Foot in the mouth....

...or..."hum bhi moonh mein zubaan rakhte hai"?

Often I listen to songs and I listen to words the way I am perhaps attuned to, not just aurally but emotionally, mentally…It is only natural then that I murder the words, but I occasionally feel that the change gives it a different twist which may not be too bad.

Some years ago I had posted these lines by the poet Daag wrongly:

Zeest se tang ho ae Daag tau jeetey kyon ho
Jaan jaatee hai magar jaan se jaatey bhi nahin

I was corrected:

Zeest se tang ho aye Daag tau jeetey kyon ho
Jaan pyari bhi nahi jaan se jaate bhi nahi

The poet is saying:

If life tires you so then why do you live
A life you do not love is also a life you do not leave

What this humble writer has done…

If life tires you so then why do you live
Life leaves you but you want to still breathe

It’s an all time favourite sung by Fareeda Khanum in her inimitable style.

There are people who will think I am arrogant. Although this was indeed a slip, on re-looking I find it interpretative of a different state of being.

Yes, yes, aficionados will do wah-wah for Daag, magar humpar kuchch daag chhod dijiye…leave some stains on me, too!

I had done a similar thing with a contemporary poet Farhat Shehzad’s verse which is:

Woh jo mere lahu mein dubou ke guzra hai
Woh koi ghair nahin yaar eik purana tha

My hearing:

Woh jo mere lahu mein dubou ke guzra hai
Woh koi ghair nahin yaad eik purana tha

It is just a matter of one word.

Shehzad says:

The one who has soaked in my blood and left
Was no stranger but an old friend

I was using memory instead of friend.

Memory encapsulates a lot, including friends, and it is closer to oneself to be transposed with ghair (stranger). Memories cannot ever be strangers, although they might be strange.

PS: Am only sharing with you the ‘mistakes’ I make and some of which I am not ashamed. Feel free to slaughter me.