Tere Bina Zindagi Se

Series: Song Decryption
Song Title: Tere Bina Zindagi Se
Album: Aandhi (1975)
Musician: R.D. Burman
Vocalists: Lata Mangeshkar, Kishore Kumar
Lyricist: Gulzar

Some carve poetry out of emotions, some compose music out of poetry, and some create history out of music! However, the quartet comprising Gulzar Saab, Lata Mangeshkar ji, Kishore Kumar Saab and R.D. Burman ji had the prowess to coalesce all the three in a single masterpiece. One such masterpiece is the love anthem, ‘Tere Bina Zindagi Se’, from the film, Aandhi, a 1975 release.

Despite the mellifluous duet and the tranquilising accompanying music, I personally feel that one of the prime reasons these songs have stood tall through the corridors of time is the poetic genius behind them. Maybe, I am biased over here because I absolutely adore the intimate lens Gulzar Saab uses to simplify the innumerable intricacies of Human Life.

“Tere bina zindagi se koi
Shikwa toh nahin, shikwa nahin,
Shikwa nahin, shikwa nahin.
Tere bina zindagi bhi lekin
Zindagi toh nahin, zindagi nahin”.

The key motif of the song is ‘Saudade’: a deep emotional state of nostalgic or profound melancholic longing for an absent something or someone. Somewhere, I read a very oxymoronic definition of the same: “a pleasure you suffer, an ailment you enjoy”. Every form of longing has two stages: denial and acceptance. In the chorus itself, we see an amalgamation of both happening simultaneously, which is a rather rare aspect in film music. Usually, we have one emotion that guides our way through the cadence of the song, this one defines two at very close quarters.

Firstly, we see the acceptance of the Eternal Continuity in Human Life. It goes on, with or without the person. Secondly, we see a sigh of denial, that no matter the continuity, the life without the absence of your beloved, do you even call it a life? In reality, we never attain absolute acceptance or resolute denial. It always hangs in between the two.

“Tum jo keh do toh aaj ki raat,
Chand doobega nahin, raat ko rok lo.
Raat ki baat hai, aur zindagi baaki toh nahin”.

This lyrical verse is one of my absolute favourites! It portrays the desire to cease time in love, to bring time to a standstill, to maximise the fruitfulness of the moment. Wrapping up, I always believe that with changing eras, the radios went dormant, the box TVs faded away, our screens are getting preciser in size now; but the perception of emotions is a timeless constant. It needs such effortless classics to be an evergreen retrospective in life.

Taking a bow to indicate my appreciation and pleasure with this divine creation,
Reneeka!