Sometime in early December 2016, Mani Ratnam’s office in Chennai called to ask me to do the subtitles for his restored print of Dil Se . When it came to the songs, they were difficult to make sense of in English. I checked the Internet out of curiosity and found a number of translations: some above average, others seriously bad. The main verse of ‘ Chhaiyyan Chhaiyyan ’ got the royal treatment: “He whose head is in love’s shade,” and another read: “Come, my shadow, shadow, shadow, shadow.” That’s more shadows than we can cope with in one lifetime.
Fearful of misinterpreting the words myself, it occurred to me that I could request Gulzar saab to review my translations. This way, the restored Dil Se would have songs with subtitles that had been checked by the lyricist who wrote those songs. I rang Gulzar saab , and out of affection for Mani Ratnam, he graciously agreed to look over the English lines. Perhaps it had helped that he and I had written a conversation book together a few years ago.
Gulzar saab ’s focus and attention is astonishing. Within two hours, we had gone through all the translations; he explained his intention behind a line or word that I had got wrong and I was glad to make the correction. He added that ultimately, all translators have the right to understand a song or poem in their own way.
Before I got up to leave, I asked him to tell me what he thought of the picturisation of ‘ Chhaiyyan Chhaiyyan ’. He smiled and said, “It is the magic of Rahman’s music and Mani sir’s cinematic flair. I am only guessing, but the ‘chh chh’ sound perhaps made them think of the chugging of a train … The song picturisation deserves all praise.”
Mani Ratnam’s direction, Gulzar’s lyrics, Rahman’s music, Santosh Sivan’s photography, Farah Khan’s choreography, the high-spirited performance by Shah Rukh Khan and Malaika Arora, the voices of Sukhwinder Singh and Sapna Awashti, and the sight of the train chugging through Ooty have all conspired to make this a truly iconic song. It has found itself in the opening credits of Spike Lee’s Inside Man , and inspired Andrew Lloyd Webber to produce the musical Bombay Dreams in London with Rahman. Here’s how I have tried to make it work as subtitles:
Jinke sar ho ishq ki chhaon
Those who walk under
the shade of love…
Paaon ke neeche jannat hogi
…must have paradise beneath
their feet.
Jinke sar ho ishq ki chhaon
Those who walk under
the shade of love…
Chal chhaiyyan chhaiyyan chhaiyyan chhaiyyan x 6
Come, let us walk under
the shade of love.
Sar-e-ishq ki chhaon chal chhaiyyan chhaiyyan x 2
Let us walk under the shade of love.
Paaon jannat chale chal chhaiyyan chhaiyyan x 2
Let paradise spread beneath your feet.
Chal chhaiyyan chhaiyyan chhaiyyan chhaiyyan x 4
Let us walk under the shade of love.
[next verse]
Voh yaar hai jo khushboo ki tarah
Jis ki zubaan urdu ki tarah
The beloved is like a sweet aroma
whose words as elegant as Urdu.
Meri shaam raat, meri kaainaat
My evening, my night, my universe...
Voh yaar mera saiyyan saiyyan
…that friend of mine is my beloved.
Chal chhaiyyan chhaiyyan chhaiyyan chhaiyyan x 4
Let us walk under the shade
of love.
[next verse]
Gul posh kabhi itraaye kahin
The one who is draped in flowers…
Mahke to nazar aa jaaye kahin …
…will come into sight as
the fragrance spreads.
[both lines repeated]
Taaveez banaa ke pehenoon usey
I shall choose to wear an amulet…
Aayat ki tarah mil jaaye kahin
…if I find the beloved in a holy verse.
[both lines repeated, followed by]
Gul posh kabhi itraaye kahin
mahake to nazar aa jaaye kahin
Voh yaar hai jo imaan ki tarah
My friend is like faith itself.
Mera nagma vohi mera kalamaa vohi x 4
My song, my prayer.
Yaar misaal-e-uos chaley
Paaon ke taley firdaus chaley
The beloved falls like dew,
paradise beneath the feet.
Kabhi daal daal, kabhi paat paat
Sometimes on the branches,
sometimes on the leaves.
Main hawa pe dhoondoon uske nishaan
I search for traces of the beloved
in the breeze.
Sar-e-ishq ki chhaon chal chhaiyyan chhaiyyan x 2
Let us walk under the shade of love.
Paaon jannat chale chal chhaiyyan chhaiyyan x 2
Let paradise spread beneath your feet.
Chal chhainyya chhaiyyan chhaiyyan chhaiyyan x4
Let us walk under the shade of love…
[next verse]
Main uske roop ka shehdaai
I am an admirer of love’s lovely form.
Vo dhoop chhanv sa harjaai,
vo shokh hai rang badalta hai
Fickle as the sun and shade,
whimsically changing colours.
Main rang roop ka saudaai
I am enchanted by colour and form.
Jinke sar ho ishq ki chhaon
Those who walk under
the shade of love…
Paaon ke neeche jannat hogi
…must have paradise beneath their feet.
[both lines repeated]
Meri shaam raat, meri kaainaat
My evening, my night, my universe...
Voh yaar mera saiyyan saiyyan
…that friend of mine is my beloved.
Chal chhaiyyan chhaiyyan chhaiyyan chhaiyyan x 4
Let us walk under the shade of love.
London-based Nasreen Munni Kabir is an author and filmmaker who has subtitled over 500 Hindi films
