Metaphors in Hindi songs

Today, instead of visiting another one of those memorable songs of the 50's and 60's, I thought I would write on the language of Bollywood songs. This is 2015, and you get a strange feeling when you try to translate the lyrics of those masterpieces into modern day English. Language changes with culture.

One of the objects that has served as a metaphor to many poets and songwriters in every culture is the moon. In Hindi (and other Indian languages as well), the imagery of the moon is associated with love and romance. The moon has the soft and gentle glow of a lover's face, it represents the dusk because that is when you notice it in the East on a full moon. Of course, dusk is the time to be romantic, evening is when lovers meet, and they inevitably look at the full moon when they do. The moon can be relied upon to return every month.

Other cultures see the moon as connected with romance, too. Frank Sinatra sang Fly me to the Moon, saying, "in other words, darling kiss me". Dean Martin sang "When the moon hits your eye, like a big pizza pie, that's Amore". But apparently the concept was not universally accepted. Shakespeare wrote, in Romeo and Juliet,  “Do not swear by the moon, for she changes constantly. then your love would also change.” You can never tell.

Chaudhvin ka Chand
Waheeda Rahman

Chand, chanda, mahtab, there are many ways in which the moon is addressed in Hindi songs, even once or twice as chanda mama. Who can forget Shakeel Badayuni's Chaudhvin  ka chand ho? Or the classic  Dum bhar jo udhar moh phere, O chanda  (O Moon, if you would turn the other way I could make love to my lover) from Raj Kapoor's Awara? 
The moon is constantly spying on lovers in Bollywood movies. It was always a visual metaphor for a romantic scene, popping up in the sky as the camera pans up for a moment lest we catch sight of  the hero and the heroine doing what lovers usually do when they meet. The moon was also there when the lover or the beloved was lonely, and they bid the moon to bring their lover to them. Think Chanda jaa, chanda jaa from Manmauji, or Chand phir nikala from Paying Guest.

Nutan in Paying Guest
Chand phir nikala
Lyrics: Majrooh Sultanpuri
Music: S,D, Burman
Singer: Lata

Came 1969, and things started changing. An American, as unromantic as they come, landed on the moon in an ugly suit for the whole world to see, and hit a golf ball. In an instant, the romance was gone for many. Indian songwriters continued, however, for a few more years. But for the moviegoers, the glow was fading. In schools, the kids were taught that the moon was a big rock. We  were bombarded with images in an endless barrage of TV documentaries, and the image of the ugly cratered surface with its ups and downs was burned into our minds forever. Who would now dream of likening their lover's face to the moon, as Guru Dutt did? The poor woman would run away, aghast at being told her face was pock-marked like the moon in the NASA photos. 

Neil Armstrong showed the world that the moon lacked the gravity we enjoy here on earth, and it was no longer possible to take it seriously (pun intended). Not many songs have been written with the moon metaphor in Bollywood for the last 20 years or so. I am sure they have also retired that big round white disc they hung from the ceilings of Filmistan, R.K. Studios, Mehboob and Rajkamal studios whenever they shot a love scene.

No matter, we still love all those wonderful songs with the moon looming over us and putting us in a romantic mood. We shall never forget them. Whether it is Mukesh singing Chand aahe bharega or Jagjit rendering  Kal chaudhvin ki raat thi, we feel the rush. 
Shakespeare may not understand, but we do, wink wink.
I am sure other songs have popped up in your head as you read this. Please add them to the comment box. In future, I will do a page on any songs you list there. Again, thanks for your support, and another reminder, share with others.

Venkat