Likhe Jo Khat Tujhe Lyrics English Translation

Likhe jo khat tujhe..., translates to English as, if I write a letter to you... It is a Hindi song from the film Kanyadan, and sung by Mohmmad Rafi. The lyrics start out with the boy saying that if he writes a letter, and thinks of his sweetheart, then thoughts about her turn into beautiful scenic images consisting of thousands of colours. Essentially, he starts daydreaming because he is in love with her. In the lyrics he then describes these colourful scenes that he imagines. Near the ending he says, meri duniya, yeh nazare hai, my world, has these views/images...

Decoding the second line hazaron rang ke, nazare ban gaye is very tricky to get right, which surprisingly nobody seems to have! Many online translations confuse nazare to sight. Sight is usually basar in Urdu, alternatively diidaar, however it can be nazar but very occasionally as a secondary meaning, and even then one would be walking on very thin ice. Nazzaarah or manzar is usually scenery view in Urdu. In Arabic, it becomes nadzara and mandzara respectively. That is why I translate nazare to scenery views. In addition, that whole line comes out in reverse in the translation, and hence I write a second line to show how to rearrange it to the correct syntax.

hazaron rang ke, nazare ban gaye

of thousands of colours, turn into (beautiful) scenery views

turn into (beautiful) scenery views, of thousands of colours

As you can see above, if you do not rearrange the terms correctly, then you get nonsensical meanings. Therefore in the first two lines he is essentially saying that if I write a letter to you, then thoughts about you turn into scenic images consisting of thousands of colours. In short, we can say colourful vivid images come to his mind.

Goonja is one of those difficult words to get right because there are many versions of it. For example in Urdu Gunja is a bald person, and if you used that, then your translation gets a totally unique meaning! In Urdu Guunj means echo, as in baaz-gasht... Goonja in Hindi also has colloquial meanings that are totally opposite. Hence, whilst it can mean a low echoing sound such as that made by an angel from a distance, it can also mean a loud bellowing resonant noise such as that made by an angry elephant. Therefore, the question really becomes, what kind of sound reminds you of your sweetheart. :-)

Meaning and Context

Angdai, yawning and stretching, or sigh for simplicity sake

Nazare, scenery views, images, paintings, landscapes, vistas... I am adding beautiful to it as a clue just to make it a little easier to understand, though the views described in the lyrics are all beautiful anyway.

Khat, letter

Jannat (Urdu), heaven (where God lives)

Bikhri (Hindi), spread, scattered. In Urdu scattered is abtar

Goojna (Hindi), echoed, or echo from a far.

Ithlana, the way a person walks, strut, parade

Zulf lehraye, approximates to freeing and letting your hair down

Fiza (Urdu), surroundings

Sawan, rainy month which we simplify to rain in this context

Daman, end part of the sari... In the video, you can see him holding onto it

Tersaker, making people thirsty, I simplify to alluring for simplicity sake

Chatki, chaska, shine

English Translation

Likhe jo khat tujhe, voh teri yad mein,

If I write a letter to you, those thoughts about you,

hazaron rang ke, nazare ban gaye.

turn into (beautiful) scenery views, of thousands of colours.

Sawera jab hua, to phool ban gaye,

When it was morning, they turned into flowers,

jo raat aayi to, sitare ban gaye.

if night came, then they became stars.

Koi nagma, kahi goonja,

When any song echoed anywhere,

kaha dil mein, yeh too aayi.

it told my heart, that you came.

Kahi chatki, kali koi,

When any flower bud shined anywhere,

main yeh samjha, tu sharmayi.

I understood this, that you were feeling shy.

Koyi khushboo, kahi bikhri,

When any fragrance spread anywhere,

laga yeh zulf lehraye.

it seemed you let your hair free.

Fiza rangeen, ada rangeen,

Your surroundings colourful, your charms colourful,

yeh itlana, yeh sharmana,

this walk, this shyness,

yeh angdayi, yeh tanhayi,

this sigh, this lonliness,

yeh tersakar, chale jana,

this alluring, and then walking away,

bana dega nahin kisko, jawan jadu ye diwana.

whom would this youthful magic not make anyone love crazy?

Jahan tu hai, wahan main hoon,

Where you are, there I am,

mere dil ki, tu dhadkan hai.

you are the beat of my heart.

Musafir main, tu manzil hai,

(If) I were a traveller, (then) you are (my) destination,

main pyasa hoon, tu sawan hai.

If I was thirsty, then you are the rain.

Meri duniya, yeh nazare hai,

My world, has these views/images,

meri jannat, yeh daman hai.

my heaven, is this end part of your sari.

my heaven, is by your side.