The right for taking decisions on
the children’s education, their diet, clothing, play times etc. are vested upon
everyone. This has changed considerably in the recent past (in a way for good,
in a way for bad) still some values of the bygone culture remains. And that
gives us a certain assurance and feeling of security when we think about our
family relationships.
Why am I telling this now? Will tell
you in the next post.
