Cover of Dil Se..

When Gulzar won the Oscar for Jai Ho (Slumdog Millionaire) he was asked in an interview what he considered his finest work was. He replied that it was Ae Ajnabi from Dil Se.

Ae Ajnabi has been my all time favorite song for a years now. When ever I listen to it there is a sense of awe to the beauty of the words and magic of the idea behind the song.

I couldnt think of a better song to finish this Month of Poetry Translation. I have a few translation requests which I will do over the coming weeks.

Here is the translation of Ae Ajnabi from 100 Lyrics.

Lyrics: Gulzar
Album: Dil Se
Music: A.R. Rehman
Vocals: Udit Narayan & Mahalakshmi Iyer

Aye ajnabi tu bhi kabhi aawaaz de kahin se
Main yahan tukdon mein jee raha hoon
Tu kahin tukdone mein jeen rahi hai

O stranger
Wherever you may be
Show me a sign
Roll out my name on your tongue

Look how I live my life-
in fragments, piecemeal
Is your life splintered too?

Roz roz resham si hawa aate jaate kehti hai bata
Resham si hawa kehti hai bata
Vo jo doodh dhuli masoom kali
Vo hai kahan kahan hai
Vo roshni kahan hai vo jaansi kahan hai
Main adhoora tu adhoori jee rahein hain

Day in and day out
The silken air brushes against me
and asks
Where is she-
That angelic, innocent bud
That glow, that glitter
That breath of your life?
Look how incomplete I am-
How incomplete you must be too

Tu to nahin hai lekin teri muskurahatein hain
Chehra nahin hai par teri aahatein hain
Tu hai kahan kahan hai
Tera nishaan kahan hai
Mera jahan kahan hai
Main adhoora tu adhoori jee rahein hain

You are not here-
Yet I see you smile
I dont see your face-
Yet I hear your footfall
Where may you be-
Where is your trail
Why must we live-
Two incomplete lives?

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