Zindagi Ek Safar Hai Suhana - English Translation

Zindagi ek safar hai suhana

Yahan kal kya ho kisne jaana (x3)

Life is one pleasant journey

Who knows what'll happen here tomorrow

Chand taaron se chalna hai aage

Asmaanon se badna hai aage (x2)

Pichhe reh jayega yeh zamana

Yahan kal kya ho kisne jaana

Zindagi ek safar hai suhana

Yahan kal kya ho kisne jaana

We have to travel beyond the moon & stars

We have to go beyond the skies

These times will be left behind

Who knows what'll happen here tomorrow

Life is one pleasant journey

Who knows what'll happen here tomorrow

Haste gate jahan se guzar

Duniya ki tu parvah na kar (x2)

Muskuraate hue din bitana

Yahan kal kya ho kisne jaana

Haan zindagi ek safar hai suhana

Yahan kal kya ho kisne jaana

Pass through this world laughing & singing

Don't care about what others think

Spend all your days smiling

Who knows what'll happen here tomorrow

Yes life is one pleasant journey

Who knows what'll happen here tomorrow

Maut aani hai ayegi ik din

Jaan jaani hai jayegi ik din (x2)

Aisi baaton se kya ghabrana

Yahan kal kya ho kisne jaana

Zindagi ek safar hai suhana

Yahan kal kya ho kisne jaana

Death has to come; it will come one day

Life has to go; it will go one day

What's there to worry about such things

Who knows what'll happen here tomorrow

Life is one pleasant journey

Who knows what'll happen here tomorrow

Coding at Night

Debugging in vain
Bleary eyelids slowly shut
Terminal blinks on

Sabse Peeche Hum Khade - English Translation

Zara nazar utha ke dekho

Baithe hain hum yahi

Bekhabar mujhse kyun ho

Itne bure bhi hum nahi

Just look up and see
I'm sitting right here
Why do you keep ignoring me?
I'm not all that bad

Zamaane ki baato me uljho na

Hai yeh asaan jaan-na

Khud se jo agar tum poocho

Hai hum tumhare ki nahi

Don't get caught up in what the people are saying
That's easy enough to see
If you were to ask yourself
Am I yours or not?

Teri aankhon ka jaadu

puri duniya pe hain

Duniya ki is bheed me

sabse peeche hum khade

Your eyes have cast a spell
on the entire world
In the bustle of this world
I'm standing right at the back

Mehfile aayi aur gayi

Log aaye aur gaye

Tum jo aaj aaye ho

Dil me ho bas gaye

Parties came and went
People came and went
You, who've come today
you've found a place in my heart

Muskura ke baat taalo na

Phir miloge jo kahi

Dekhna yehi kahoge

Itne bure the hum nahi

Don't smile and change the subject
When we meet again somewhere
for sure, you'll say
I wasn't all that bad

Teri aankhon ka jaadu

puri duniya pe hain

Duniya ki is bheed me

sabse peeche hum khade

Your eyes have cast a spell
on the entire world
In the bustle of this world
I'm standing right at the back

Kanne Pillavani - English Translation

Kanne pillavani kannulunnavani yenni enni vagalu pothunnave chinnari
That you're a young woman, that you have (beautiful) eyes, how many airs you're giving yourself

Chinna navvu navvi vanneli anni ruvvi yenni enni kalalu rappinchave ponnari
With a light laugh, showing off your beauty, how many dreams you've brought to mind

Yem antavu?
What do you say?

Sangeetam nuvvu aite, sahityam nenu auta
If you're the music, I'll be the literature/lyrics

Swaramu neevayi swaramuna padamu nenayi
With you as the (musical) note, and me as the word (sung) in that note

Gaanav geetav kaaga
As the singing becomes a song

Kavini nenayi naalo kavita neevayi
With me as the poet, and you as the poem in me

Kavyam ainadi talapo aluko manaso
What has turned into poetry are perhaps my thoughts, feelings or being itself

Ippudu chuddam
Let's see now

Tanana tanana anna
Whether you say 'tanana tanana'

Tana anna talam okate kada
or 'tana', the beat is still the same

Padamu cherchi paata kurcha leda
Did I not furnish the words to compose the song?

Sabhas
Bravo

Danani dasasa anna needa anda swarame raagam kada
Whether you say 'danani dasasa', in your company, the notes make a melody

Neevu nenani anna maname kaada
Whether you say 'you' and 'I', isn't it the same as us?

Riders on the Storm Redux

(highlighted portions mine to make the song seem not quite as disjointed)

Riders on the storm

Riders on the storm

Into this house we're born

Into this world we're thrown

Like a dog without a bone, an actor out on loan

Riders on the storm

There's a killer on the road

You can call him let's say 'greed'

'hatred' or 'envy'

He goes by many names

If you give this man a ride, sweet sanity will fly

Killer on the road

Man, you gotta keep your calm

Man, you gotta keep your calm

Focus like a hawk

Sit-ups like a jock 😜

The world depends on you, your life will never end

Gotta keep your calm

PS: I've come round to the view that the disjointedness/vagueness of the original actually adds to the beauty of the song but I'll let this stay as an interesting creative writing exercise.

As I Tweet

I tweet to you as I am
as I check the trends
You may block me for spam
or retweet to your friends

I may post a facetious comment
I'm just being a wag online
Don't be misled
I may get into an argument
But we're likely still aligned
outside that thread

('As I Am' Twitter edition)

Prompt - connection through music

Music is that wondrous salve
that bobs in a prim jazz hall
shrieks from the rim of a stage
'n' weeps on a dim back porch

The Ultimate Judo Move

 The ultimate judo move is to not let your nihilism lumber you down but lift you up.

"Is that some sort of Eastern thing?", the Dude asks 😛

I Wish I Could Have My Sun Back

I wish I could have my sun back
bask again in its nourishing rays
But I have learned many a new fact
My sun's just one among many in space

I wish I could carry on around my sun
with that old confident gait
But the twinkling points afar do beckon
I drift, pitiful pockmarked planet
doomed forever to be on the run
never settling into 'nother orbit

Bring It On

I don't know how I came by it
I don't know how long it'll stay
But I sure as hell can't deny it
It just feels amazing this way!

Anything I set my mind to
I believe is doable
The world no longer seems
a series of obstacles
Nowhere man, 
the world is at your command, 
Ah, la, la, la, la!

Here and Gone

Shadows parade
across a pool of light
before they fade
back into yawning night

The stars disengage
flying out to the seams,
receding afterimages
in the flush of a dream

The Window Has Become A Mirror

The cars scurry

across my blank gaze

as I sip my coffee

braced against the rails

My mind hushes

after a long day at work

As the traffic rushes

my bus pulls up to the curb

A wave of fatigue

that starts from my curled feet

closes my heavy eyelids

and I collapse into my seat

***

It is dark outside;

the window has become a mirror.

I have a quick bite

and head on back from the diner.

Nighthawks by Edward Hopper

***

A wave of energy

that swells up from down below

lifts me up bodily

and dumps me outside my door

My head throbs

like the flies atop the lone lamp posts

as I round the blocks

deserted but for any damned souls

My thoughts race

the regrets, worries, sighs

and I steel my face

with resolutions renewed every night

The Girl From The Cafe

At lunch, I walked to the cafe
not feeling quite so sure
Will the girl be there today?
Will she recognize me from before?

There she was, facing away
arranging the cups next to her
"Um ..hello ..." I began to say
as I stepped up to the register

"Ham sandwich and a small drink?"
she asked with a bashful giggle
I smiled back, turning a shade pink
"Yes", I said, "I'll have the usual"

See You Space Cowboy

He revved the engine
The ship cleaved heaving space-time
Stars burned with yearning

Boredom

How can you be bored
when the big ol’ world overflows
with much that is weird & wonderful?

How can you be boring
when you have y’own stories & views
to tell as a unique individual?

Let Your Natural Spirit Shine

I feel a lot lighter
The world’s so much brighter
I stand before you as I am
as I go with the tide
You may embrace me in your arms
or elbow me aside

I just let my natural spirit shine
… untarnished
… unvarnished
… just as-is

(As I Am reworked)

Too Many Coffees 😩😪

My mind is stretched taut
and my focus is shot
in that weird twilight hour
from too many ☕☕☕
to try and compensate for
the shortage of 💤💤💤

The Girl I Loved

A girl once stole my heart
Her smile could light up a bazaar
She had a heart of gold
I knew, I could tell … even from afar

I got very little to say
certainly not my whole story
We went our own ways
The years buried the memory

She’s back now — happy chance
Wiser, more self-assured
Kindness ringing in her voice
Just as sweet as before

She laughed at my jokes
I laughed at hers
Better not feed any hopes
Only makes it worse

I feel I’ve lost something
She’s now with another
I’d no claim on her back then
And can’t make her mine ever

If I only had more pluck …
More courage …
But I cannot go back
Things have changed
A new day is about to break
Watch the sun blaze

Don't Reinvent Yourself; Uninvent Yourself. Be Water, My Friend.

Image Credits:

• Bruce Lee in various stances
• Hema Malini from the Kent RO Purifier ad
• Water Background

The Extra

The sky was gray. A cool breeze was blowing. It was going to rain. A man was sitting at a lone table in Angelo's Bar looking out of the window.

It was a shady place. A dim tube light filled the bar with gloom. There was a low chatter and the clinking of glasses. Business as usual.

The man came out of his reverie. He smoothed his shirt, ran his hand through his hair, and hailed the bartender. He ordered a whiskey and drank it down in one gulp. He sat still for a minute or two and then ordered a couple more rounds in quick succession.

Mr. Shah was sitting two tables away. He watched the whiskeys disappear one after the other. He was intrigued and decided to go over to the man's table.

***

"Can I join you?", he said drawing up a chair. "You look troubled."

"Oh no, nothing of the sort. I am surprised no one recognizes me here."

"I am sorry, but I ..."

He came forward and said, "Here, take a good look at me... No? I'm Tapan Das... the actor!"

"Sorry that still doesn't ring a bell. I'm not much of a movie buff, I'm afraid."

"Come, come, even you must have heard of such hits as ... uh ... 'Come Run Away With Me' and ... uh... 'A Traitor On Trial'. You haven't? Well, what a shame!... I rarely get on TV. Of course there's a bundle to be made in TV ads. Just look at Adil Raja. His face is on every goddamn product in the market! Toothpastes, shaving cream, cell phones, TVs, fridges...oh, you just can't get away from him. At any given moment, Adil Raja's stupid mug is peering into thousands of households across the country."

"I was curious why you ..."

Mr. Das, however, carried on, "Have you ever taken Lawrence Road? Why, down that road, there is a big billboard with me holding up a bottle of whiskey! In fact it is the same brand as this here."

"Oh!... I never noticed that.", Mr Shah replied, slowly rubbing his chin. "Anyway that's what I wanted to ask you about. The whiskey. Things been rough lately?"

"You know how things are in the movie business. The shooting of my latest film got delayed. The heroine threw a tantrum on the set. She got into a fight with one of the extras and slapped him. Oh, but the maharani wasn't satisfied with that! Had him roughed up and thrown out by security. Poor fellow, poor fellow... said he ruined her priceless sari with his greasy fingers. ...
I am a trained actor, you know. Not like that talentless bitch who's just just fallen out of a long line of rich bastards. A trained actor ...."

Mr. Das was working himself into a frenzy. As he spoke, the spittle shot in all directions. He rocked in his chair and jabbed his finger in Mr. Shah's direction. Mr Shah was starting to feel a little uneasy.

The wind outside threatened to knock out the power. The tube light blinked like a man in disbelief. It cast long shadows that reached into the corners and seemed to jump back in alarm.

Mr Das continued, "When I used to perform at the theatre, people used to sit on the edge of their seats. And when the curtains fell, the applause... oh, the applause, it would boom up to the heavens!! Do you know how I got my first break?"

"Umm... no.", Mr Shah managed to get out.

"It was the third night at the Crown. Hamlet. Mr Varma - he's a famous director... never mind - was sitting in the audience. He signed me on his next movie right then."

Then, suddenly, without warning, he stood up and began to recite:
"What a piece of work is man, how noble in reason, 
how infinite in faculties, in form and moving, 
how express and admirable in action, how like an angel in apprehension, 
how like a God!..."

***

After that performance, Mr. Das lapsed into his chair. He downed the last of his whiskey, leaned forward and stared at the space between his knees.

Mr. Shah was completely taken aback. He looked silently across the table for a few minutes but Mr. Das didn't budge.

After a long time, Mr. Das raised his head. There was a remarkable change in his expression. The glazed look on his face melted into a wide smile. His ears were buzzing. He heard his name being called out repeatedly. He saw the bottom of the glass rising up towards him. He tenderly turned the glass over in his hands and kissed it.

"Huh... what?"

"Mr. Das... Mr. Das... Mr. Das, get up! It is time to leave. The bar is closing."

The rain smote the window like a thousand clapping hands. The tube light flashed furiously like a mad photographer. It could well have been the night of the Film Awards.