shant zarukhe - gazal

this is one of the most beautiful gujarati gazal i have ever heard... there aren't enough words to describe the romance and beauty of this song..

lyricist : saif palanpuri

singer : manhar udhas

in the song the poet describes a girl he notices in a 'jharukha' (small windows in a palace or house) and goes on to tell us about her... describing her beauty and the feelings she generates in his heart... the way she influences the animate and inanimate things around her... making us feel as if he is in love with her... making us wonder what happens to the girl and her relationship with him...

later on the poet talks about the years gone by... when he returns to the same place... the same jharukha... and the song takes a sad turn as he does not see the girl there anymore... he describes how the place is empty without her... how there is no life around him anymore... making us feel as if his love is lost forever... there is no song in his life anymore... no beauty in anything that he notices around him...

the last part of the song stuns the listeners, when the poet says the girl was not his lover nor his wife... he just knew her from the window... he did not even know her name...

but still his heart felt lonely... he still felt that his world was barren without her.. the void that could never be filled...

leaving the listeners sad as we feel his heartbreaking tale...

Shant zarukhe vat nirakhti
 roop ni rani joi hati,
 me ek sahejadi joi hati.  
 
she was standing quietly at the jharukha when i noticed her,
she was a beautiful queen,
a princess 
 
ena hath ni mahendi hasti ti,  
eni ankh nu kajal hastu tu, 
 ek nanu sarkhu upvan jane,  
mausam joi vikastu tu.
 
the mehendi on her hands kept laughing, 
the kajal in her eyes kept smiling, 
when she was around a small beautiful garden would flower and grow more beautiful, 
as if her presence changed the season to spring  
 
ena smit ma sou sou geet hata,  
eni chupki thi sangit hati,  
ene padchaya ni hati lagan, 
 ene pagrav sathe preet hati.
 
her smile could make hundreds of songs,
her silence had music in it,
her shadow loved her too
the sound of her feet made everyone fall in love with her.
 
Ena yaad na asopalav thi, 
 ek swapn mahel shangaryoto, 
 jara najar ne nichi rakhi ne 
 ene samay ne roki rakhyoto.
 
Her memories had built a dream palace (in my mind)
which she decorated with the leaves of asopalav plant (cypress)
her eyes kept low,
she had even managed to hold back time (for him)   
 
Ae moja jem uchaltiti,  
ne pavan ni jem laheratiti,  
koi hasi ne same ave to,  
bahu pyar bharyu sharmati ti.
 
She moves like the waves of the sea
and like the brezze blowing,
and if someone came smiling towards her,
she would give him a loving smile..  
 
Ene youvan ni ashish hati, 
ene sarv balao dur hati,  
ena prem ma bhagidar thava, 
 khud kudrat pan aatur hati.
 
she had the blessings of youth
and the evil eye never touched her,
and even 'nature' was excited,
to fall in love with her..
 
Varso baad farithi aje ej jarukho joyo che.....
 tya geet nathi, sangeet nathi,  
tya pagrav sathe preet nathi,  
tya swapnao na mahel nathi ne,  
ne urmio na khel nathi.  
 
the years have passed now.. and i am standing at the same jharukha..
but theres no song and music now,
no love for the sound of her feet,
no dream palaces
and no play of her smile.  
 
Bahu sunu sunu lage che  
bahu vasmu vasmu lage che.
 
it feel lonely now,
the (heart) feels desolated..  
 
Ae nahoti mari premika ke 
 nahoti mari dulhan,  
meito ane matr jarookhe  
vaat nirkhti joi hati,  
kon hati a naam hatu shu,  
a pan hu kya janu chu......
 
She wasn't my lover,
nor my dulhan, (wife)
i just know her through the jharukha,
i don't know her name  
 
Tem chata a dil ne aaje  vasmu vasmu lage che,  
bahu sunu sunu lage che.
 
Even then my heart feels the desolation,
the loneliness and the sadness of her not being around..