Raah Pe Rahte Hain - Gulzar turns a truck driver’s ditty into a song of life
23 hours in transit! I step out of the airport with visions of my bed floating in front of my eyes. I take the cab and prepare myself for the 55 kms journey home at the crack of the dawn. The cabbie looks at me from the rear view mirror and I give him my address. That one look should have alerted me. No, he didn’t look like an RGV extra. It was the look of a man warming up to his day and intent on making me a part of the same.
No sooner had I settled down than I was made painfully aware of infinite loops (this is, after all, Bangalore) and Nietzschian eternal recurrences through the mellifluous voice of Himesh “Naak Naak Naaking on Heaven’s Doors” Reshamiyya. I understood what I had seen in the cabbie’s eyes when he had stared back at me – aural murder. Being a firm believer in laissez faire when tackling affairs of men, I decided to grin and bear while Himesh bhai was picking up some serious steam.
“Tu hi mere armaanon mein,
tu hi mere afasanon mein,
khayalon ke paimanon mein,
tu hi tu,
mere jigar ki khwaahish mein,
meri wafaa ki bandish mein ,
mohabbaton ki ranjish mein,
tu hi tu,
dil ki surkh deewaron pe
deewaron pe
naam hain tera tera” – (infinite loop)(infinite loop)(infinite loop)
Gradually, I started hearing the song as “Naak Hai Tera Tera.”
Mercifully, the song ended and with it the cabbie’s patience with that CD. As he was contemplating a change, I thought I will politely let him know about my inclination towards silence at this hour of the day especially when the alternative was Himesh bhai. However, he broke the silence and asked me if he could play some ‘puraane gaane’. Among many things on which I differ with the world, a critical one is the definition of puraana. I pretty much consider all Hindi film music after 1958 as new and there aren’t many I tolerate in the post-58 era. So I gave him a nervous smile and asked him to continue his crimes against humanity. He happily pulled out a shiny disc and placed it delicately. And I let myself in the hands of my creator. After all, “tumhi ne dard diya hai, tumhi dawaa dena.”
A string of violins cut through the dawn’s silence and settled into a rhythm with drums and congo. And even before the guitars joined in on the fun, I instinctively knew what song was going to play. This was the music which had accompanied me in every journey home for a few years of my life. This was the song which I played on my Walkman as the bus negotiated the last of the ghats in early winter mornings and tore through the mist as I headed home for Christmas break.
It was “Raah Pe Rahte Hain’ from Namkeen!!
I knew why the cabbie had given me that look as we started off from the airport. The fiend knew it and he wanted to round off the loneliness of 23 hours of flying across the world with this nostalgic ode. And as I sat there staring at the window with a barely awake city flying past me, I wondered how much have I changed in the past dozen years and how the song has changed for me.
Before I launch into the song, let me quickly remind all of you about Namkeen. Gulzar’s Namkeen featured Waheeda as the mother of 3 young girls – Sharmila, Shabana and Kiran Vairale, who lets out a room of her house to Sanjeev Kumar, a truck driver. For more on the story, contact PFC author and my friend, RK. For my post, it’s sufficient you know that Sanjeev Kumar was a truck driver.
Gulzar sticks to the context of his story and you can see ‘Raah Pe Rahte Hain’ is a quintessential truck driver’s song. And that in itself would have sufficed – magically woven lines relevant to the truck driver Geru Lal, RD’s music which betrayed a hint of easy movement, nothing kinetic but a languorous approach to a rolling hill and Sanjeev swaying gently as he sat on the driver’s seat with an expression that suggested the triumph of realism over romanticism with merest whiff of remorse as he occasionally peered out.
But being Gulzar meant turning the truck driver’s ditty into a song of life; into the seeming conflict between the reality of the past and hopefulness of future. Gulzar plays with this paradox through the song to let you find your own balance. And somewhere at the end of the song you realize why he called this film Namkeen.
“Raah pe rahate hain yaadon pe basar karate hain,
khush raho ahale vatan, ho, ham to safar karate hain.”
You are a rolling stone. Forever in motion. Like that other great poet of the 20th century, Gulzar has often ruminated about change and motion. Like Dylan wrote:
“How does it feel
How does it feel
To be without a home
Like a complete unknown
Like a rolling stone?”
Gulzar also gives us his take on the rolling stone. Life’s a long road and while we may plan for future and look ahead in hope, all that’s tangible, all that has shaped us and all that gives meaning to our life is our past. That’s what’s real, that’s what you feed of. A casual look at that first line might give you an impression of another nostalgia drenched, sepia tinted view of life but, in reality, Gulzar imbues that first line with a sense of practicality. There’s no romanticism in past, it’s harsh and brutal. However, Gulzar flips the argument in the next line itself. The past is what you live on, the future is what you live for. So, the journey continues.
Gulzar, the filmmaker, highlights this paradox with images of motion – road, stream, moving wheel – while the protagonist sits still.
“Jal gaye jo dhoop mein to saaya ho gaye,
Aasaman ka koi kona odhaa so gaye,
Jo guzar jaati hai bas usape guzar karate hain”
Life’s a marathon. When sun scorched you, you found a sliver of shade to rest in. In your deepest moments of low, you found hope springing eternal. Don’t seek out help from others, your own journey is your lesson. That which will sustain you lies within you.
“Udate pairon ke tale jab bahati hai zameen,
Mud ke hamane koi manzil dekhi hi nahin,
Raat din raahon pe ham shaam-o-sahar karate hain.”
Gulzar goes back on his argument about the virtues of the past. In full flight, when the earth below you flows away as you speed ahead, who has the time to pause and look back? And why should you? That’s the time for the relentless march ahead. Of spending every waking moment on forging forward.
It isn’t a paradox really. Gulzar wants you to tap into your past, draw strength from it but look only one way – ahead. It’s the driving analogy. You don’t drive using the rear view mirror but you can’t drive ahead with speed without it as well.
“Aise ujade aashiyane tinake ud gaye,
Bastiyon tak aate aate raaste mud gaye,
Hum thahar jaayen jahaan usko shahar karte hain.”
It’s a Burns-like analogy here. And it’s remarkable how similar Gulzar here and Robert Burns in his most popular poem “To A Mouse” seem. You might think you have reached your destination but the roads turn away, writes Gulzar. The best laid plans of mice and men oft go awry, says Burns. In fact, that entire stanza of Burns is worth quoting here:
“The best laid schemes of mice and men
Go often askew,
And leaves us nothing but grief and pain,
For promised joy.
Still you are blest, compared with me!
The present only touches you:
But oh! I backward cast my eye,
On prospects dreary!
And forward, though I cannot see,
I guess and fear!”
Burns is also agonizing over the past and the future that he can’t see and almost fears. Burns wasn’t an Indian and would scarce understand the concept of ‘santhosh’ which is what Gulzar leaves us with. It doesn’t matter if you reached the destination you set out for. You have traveled far enough and where you stop dog-tired is the destination worthy of your efforts.
And so ends the song that never fails to evoke memories of winter trips home. But more importantly, it means a lot more a dozen years later in life. Keep traveling; keep eking out a ‘guzar’; and when you tire and stop, look around – it’s your destination within your grasp.
And yes, tip any cabbie well who plays you such a song.
Song available here:
Filed Under
Movies, Op-Ed, Thoughts , gulzar, Gyaan Baant te Chalo, Haldiram's, NAMKEEN, Subrat
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this song is of a lifetime.. and beyond.
one of finest gem of Gulzar Saab..
Jo guzar jaati hai bas usape guzar karate hain
that sums up everything..
thanks for the post
Very well written and juxtaposed with the quoted poems.
It’s certainly a truck driver’s national song. But it’s not merely that. It’s actually a song of movement. Song of life. Song of ‘rawaanagii’. The ‘rawaanagii’ which is matched in equal terms by Pancham’s flowing tune.
Gulzar’s mastery is evident in lines where he surprises you. For instance, he doesn’t say:
“Hum thahar jaayen jahaan usko shahar kahate hain.” (you need to correct that). Saying that would be too commonplace. Something which has no place at Gulzar’s. But at the same time he knows that the cliched expression is in the mind of the listener. So he plays with it and puts a beautiful spin to it:
“ham Thahar jaaye.n jahaa.N usako shahar *karate* hai.n.”
“I make things move; I make things happen; I make cities, cities.”
Another correction in your quoted is due:
Aise ujade aashiyan mein tinake ud gaye
should be:
aise uja.De *aashiyaane*, tinake u.D gae
Thanks for picking up this song and making me listen to it for the 500th time. It just never gets old.
good morning!
Badmash - thanks. Vinay - thanks for pointing them out and I have made the corrections. Should have looked in Qatrah Qatrah before posting but wrote it in one sitting and posted.
Tushar - yes, good morning
Excellent post. I see this song as Part 2 of Gulzar’s earlier “travel song” Musafir Hoon Yaaron, going beyond the straight-forwardness of the Parichay ditty into the philisophical realm and creating a, well, “song of life”.
thanks for making my morning into good morning….
Never underestimate a cabbie!! Aaj Kal even Rickshaw drivers have graduated from a college/university…
… Or perhaps he knew that he has got an old driver in his back seat, so played the old song. they are very clever at picking right song for each kind of passengers…
Raah pe rehte hain..
I dont believe this.. This is my all time fav song from Bollywoood. I used to make people listen to it and they’re like “Thanks a ton for this discovery, Never knew such a gem existed”. I mean I used to think I was a weirdo that i have a fav song which is so unknown. I am so glad to find out someone liking this song as much as I do. The best way to listen to this song is,take the train ( SL Class) and sit by the door ( If you’re allowed that is) and let your iPod play this in loop while you watch the hinterlands of India… It will take you to new high,trust me… I have done this some 5 years ago and i am wanting to do it again and I just cant take a train anymore. But I will take a train someday just to feel this song the way I mentioned.
PS: I got goosebumps while I was reading this post because I exactly know what you must have felt listening to this song at that particular instance
Taken from the following weblink :
http://www.panchamonline.com/articles/rdgulm11.txt
Ashish Bokil
Muddatein guzar gayi is maqaam se phir se guzare ….wahi deewar kaa toota huaa
konaa .. jaani pehchaani si sannaate ki awaaz .. kaanon ko thhandak detaa huaa
hawaa kaa wahi mehaktaa saa jhonkaa … sookhe patton kaa dher … aadhe-adhure
geet… aur kuchh puraani yaadein …. pichhali kai.N baar se aqsar kuchh
yaadein hi is maqaam par kheench laati hain… aur yahaan pahunch kar kuchh aur
yaadein zindaa ho jaati hain ….. na jaane aisaa kyaa hai yahaan ?? Is safar
main harek chauraahe pe ek kahaani khadi hai … har-ek mod pe parchhaaiyaan
nazar aati hain ….. aisaa kain baar sochaa ki safar ke saath saath chalte
waqt main ye kahaaniyaan kaheen kho jaayengi, ye saaye kaheen gum ho jaayenge..
magar phir se us chauraahe pe aate hi wahi chehare phir roobaroo ho jaate
hain ….
RD-Gulzar ke is safar main aaj bahut dinon ke baad kisi maqaam par …qadam
pade hain …… shaayad 6 maheenon ke baad ….. waaqai muddatein guzar gayi
is maqaam se guzare hue ……. kuchh beqasi kaa aalam, kuchh bezaari aur ek
sailaab … Lekin lau jal rahi hai …. haan… roshni kabhee tez to kabhee
madhdham ho jaati hai …. un palon main jab roshni madhdhham ho jaati thhee ..
inhi raaston se safar kaa sabaq seekhaa aur aankhen uthhaa kar phir chal diye.
raaston ke saath saath chalne waali tasveeren to badal jaati hain .. lekin
jazbaaton ke saath saath chalne waali tasveeren nahee badlaa karti … aise
main … badle hue manzar main wohi khayaal baar baar aate hain .. aur lagtaa
hai jaise hum phir usee maqaam par pahunch gaye hain jahaan se chale thhe…..
aqsar hotaa yahee hai .. aur hum jaan nahee paate …. asliyat ko sapnon se
door nahee kar paate … kyaa aisa safar kaheen khatm hogaa ? ….. lagtaa
to nahee ….
The deep rooted philosophy in Gulzar’s lyrics as i’ve already pointed out a
couple of times is “to keep going in life as its too short … enjoy it in its
shortest moment without grudge” … when he writes lyrics which have meaning to
this effect, his playfulness with words and composing poetry scales everest.
and if it also happens to be his directorial venture …… his imagination
achieves an additional dimension of portraying his philosophy …… and the
depth in the combination of the two brings mixed feelings of pleasure and
thoughtfulness to the audience and viewer ….. yet another dimension is added
when music is by RD and the final feather in the cap is KK’s resonating voice.
Amazing combination this is ………… never failed to touch a raw nerve
somewhere …. aur jab jazbaat bhee maakool ho … to geet dil ki gehraai main
utar jaataa hai ……
Namkeen is such a movie …. Screen is green with lush valley and a black
streak is visible somewhere in a corner …. camera zooms on this black streak
as beautiful details of green trees and the contours of valley come in focus
and so does a moving object following the streak …. closer and closer ….
and one begins getting the feel of the speed of the moving object - a truck -
just as camera fixes on it and one can see the broken white line right in the
middle running past the truck …… and Violines break the silence ……
accompanied shortly by the persussion - drums and congo. one set of violins
keeps following the signature tune while the other strays and follows another
course straight up as ecstacy builds up …. and then guitar introduces strings
as KK’s super bass voice joins in ……
Raah pe rehate hain ……
yaadon pe basar karte hain …
khush raho … ehle watan …
hum to safar karte hain …….
jal gaye jo dhhoop main to saayaa ho gaye …
jal gaye jo dhhoop main to saayaa ho gaye …
aasmaa.N kaa koi konaa oDhhaa so gaye …
jo guzar jaati hai bas uspe guzar karte hain ….
the road makes his living …. simple statement … but what a beautiful way to
put it ….
the truck continues … and the story and philosophy of the driver goes on …
music accomodates the accompanying scenes that the truck encounters during its
travel which sometimes spoils the effect of the interludes …..
uDate pairo.N ke tale jab behati hai zamee.N …
uDate pairo.N ke tale jab behati hai zamee.N …
muD ke humne koi manzil dekhi hi nahee ….
raat din raahon pe hum shaam-o-sahar karte hain ……..
sometimes when we move in a car….. and stare hard at the trees … it appears
as the trees are running backwards ….. and if you stare at the road … it
seems like a flowing river …. and the driver is moving at a high speed with
his feet off the ground as if he is flying ….. “uDate pairo.N ke tale jab
behati hai zamee.N … ” … it takes a Gulzar to give such a beautiful
description of moving truck ……
the scene now has “banzaare” moving as truck passes them …. and the banzaaraa
girls sing …
” saammaa saammaa saammaa saammaa ……. ”
a beautiful piece of music ….. and then again …..
” saammaa saammaa saammaa saammaa ……. ”
this is the most unkewl portion of the song .. one of those times when movie
dominates the music …. and i fervently wish they had two versions of the song
.. one for movie and other for audio tapes … the latter sans “saammaa …
..saammaa ” ……. however, in that beautiful piece of music …there is one
percussion instrument which i am not able to figure out ….. sounds like a mix
of ghatam and something else … but don’t know its name … it sounds nice …
ho… aise ujaDe aashiyaane .. tinke uD gaye …
bastiyon taq aate aate .. raste muD gaye …
hum thhahar jaayen jahaan .. usko shahar karte hain …
this last stanza ia a volume in itself …. the unsettled life of a truck
driver … the sad truth that he comes close to a destination to divest him of
his boring solitude … and then it all suddenly seems such a distant thing
in a very short while … but his optimism .. almost a strong will to not let
that depress him … but to create another world full of life wherever he halts
…. to pour life in those dull stoppages .. and move on …..
A perfect example of “what it takes to connect a song to the motion picture ..”
.. the violins enhance the effect of the valley through which the truck speeds
and the beat is just apt for driving as well … the smooth flowing cycle …
[ almost the same that's in O mere dil ke chain ... "] … rolls melting into
the song … never breaking the flow of the song even when beat stops for a
short while between stazas .. signifying the flow of life …. such flowing
songs are my weakness ….
two interludes of this song [to accomodate some scenes of passers by] are
rather irritating ….. yet i list this song as one of my all time favourites
from RD-Gulzar combo ….. the interludes are more than compensated by the tune
and the excellent lyrics …. the flow just overpowers me once the song starts.
Kishore’s voice is terrific in this song ….. the bass and cohesion in his
voice also enhance the effect of the landscape on screen along with the music
and the calm and composed aspect of it is just appropriate for expressing the
philosophy in the song …..
Passed on to me by a kind soul [to whom i owe special thanx ... as i had been
looking for this song for ages ..] this song has accompanied me to many a long
drive …. not to speak of those moments of philosophical introspections ….
……. A song that escalated events ……
I love the other KK-Gulzar-Pancham travel song “Main Thak Gaya Hoon”, about which pavan had written in PFC before : http://passionforcinema.com/project-iview-musafir-ka-safar/
nice article there subrat no doubt its a great song but i must say that you have a very limited taste for music, which is not a bad thing but why so much hatred for Himesh? He has his own style and his own fans….its understandable that your taste differs but why make fun of him and degrade the whole article?
Dont get me wrong i’m NOT a Himesh fan i just thought u did a bit of an overkill…..otherwise, great article!!!
Subrat..dost..your take on Gulzar the poet is very lyrical in itself.
But, tell me, did Namkeen deserve this song..a song about positivity, about the quest for life, about live and let live?
I was frankly flummoxed by the odd way all the sisters screw up their own life. Not one sister could take away any positivity from the man in their life and become that better person by the end..mmm..to me that was pretty negative on the whole..and such a bright spark..this song..in that gloom..odd, I feel!
Who wrote that story - Namkeen, by the way?
kcp: thanks for that write-up
Gagan: Will try and improve my limited tastes, thanks
Indraneel: Namkeen is bleak and the song kind of restores the balance. The story is actually adapted from Samaresh Basu’s Akaal Bashonto
Awesome post! One of my fav songs…always sing during my walks to my department…Fall, Summer or Spring…the song remained constant and so close to heart. Timeless…
BTW, I used a stanza from this song in one of my stories on nomads for my news station. So apt for them,
Aise ujade aashiyane tinake ud gaye,
Bastiyon tak aate aate raaste mud gaye,
Hum thahar jaayen jahaan usko shahar karte hain
subbu ..i LOVEEEEEEEEE this song ..thanks for this
this song was always a notch above for the other travelling song - musafir hoon yaaron … probably becos of the tinge of sadness involved ….
Pls do me a favour and find the other lovely song online if possible ..have searched all over
“aan ki chali baan ki chali” as well
and btw … read this
http://passionforcinema.com/namkeen-sweet-sour-and-charming-vintage-gulzar/
AT LAST SUBRAT I HAVE DISCOVERED MY SOULMATE IN YOU !!!
THE LINK BELOW IS RAAH PE RAHTE HAIN SONG RECORDING BY RD SAAB IN THE RECORDING STUDIO WITH GULZAARSAAB GIVING INPUTS
http://www.dishant.com/jukebox.php?songid=40717
THANKS A MILLION MAN FOR THE POST !!!!!!!!!!
GK
and finally something from prof saab which i can relate to
you probably listened to it at the beshtesht time the feind not withstanding.
but i prefer it without the visuals on my ‘walkman’ (a defunct piece of musical equipment for the uninitiated)
Lovely song!!!My all time favourite.Even the way it is shot is nice.Another song from the same film Phirse aaiyo badra bidesi is also classy.
Dpac@19 did you notice the wiper of the truck and its synchronizing with the beats of RDB ?
This new 21st century bollywood song…
Horn Ok Pleasss
@Subrat Babu,
Song is not less than Pather Panchali of Gulzar saab - I mean when you can call it song of life then its also a song of road also.
Though song is given to Sanjeev Kumar, Driver by profession in the film [We few friends used to address his character as Feru Mal (feri lagane wala) instead of Geru mal because of his travellings and his profession] but now all travllers can associate with the song. Rather it can be extrapolated back to all the wanderers from Narad Muni to Megasthanese, Al Baruni, Hwen Swang to Rahul Sanskrityayan to Baba Nagarjuna to modern days marketing and manegerial professionals and all those professionals who have to travel a lot on daily basis because of their jobs.
Great going!
@(21)kcp,
and….???
are you saying it was synced up to the beat of song ??!!
that would have been a big big detailing by gulzar saab!!
around that time he wasnt the only one who tried to connect the visuals with the lyrics. he was probably one of the better ones because of his sensitivity quotient (so to say)
anyway i wasnt referring to the visuals in any demeaning way. after all what more can one do with lyrics such as this and story like this. it was more than adequate.
my point being that the lyrics resonates even without any visuals.
One of the best from GULZAR-RD-Kishore combo.
Infact they had a trilogy