Translation of Bollywood Songs through Aaj Phir Jeene Ki Tamanna

Metal Description:  The translation of songs from Hindi to English is a fine art. Factors like content, context, rhythm, rhyme, and the essence of poetry must all be balanced in exact proportions. Understand this process through my Bollywood Translation of Aaj Phir Jeene Ki Tamanna from the movie Guide.

Aaj Phir Jeene Ki Tamanna - Translating Poetry from Hindi to English

 

Hindi and English are different both idiomatically and structurally. The metaphors and idioms in one language usually do not have correspondences in the other. Therefore, literal translations fail to convey the context. The sentence structure is also different, being subject-verb-object in English and subject-object-verb in Hindi. This creates difficulties in maintaining the rhythm and rhyme. Compromises are unavoidable when translating Bollywood songs into English.

 

·       The translator can follow the content and the context closely, but sacrifice the prosody of the original song.

·       Bollywood songs have a strong metrical and rhyme structure and readers want that to be maintained in the translation. The translator would have to tweak the content a bit in this case, particularly the idiomatic content. I refer to this as transcreation.

·       It is possible that the translator force-fits the content and prosody into the translation but loses the poetic essence entirely. Most translations of Bollywood songs on the Internet fall into this third and undesirable category.

Aaj Phir Jeene Ki Tamanna from Guide Lends itself perfectly to both translation and transcreation and in this blog I present both. In the Comments, please let me know which is preferred by you.

 

Aaj Phir Jeene Ki Tamanna: The Original Song

 

 

Kaanto se kheench ke ye aanchal 

Tod ke bandhan baandhee paayal

Koi naa roko dil ki udaan ko,

Dil wo chalaa

Aaj phir jeene ki tamanna hai

Aaj phir marne ka iraada hai 

 

Apne hi bas mein nahin main

Dil hai kahin to hoon kahin main

Jaane kya paake meri zindagi ne

Has kar kaha, ha ha ha..ha ha..

Aaj phir jeene ki tamanna hai

Aaj phir marne ka iraada hai 

 

 Main hoon gubaar ya tufaan hoon

Koi bataaye main kahaan hoon

Dar hai safar mein kahin kho na jaun main

Rasta naya, aa..aa..

Aaj phir jeene ki tamanna hai

Aaj phir marne ka iraada hai 

 

Kal ke andheron se nikal ke

Dekha hai aankhein malte malte 

Phool hi phool zindagi bahaar hain

Tay kar liya, aa..aa..

Aaj phir jeene ki tamanna hai

Aaj phir marne ka iraada hai 

Shailendra’s language is extremely simple, with only one word needing explanation.

Gubaar = dust storm or sandstorm

Translation of Aaj Phir Jeene Ki Tamanna in English

 

Freeing my garment from the thorns

I defied custom and wore my anklets

No one stop the flight of my heart

See it soar

Today I want to live life again

Today I don’t care if I die

 

I am not in my own control

My heart refuses to listen to me

I don’t know why but my life has just

Laughed and said

Today I want to live life again

Today I don’t care if I die

 

I am like a desert sandstorm

Someone tell me where I am

I am afraid that I will lose my way

The path is new

Today I want to live life again

Today I don’t care if I die

 

Emerging from the darkness of the past

I am beginning to look around

My life is like spring in full bloom

I have decided

Today I want to live life again

Today I don’t care if I die

 

The Transcreation of Aaj Phir Jeene Ki Tamanna in English

 

I have broken all shackles that bound me

I will not let anybody hound me

Let me now soar above the clouds

Set my heart free

Today I want to live life recklessly

Today I don’t care if I die

 

I have crossed the point of inflection

And am moving towards resurrection

I do not know why but my life is

An ecstasy

Today I want to live life recklessly

Today I don’t care if I die

 

I am hurtling like a sandstorm

Someone tell me where I come from

I am afraid that I will lose my way

I cannot see

Today I want to live life recklessly

Today I don’t care if I die

 

Emerging from the shadows of the past

I am beginning to see sense at last

The spring in full bloom is beckoning

I will be me

Today I want to live life recklessly

Today I don’t care if I die

 

 

About Aaj Phir Jeene Ki Tamanna from Guide

Guide was a movie destined for success. Produced under the Navketan banner, it had Dev Anand and Waheeda Rehman in the lead. It was directed by Vijay Anand and the maestro S.D. Burman composed the music. All the lyrics were penned by Shailendra. The story was based on the critically acclaimed novel The Guide by R.K. Narayan. Today the movie is remembered for its lilting songs, each of them being a hand-crafted gem. Ironically S.D. Burman missed out on the Filmfare Awards that year, while Dev Anand, Waheeda Rehman, Vijay Anand and R.K. Narayan won in their respective categories. Best Film, Best Dialogues, and Best Cinematography were the other Filmfare Awards won by Guide.

Aaj Phir Jeene Ki Tamanna features Waheeda Rehman, as Rosie, dancing in gay abandon on the precarious ramparts of Chittorgarh Fort with the Victory Tower in the background. The scene remains etched in memory as the anthem for freedom from repression and following one’s heart’s desire. Enjoy the full video of the song. The film was also released in English, with the screenplay by Pearl S Buck. More songs from Guide (Din Dhal Jaaye, Kya Se Kya Ho Gaya, Piya Tose Naina Lage Re, Wahan Kaun He Tera) are in the pipeline at Bollywood Translations, so keep tracking this page.