Dost Dost Na Raha English Translation

Dost, dost naa raha was a song released in 1970, written by the talanted Shailendra, and sung by the great Mukesh. It appears in two albums, Sangam, and Mera Naam Joker. These films had a common motif, which examines trust and faithfulness. It examines why humans often lack these qualities and how money changes people for the good, and often for the worse. It explores why friends do not stay friends forever and love does not remain the same type of love forever, and everything is subject to change.

The nature of our existence is that everything must change and we must embrace this change and move along with it. We are moving through not only time and space, but also through quantum realities, that we created with our own decision-making. Perhaps humankind will understand this better in the future, but until that day comes...

I remember listening to this song on a valve radio when I was a little whippersnapper, and subsequently saw the film Mera Naam Joker. The one outstanding point I remember in the film was that if you feed hungry dog bread, it remains your faithful friend for life, but human beings can turn against you and become unfaithful no matter how much you have done for them.

Dost, dost naa raha,

Friend, did not remain as friend,

pyaar, pyaar naa raha.

love, did not remain as love.

zindagee hame teraa aitbar naa raha

life, I did not (even) remain faithful to you

He is telling life that he is disillusioned and that he has lost faith in it.

Amaanatein main pyaar ki, gaya tha jisko saunp kar

In trust, I gave my love, to look after

Amaanat approximates to something you hold for someone in trust. He is saying that he gave his love to someone to hold in trust to look after.

Woh mere dost tum hee thee, tumhee toh thee

That friend was you, was it not?

Jo jindagee kee rah me, bane the mere hamsafar

Who was my path (guide) in life, (and) became my fellow-traveller

Woh mere dost tum hee thee, tumhee toh thee

That friend was you, was it not?

Sare bhed khul gaye, rajdar naa raha

All the secrets are open; nothing confidential remained

Galaa lagi sahan sahan

(She) embracing softly, softly,

bhare gale se bol ke

with a full throat she said

Woh tum na thi to kaun tha, tumhi to thi

If that was not you then who was it? It was you.

"Bhare gale" approximates to "full throat", it is an elaborate way to describe when someone is trying to hold back crying and have a knot in their throat. However, words for knot or chocking would not sound so well...

Safar ke waqt mein palak, pe motiyo ko taulti

When we were travelling, without hesitation, you valued me equal to pearls.

"Palak" approximates to eyelid to represent a moment (pal), or the blink of an eyelid. It means immediately which implies without hesitation.

"Taulti" approximates to weigh, value, or measure. It is also when someone holds another in high or low estimation. In this case, she held him in high estimation to pearls.

Woh tum na thi to kaun tha, tumhi to thi

If that was not you then who was it? It was you.

Nashe ki raat dhhal gayi, ab khumaar na raha

The high of the night has subsided, even intoxication did not remain

Zindagi hamein tera, aitbar na raha, aitbar na raha...

life, I did not (even) remain faithful to you, did not remain faithful...