The White of the Swan

 

I'm sharing a particularly moving and poetic sequence from the critically acclaimed Hindi film Gangubai  (link of the scene:  Instagram). The heroine's beauty and the description of the various white hues captivate the hero, who is a tailor who brings various white outfits for the heroine to select from. When the heroine requests that he display all of the white sarees and provide a recommendation, he responds that since they are all white, she can choose from any of them. But then the heroine responds in a very artistic and lyrical manner:

“ kon sa wala safed?

Chaand wala ya baadal wala safed?

Kaagaz wala safed ya

Gulaab wala safed?

Barf wala safed

Namak wala safed

Doodh wala safed ya

Shankh wala safed?”

 

After a moment of pause, the smitten hero replies,” hans wala safed.”

(Image of Heroine after she hears reply of the actor)

I also did the English translation that is:

Heroine:

“which hue of white?

The white of the moon or the cloud?

Or is it white of the paper, or

 the rose?

The white of the ice

The white of the salt

The white of the milk or

The white of the conch?

 

Hero replies, “The white of the swan.”

 

Interestingly, the heroine describes all different hues of white (which are not necessarily pure white) while the hero replies to a completely different answer which captures the true purity of white- the white of the swan. The fact that he had a mind and heart of his own which only saw the purity of the heroine and thus likens the white to the white of the swan symbolizing her purity, although in that movie the heroine played the role of a prostitute.

What I find so captivating about this scene is not only its poetry and depth and the purity of love the actors shared in their roles on screen, but the fact that in life, sometimes, we are limited to the colors or shades of something based on our limited perception of it, and what appears may not be a true reflection of the real, but a hue or a shade. Sometimes, it may take the eyes of another artist to see the truth of the color and the true purity of it...and in this case, those eyes are the eyes of love, and not lust...

    Indeed, the purity of love is symbolized by the white of the swan and the swan itself, check this beautifully poignant video reunion #love #birds #birdslover#swans #nature, I found on the web, where one of the swans is reunited with the other swan after a period of separation, and the moment of reunion is truly magical. Indeed, the two swans are a symbol of purity of love worldwide..

                                                               

Classical Crossover Song-One- Sami

 

Sharing a deeply beautiful song called "One" by Sami Yusuf (link: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=BcSnZ-RuwyI). 

This song is a classical piece and a crossover that is especially captivating since it begins with chanting that is similar to Gregorian or Christian chants before the whole music unfolds. This is characteristic of the famous singer Sami Yusuf, whose all songs I adore and who I find is a beautiful soul blessed by God. The phrase "The eye through which I see God is the same eye through which God sees me; my eye and God’s eye are one eye, one seeing, one knowing, one love" by Meister Eckhart (a Catholic priest, philosopher, and mystic), appears in this powerful Sufi song, which also contains profound poetry about the destruction of the ego. 

In the music video, two points in the music journey are too beautiful:

1. The change of rhythm at 4:06 with the use of the instrument oud followed by flute, santoor, darbuka, and daf.

2. The change of rhythm at 9:43 with the powerful sounds of daf played by the skilled musician.

Jaane kya dhoondta hai...

 

Sharing a song from the musical movie Sur: The Melody of Life (2002), sung by the famous singer Lucky Ali..The lyrics of this song were penned by the famous Indian Urdu poet Nida Fazli and no wonder they are so deeply poetic...

The melodious song can be heard here:

Jaane Kya Dhoonta Hai 4K Video Song | Sur: The Melody Of Life | Lucky Ali, Gauri Karnik | Musical

What I find so touching about this song in particular is that the protagonist in it is incessantly searching for his lover or the Beloved and that pining can be felt in the words of the poetry in the song..I especially like the particular stanza (that starts in the video at 5:01), where the actor sings:

"Bechehra sa koi sapna hai vo 

Kahin nahin hai phir bhi apna hai vo

Aise mere andar shaamil he wo

Main hoon behta dariya sahil hai vo

Hai kahaan vo vo kidar hai raaste kuch to bataa

Koun sa uska nagar hai rehguzar kuch to bataa

Dhundti hain jiskoo nazaren jaane hai vo kidar

Jaane kya dhoondta hai ye mera dil

Tujko kya chahiye zindagi

Jaane kya dhoondta hai ye mera dil

Tujko kya chahie zindagi

 

Soona sa hai mandir murat nahin

Khaali hai aainaa surat nahin

Jeene kaa jeevan mein kaaran to ho

Mehke kaise kaliyaan gulshan to ho

Shamma he jo mujhamen raushan, wo viraasat kisko duun

Dur tak koi nahin he, apni chahat kisko duun

Dhundti hain jiskoo nazaren jaane hai vo kidar

Jaane kya dhoondta hai ye mera dil

Tujko kya chahie zindagi.."

 

I did the English translation of the above lines, here they are:

 

A faceless like a dream

Nowhere to be seen but feels mine

It is within me, such that

I am a flowing sea; he is the shore.

Where is he? Which place is he in?

The roads say something.

Which country is his, and which are his roads?

The one whom the eyes search for— how do I know where he is?

What is my heart searching for?

What do you want, O life?

 

The temple is empty; there is no idol.

The mirror is empty; there is no face.

There must be a reason to live this life.

How can the buds smell unless there is a garden?

the light that burns within me,

that inheritance, who shall I give it?

There is nobody as far as I see.

To whom should I give my love?

The one whom the eyes search for— how do I know where he is?

    What I found very intriguing was that a similar thought is reminiscent in one of the poetries of the renowned Urdu poet Dr. Allama Iqbal. The lines composed by him (see below), especially reverberate the same pathos where the last stanza especially bears striking similarity to the thought of the lyrics of the song above.

The lines by the poet Dr. Iqbal are:

"Main Tere Chand Ki Khaiti Mein Guhar Bota Hun
Chup Ke Insanon Se Manind-e-Sehar Rota Hun

Din Ki Sourish Mein Niklte Huwe Ghabrate Hain
Uzlat-e-Shab Mein Mere Ashk Tapak Jate Hain

Mujh Mein Faryad Jo Pinhan Hai, Sunaon Kis Ko?
Tapish-e-Shauq Ka Nazzara Dikhaon Kis Ko?
(The longing which is hidden inside me, whom should I tell of it,
To whom do I show the scene of my burning desire?)"

(The recitation can be heard here: https://www.instagram.com/reel/DHdwIQHNpHe/?igsh=NDA1Mnp0cGJqYnRv

    Interestingly, in this song (at 5:32 in the YouTube video), Lucky Ali as he sings "dhoondti hai jisko nazrein jaane hai vo kidhar", he is walking in a cemetery, but as he walks and searches, he is almost so close to the statue of Jesus Christ. I found this particular scene very spiritual, and appears to be conceived in that way perhaps by the one who shot it...As he is searching for his Beloved, little does he realize that God is so near to him and is in fact that Beloved he had been searching all through...This is my interpretation as I could not stop noticing the beautiful synchronicity...

The scene of the singer's lament for the Beloved and the Beloved..