Jeene Ke Ishaare ;

This poem is inspired by the Bollywood song ‘Jeene Ke Ishaare’ starring Salman Khan and Shilpa Shetty in the movie ‘Phir Milenge’, 2004. I fell in love with this movie when I watched it eons ago. At that moment I was living in Bangalore city in a 100 sq foot room with 4 other roommates, all living out of a single suitcase and no place for anything else but a tiny bed for each of us. We were all working for the same airline. It was the first ever low cost carrier in India in it’s nascent stages that instantly managed to change everything about aviation here. I was the youngest so the landlords and tenants from the other rooms and just about everyone around called me ‘Chinna-papa’ which means ‘small-child’ in Kannada. Well, my name has always confused anybody who’s ever heard it so that wasn’t in my favour either. Anyway, I loved this song the most and it’s been haunting me since the past few days.

Jeene Ke Ishaare (Hints to Live) - RUELHA ;
These fragrances are meant for the living.
They erase past sins and are very forgiving.
I savour these scents in the air.
As they wipe away my tears and despair.
There is something about this smell.
It makes me smile even when I'm actually in hell.

Old places and old songs.
A feeling like this is where I belong.
At the back of my mind are these tunes for the living.
Is this what all along I've been missing?
I recognize this melody.
It calms me down like therapy.

There is a spring of life within me.
That was arid and desolate completely.
Now, I feel those rivers gushing once more.
Like a tsunami they want to overflow.
This feels warm and familiar.
But it's been winter for so many years.

I smell, hear and feel this desire for life.
Beyond the surface of all that strife.
Could there be more,
joy and peace out that door?
I can feel the breath of life.
Waiting to cut through with a knife.

There is sign of life on the shore.
I'm not drowning anymore.
An island in the sea.
Will always be lonely.
But when shores greet.
The mighty waters recede.

I breathe this fragrance.
And see the incandescence.
I feel the taste of smooth chocolate.
Gushing forth through an open faucet.
These are hints of life and the living.
All along my soul has been missing.

The darkness is disappearing.
Surely, this is a sign of life and the living.
The shores of a distance.
Are fighting the seas of resistance.
Peace, happiness and sleep.
As opposed to restlessness is mine to keep.

I can smile again.
I'm no longer trapped in a well.
My voice no longer echoes mourning.
But, this feeling of happy that I was yearning.
This flame burns the remnants of sorrow.
And brings hope for tomorrow.

Colours of the sparkling night.
I see your silhouette within me so bright.
These fragrances are enchanting me.
Dancing across the shores of memory.
The flame of the living.
The universe has been hinting.

Surely, these are signs of the living.
Memories as clear as crystal springs.
Weeping and crying,
were signs of the dying.
These fragrant whispers take me beyond just existing.
Takes the plugs out and reroutes rivers to the living.

Old places and old songs.
A feeling like this is where I belong.
These fragrances are meant for the living.
I feel so familiar because it's not the beginning.
Like a burst of talcum powder, this fragrance.
I am found alive, enchanted in this incandescence.

The mighty water recedes.
When shores greet.
The sands are the same.
Within the core of the frame.
Old places and old songs.
A feeling like this is exactly where I belong.

; RUELHA
www.ruelha.com
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And here are the lyrics with my excellent translation skills 😉 Well, honestly, I think I did a whole lot better than the literal ones available online 🙂

Kuch Khushbuyen
Yaadon Ke Jungal Se Beh Chali
Kuch Khidkiyan
Lamhon Ke Dastak Pe Khul Gayi
Kuch Geet Purane Rakhe The Sirhane
Kuch Sur Kahin Khoye the Bandish mil gayi
Jeene Ke Ishare Mil Gaye
Bichhde The Kinare Mil Gaye
(Some fragrances
Have flown away from the forests of menories
Some windows
Now opened, knocking on the desk of past moments.
Some old songs that were tucked away under my pillow,
Some tunes with lost compositions have now been found.
Signs/hints to live...I have been given.
Parted riverbanks, the edges have reuinted.)

Meri Zindagi Main Teri Baarish Kya Hui
Mere Raaste Dariya Bane Behne Lage
Meri Karvaton Ko Tune Aake Kya Chhua
Kai Khwab Neendon Ki Gali Rehne Lage
(When you fell like rain in my life;
My pathways have transformed into a river and have begun to flow
You touched my tossing and turning{restlessness} after coming,
Now many dreams have started appearing and residing in my sleep)

Jeene Ke Ishare Mil Gaye
Bichhde The Kinare Mil Gaye
Jeene Ke Ishare Mil Gaye
Bichhde The Kinare Mil Gaye
Signs/hints to live...I have been given.
Parted riverbanks, the edges have reunited.
Signs to live...I have been given.
Parted riverbanks, the edges have reunited.

Meri Lau Hawaon Se Jhagadkar Jee Uthi
Mere Har Andhere Ko Ujale Pee Gaye
Tune Hasken Mujhse Muskurane Ko Kaha
Mere Man Ke Mausam Gulmohar Se Ho Gaye
(The flame of my soul fought with the winds and now live again
The light appeared and drank up all of my darkness.
You laughed and asked me to smile along.
The seasons of my heart turned into that of a lush Gulmohar tree.

Jeene Ke Ishare Mil Gaye
Bichhde The Kinare Mil Gaye
Jeene Ke Ishare Mil Gaye
Bichhde The Kinare Mil Gaye
Signs to live...I have been given.
Parted riverbanks, the edges have reunited.
Signs/hints to live...I have been given.
Parted riverbanks, the edges have reunitedd.

Kuch Khushbuyen, Saanso Se Saanso Me Ghul Gayi
Kuch Khidikyan, Aankhon Hi Aankhon Me Khul Gayi
Kuch Pyaas Adhuri
Kuch Shyam Sindhoori
Kuch Reshmi Gunahon
Main Ratein Dhal Gayin..
(Some frangrances, dissolved within my breaths.
Some windows opened up to me and now I can see them finally.
An insatiable thirst.
A scarlet evening.
In some silky sins,
these nights set/ended...)

Jeene Ke Ishare Mil Gaye
Bichhde The Kinare Mil Gaye
Jeene Ke Ishare Mil Gaye
Bichhde The Kinare Mil Gaye
Jeene Ke Ishare Mil Gaye
Bichhde The Kinare Mil Gaye
Signs/hints to live...I have been given.
Parted riverbanks, the edges have reunited.
Signs/hints to live...I have been given.
Parted riverbanks, the edges have reuniteded.
Signs/hints to live...I have been given.
Parted riverbanks, the edges have reunited.

Jeene Ke Ishare Mil Gaye
Bichhde The Kinare Mil GayeJeene Ke Ishare Mil Gaye
Bichhde The Kinare Mil Gaye
Jeene Ke Ishare Mil Gaye
Bichhde The Kinare Mil Gaye
Signs/hints to live...I have been given.
Parted riverbanks, the edges have reunited.
Signs/hints to live...I have been given.
Parted riverbanks, the edges have reunited.
Signs/hints to live...I have been given.
Parted riverbanks, the edges have reunited.

I’m embedding the song here. It’s very melodious. I really recommend this one.

This poem is purely literary. Please read it with an open mind and out of respect for the written word. To me, writing is my life. There is nothing I love more. I have a very creative imagination. Much of what I write is pure fiction. Please don’t attempt to draw parallels with my life. I have always written from my heart …about topics that I am passionate about – Christianity, makeup, melancholic poetry, food, romance, women’s issues, soulful music, narratives etc. Given the circumstances, my gender, situation, geography etc., I feel the need to put up a disclaimer every time I write a romantic piece. Everyone is entitled to an opinion. But, please don’t interpret this poem in a way it was not intended. That is just my humble request. 

Some of my writings may contain material unsuitable for children and young adults.