Lahu Munh Lag Gaya: Poetic Translation of Ram-Leela Holi Song
Meta Description: Ram-Leela is a Sanjay Leela Bhansali
film based on Romeo and Juliet. Lahu Munh Lag Gaya is a passionate Holi
song. Enjoy the poetic translation and explanation.
Setting the Background for Translating Lahu Munh Lag
Gaya
Goliyon
Ki Raasleela Ram-Leela, directed by Sanjay Leela Bhansali, is based on William Shakespeare’s Romeo
and Juliet. The two feuding clans are the Rajadis and the Saneras: Ram
(Ranveer Singh) belongs to the Rajadi clan, while Leela (Deepika Padukone) is a
Sanera. They have obviously heard of each other, but their first actual
encounter takes place during the Saneras’ Holi celebrations, which Ram
gate-crashes.
Holi
is the perfect setting for this encounter. The festival brings colour,
sensuality, physical proximity and, above all, a temporary licence to cross
boundaries that would ordinarily be unthinkable because of the feud between
their families. In this respect, the sequence corresponds closely to the first
meeting of Romeo and Juliet at the Capulet ball, which Bhansali is adapting
here. The picturisation is particularly effective because the lyrics are in
constant dialogue with the gestures, glances and physical movements of the two
characters.
Translating
“Lahu Munh Lag Gaya”
The
phrase “Lahu munh lag gaya” literally means “blood has touched the mouth” or
“blood has been tasted.” Its deeper sense comes from the image of a predator
tasting human blood for the first time and thereafter developing an
irresistible appetite for it. Here, the metaphor suggests that once Ram has
experienced this sudden intimacy with Leela, he is hooked and he can no longer
simply walk away from her.
My
first reaction was that translating the phrase literally would sound too brutal
in English, and I toyed with something softer, such as “blame it on the
season.” But that would lose something important. The image of blood is
deliberately provocative, and the metaphor of blood runs through the song. It
conveys the sudden awakening of desire far more powerfully than a conventional
romantic expression would.
I
would therefore be reluctant to soften it too much. If you have a better way of
capturing both the sensuality and the slightly dangerous edge of “Lahu munh lag
gaya”, please share it in the comments.
The Poetic English Translation of the Lyrics of Lahu Munh Lag Gaya
Glides, glides, the mind glides
Takes wings, longs to be by your side
The mind soars, the feet guide
You they seek to find
Leave the world behind
Tasted blood on the tongue
Tasted blood on the tongue
Passions that lay dormant
Now have arisen
O! Tasted blood on the tongue
Dreams that kindle desire
Lips that set them on fire
Dreams that kindle desire
Lips that set them on fire
Gave all the slip through the lips
To the veins one by one
O! Tasted blood on the tongue
O! Tasted blood on the tongue
O! Tasted blood on the tongue
Eyes roam hither and thither
Carefree free free free
My breath is intertwined with her
Completely lee lee lee
Flowing merrily
Glowing steadily
Flowing merrily
Glowing steadily
Captured my heart now I’m undone
Through the lips O through the lips
Tasted blood on the tongue
O! Tasted blood on the tongue
Tasted blood on the tongue
Passions that lay dormant
Now have arisen
O! Tasted blood on the tongue
Dreams that kindle desire
Lips that set them on fire
Dreams that kindle desire
Lips that set them on fire
Through the lips O through the lips
Tasted blood on the tongue
O! Tasted blood on the tongue
O! Tasted blood on the tongue
O! Tasted blood on the tongue
The Original Hindi Lyrics of Lahu Munh Lag Gaya from
Ram-Leela
Ude ude mann ude
Par lage tere sang jude
Mann ude pag badhe
Teri ore badhe
Jag chhod badhe
Lahu munh lag gaya
Lahu munh lag gaya
Soya tha nas nas mein
Ab ye jag gaya
Aye lahu munh lag gaya
Labon ke chhoone se
Khwabon ke kone se
Labon ke chhoone se
Khwabon ke kone se
Bachke sab se lab se lab ye
Rag se rag gaya
Aye lahu munh lag gaya
Aye lahu munh lag gaya
Aye lahu munh lag gaya
Bhatak rahi hai aankh ye
Malang ang ang ang
Atak gayi hai saans uske
Sang sang sang sang
Kal kal behta tha
Chhal chhal rehta tha
Kal kal behta tha
Chhal chhal rehta tha
Jaan le ke jaane kab gaya
Lab se lab ye lab lab se
Lahu muh lag gaya
Aye lahu munh lag gaya
Lahu mu lag gaya
Soya tha nas nas mein
Ab ye jag gaya
Aye lahu munh lag gaya
Labon ke chhoone se
Khwabon ke kone se
Labon ke chhoone se
Khwabon ke kone se
Lab se lab ye lab lab se
Lahu munh lag gaya
Aye lahu munh lag gaya
Aye lahu munh lag gaya
Aye lahu munh lag gaya
Meanings of Difficult Words
Pag = Feet
Labon = Lips
Khwabon = Dreams
Rag = Vein
Bhatak = Wander
Malang = Carefree
The Literal English Translation of the Lyrics of Lahu Munh Lag Gaya
The mind flies
Gets wings and joins with you
The mind flies the feet move ahead
They move towards you
Leave the world and move
The mouth has tasted blood
It (blood) was sleeping in the veins
Now it has woken up
The lips having touched it
From the corner of the dreams
Escaping from all, from the lips
It went from vein to vein
This eye is wandering
Carefree
Breath has got stuck with her
Company
It flows with a gurgling sound
It stays sparkling
I don’t know when it took my life and went
Lahu Munh Lag Gaya Fact
Sheet
· Movie: Goliyon Ki Raasleela Ram-Leela
