Dilbar dil se pyaare
"Dilbar haan dilbar," I murmured.
"Not that song again," you groaned. "Yes, that song again," I teased, breathing the words against the column of your neck. I know that behind the mock exasperation there is a fondness. You like me singing that to you. It is our song. It's an unabashed declaration of being totally smitten. I am.
"Saari duniya haari hum se hum tujh pe dil haare," I sing at you. It is true too. I lost my heart to you strangely, all at once and nothing first. You said something and I was instantly in love. In all the time I have known you I never had cause to regret losing my heart to you.
"Gehri nainon waale," I sing at you. I could lose myself gazing into your eyes. Your glance scalds me, burns me and brands me sometimes and I blush. My own glances must mean something, since you flush too. Then you look at me so tenderly that my eyes brim with tears, I feel exultant and humble at the same time.
Like Aruna Irani in the film, I call you 'mere garam masale' once in a while. You laugh. "Which one," you asked once. I considered that. Spices are flavouring. They add additional notes to the song of a dish. What spice are you?
Not ginger or garlic, though you do bring pungency of desire. Not cardamom or cloves, though you add fragrance and fire. Not cinnamon though there is fragrance fire and pungency all there. Not cumin and coriander either, flavourful but too common.
Your smile brightens my days. Your voice gladdens me. Your presence is haven. Beside me or away from me, the idea of you brings joy. What spice are you? Spices enhance the flavour of food without masking the natural taste, but they aren't essential. Are you melange?
Then I thought that all these spices are seeds, pods, fruit, bark or resins, they grow out of earth. They enhance, yes, but they are not necessary, or vital. There is something else that is absolutely vital- of the earth, no the earth itself- salt.
Did you know that people die if deprived of salt? It is essential for life. Salt preserves food. It kick-started civilisation. It is vital for lives. It is not a spice, it maybe called a seasoning, or an additive, but it is a necessity.
You don't just enhance my life. You give it meaning. You are not a spice. You are a necessity. You rejuvenate me, you imbue joy into each minute of life. You are salt.
"Dilbar dil se pyaare," I murmured. Your mouth curved in a smile against my neck in silent acknowledgement.
Cheers!
posted by Lalita | 20:29
18 Comments:
I'll let praise be superfluous, because within this space it always is. I will even refrain from congratulating you, and all those who've created and lived in such perfect harmony, and I certainly shall desist from expressing my fear of always being lonely. And I don't even like plants.
It's just that, yes, I don't often comment, but when things get too tough, when a tiny little thing inexplicably fond of me spends night after night in a strange room in muted pastel shades he doesn't approve of, for example... your posts are like a bit of an oasis. It's been five days I'm back home, and I read your last two posts only today, and by god did I need them.
Thank you.
I wish I had your kind of love life. Why won't you write about pertinent matters like the Rizwanur case? You waste your talent in trivial matters.
Johnnie
Johnnie, you leave me speechless. And I'm afraid that is not a compliment.
Lovely prose and a touching post, but did you know there is a raunchy remix version of the song you sing so fondly to your beloved? Salt indeed. namak isk ka, tere isk ka and so on.
Sincerely,
Secret Admirer
Brought back memories of seeing that movie 'Caravan' a few times - all the songs were so good & it is amazing how the lyrics stay with us. Great prtrayal by Aruna Irani & better than the heroine we always said- Tivi
Rimi- What a nice thing to say. Thank you, princess.
Anon- Dear John, Be careful what you wish for, it may come true and you will regret it. I don't write about such things. I have opinions and theories, yes, but I don't have to state them, and I certainly want no debates about them.
Anon2- Please, get a name.
Tivi- I agree all the songs in that film were great. Remember the year of 370 films? :-)
You are doing a lot of these fiction pieces nowadays Lali, how come? Not that we are complaining. It is good to read such incredibly tender posts.
Your blog has been listed in BLOGKUT. PLEASE VISIT FOR BLOGKUT FOR THE BLOGGERS FORUM.
What a lovely post, Lali.
Salt of the earth!
Chemistry aside, what a beautiful post. Leave something for us to say, Auntie Em. So how is K?
Ash- Well I have been asked to cut down on the rants. :-)
Anon- And what is Blogkut?
Dipali- Yay! My favourite commenter is back! Thank you.
Rajesh- K is fine.
You must be Bene Gesserit.
Krish Ashok- Um. 'We exist only to serve' doesn't appeal as a motto, somehow. I'd rather be Aes Sedai, of the Brown Ajah. :-)
Ah. BG was intended to be a reference to your cerebral nature. I had no idea that was their motto. But I never liked the Aes Sedai much though. Too snooty. And for some reason, perhaps because I was learning German at that time, I used to pronounce Ajah as "Ayah", and so do my younger siblings. He actually once told a girlfriend of his that she was a lot like Brown Ayah.
Krish Ashok- Brown Ayah sounds a perfect description of me, heh. Oh, to surrender to saidar and all that. :-)
loved the post. just that informative piece on importance for salt was a little out of place for me. (Looked like someone switched to Discovery Channel in between a romantic, erotica in HBO) [HBO in absence of an apt example :(].
@Anonymous2 [Secret Admirer]: Nice song :
Tez tha chhhaunka ka karu
Sisi karti, sisi sisi karti main maru
Zabaan pe laga re laga re haaye
Zubaan pe laga, zubaan pe laga laga re
If I am right then laavanya is an adjective in Hindi/Sanskrit for beauty and also for salt. I think the root is lavan, people who might have studied Chemistry in Hindi medium can inform better about the latter claim ;)
Quark- The whole point about the informative Discovery Channel versus HBO is that human mind, in the most ardent and charged moments tends to veer off and think in tangents and terms of the mundane. If it jarred, it was meant to, like real life does.
And yes, lavaNa is salt, but I am not so sure about laavaNya, let me check and get back to you.
Hello! I'm writting to you from far away, a small country in Europe- Romania. You speak so beatifully about love, you are truly an artist of words...I have one big request, please don't hate me or something, but could you tell me what"Dilbar dil se pyaare" means? I love the song, but I can't find the translation anywhere...That is, if you have the time...Thank you very much. I wish well to you and to your beloved. Have a smashing day!
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