When Mumbiram and Vrinda were living in Raut gully in Akshi a Marathi song with a catchy tune that was being played on the radio captured their attention. It was of the contemporary Marathi genre. It could have been called Bhava Geet. It was different than most Marathi love songs. In the typical Marathi love song the lady shyly requests the ‘prince of the fairy tale’ to appear in her dreams. Any real meeting between the protagonists is at best a distant possibility ! The refrain of this song, on the other hand, insists:
“Let me keep looking at you !”
“बघत राहु दे तुझ्याकडे”
That would have been an admirable line in a love song in any language anywhere in the world. It was especially so in a Marathi love song. At the first opportune time Mumbiram captured onto his cassette recorder most of the song as it played on the radio. The rest of the words were also amazing:
बघत राहु दे तुझ्याकडे
आज अकल्पित भेट घडे
भेट घडे ॥ध्रुव॥
दुःख न उरले सरली भीती
अंगांगातुन भरली प्रीती
धुंद गंध हा चहूंकडे
चहूंकडे॥१॥
बघत राहु दे तुझ्याकडे
आज अकल्पित भेट घडे
भेट घडे ॥ध्रुव॥
Let me keep looking at you
We are meeting today so unexpectedly
We are meeting II Refrain II
Suddenly all my sorrows and fears have disappeared
Every pore of my body is filled with Love
And a maddening fragrance is inundating the ambiance II 1 II
Let me keep looking at you
We are meeting today so unexpectedly
We are meeting II Refrain II
गीत स्फुरे कंठातुनि कोमल
पंखांनही येइ नवे बळ
उल्लंघाया उंच कडे
उंच कडे॥२॥
बघत राहु दे तुझ्याकडे
आज अकल्पित भेट घडे
भेट घडे ॥ध्रुव॥
A soft mellow song is emanating from the depths of my soul
And my wings are getting full of such incredible strength
That I feel I could fly over the tallest and steepest precipices II 2 II
Let me keep looking at you
We are meeting today so unexpectedly
We are meeting II Refrain II
सत्य भेटले सौंदर्याला
अंकुर फुटले माधुर्याला
हर्षसागरी गगन बुडे
गगन बुडे ॥3॥
बघत राहु दे तुझ्याकडे
आज अकल्पित भेट घडे
भेट घडे ॥ध्रुव॥
Oho, here Beauty is meeting Truth
And Sweetness is sprouting New Tender Shoots
This is the limit. The very Sky is drowning in the surging Ocean of Joy II 3 II
Let me keep looking at you
We are meeting today so unexpectedly
We are meeting II Refrain II
सत्य भेटले सौंदर्याला
अंकुर फुटले माधुर्याला
हर्षसागरी गगन बुडे
गगन बुडे ॥3॥
बघत राहु दे तुझ्याकडे
आज अकल्पित भेट घडे
भेट घडे ॥ध्रुव॥
Oho, here Beauty is meeting Truth
And Sweetness is sprouting New Tender Shoots
This is the limit. The very Sky is drowning in the surging Ocean of Joy II 3 II
Let me keep looking at you
We are meeting today so unexpectedly
We are meeting II Refrain II
Mumbiram and Vrinda were feeling high on each other. When they would be passing a home hidden behind the lush foliage typical of Konkan the inhabitants would be peeping out of the verandahs at this unusual, happy couple. Mumbiram would surprise them with the lines:
“Let me keep looking at you !” “बघत राहु दे तुझ्याकडे”
It was only after many years that Mumbiram discovered the origins of this song. It is not at all about any mundane boy meets girl affair. It appears in a Marathi movie from the fifties. The black-and-white movie is called ‘Subhadra Haran’. It is about an episode from the Mahabharat where Krishna’s cousin and best friend Arjuna abducts Krishna’s sister Subhadra. Subhadra is already in love with Arjuna. But Krishna’s brother Balaram wants to get her married to the evil Duryodhana instead. Arjuna and Subhadra are meeting in the forest, away from the palaces where they reside. It is the first time they are meeting in solitude in such intimacy. They are fully experiencing the power and magic of Love that liberates, invigorates and gives expression to eternal aspirations of the soul in beautiful creative ways.
Arjuna and Subhadra are both singing the song together, taking turns in saying to each other: “Let me keep looking at you !” The whole song is about the thrill of unexpected meeting of two lovers against all odds. They are not praising each other, they don’t even mention each other. They are neither unsure nor shy about each other. They are quite picturesque in expressing to each other the joy of their meeting. Mumbiram liked the song without knowing the composer or the singer or the context of the song such as who is supposed to be addressing each other in the song.
