Agony, embrace and love - Aaj Sajan Mohe Ang laga lo

I have always maintained that songs in Indian movies are a part of story telling and its roots are age old, nothing new that Bollywood started. I was listening to an interview of Prasoon Joshi (poet) on Vividh-Bharti, where he said that Bollywood uses their songs as a medium to convey things which they cannot formulate in dialogues and give it a more subtle form, like the song “aaj sajan mohey ang laga lo”. For a moment I was mesmerized when I heard this, the video of the song was floating in front of my eyes and I thought, "wow!, really any dialogue wouldn't have done justice to entire scene and the emotions behind it if this song wouldn't have been playing in the background."

The song which literally means, “embrace me in your arms, my beloved,”  from the movie Pyaasa (1957) is one my favorite song. It not only pours out the misery of a woman who is apart from her beloved (or seeking to be loved) but also the passion and essence of submissive love.
The song comes in the movie at a time when Gulabo (played by Waheeda Rehman) realizes her love for Vijay (played by Guru Dutt), who despite the fact that she is a prostitute respects her and saves her from a harassing police constable by telling she is his wife, which leaves gulabo surprised by this gesture of the poet she secretly admired.The devotional song being performed by the baul singers in the background while Gulabo is manifesting her emotions for Vijay. Their romantic relationship is given a spiritual dimension by the director, where he simultaneously shows a baul singer singing the song with full devotion (probably for Lord Krishna) and while Gulabo sees Vijay as the person whom she loves and he is the man who can pour all the unconditional love on her.

Taken the words literally,  they might not sound the same, I remember how my friend and I sang a remix version of the song and fell down laughing because it sounded so sleazy. Putting things in a different context can really hamper the meaning but to listen to the song a only makes you realize the profound love, passion and bliss the song has.Not only is it the brilliance of song and the music but also the direction, which makes the song come alive, as if the bauls are singing knowing the misery Gulabo is going through.

There are moments in life where one need nothing but a hug. Miseries, agony are not seeking anyone's advice but just a hug to assure that you are not alone in it.  But this song is like a Eureka moment when one realizes true and infinite love for someone and knows that the comfort to all miseries is in the love that  beloved can give.

*I wrote this in 2009 but publishing here after ages with some editing.