Pal Pal Dil Ke Paas English Translation

Pal pal dil ke paas, tum rehti ho, translates to English as; you remain close to my heart every second. I remember listening to this for the first time in 1973, and thinking how clever and exquisitely beautiful these kalyanji-anandji lyrics are. The repetition of pal (second) is simply a poetic of way of expressing every second. In this case, it means that she remains close (paas) to his heart (dil) every second. This of course means that he is in love and thinking of her every second, during which time, he has a new appreciation for life with every second reminding him sweet... thirst... life... Consequently, each second gives him a sweet thirst for life.

Love is that special time, when there is that awakening and connection that occurs which keeps you in wonder. It makes you wonder whether it is real and actually happening, and consequently it can appear surreal to some people. For the most part, the lyrics are simple to understand as he is simply describing the typical symptoms of a man who is in love. In some places the translation comes out in reverse, hence the third line corrects it.

Meaning, Context, and Approximations

The most difficult part to translate was, mujhe baandh lo, bandhan mein, which comes out as tie me in bondage, which many people write. However, in the UK, that means something completely different :-) However a more polished approximation would be, take my hand in marriage.

For maheka I decided to use the Urdu meaning mahek which approximates to aroma. This is as in mahekta which approximates to aromatic.

Pal, second, or a moment

Pyaas, thirst

Paas, near

Anchal, end part of sari used as a head covering, which we simplify to scarf for simplicity

Lahariye, waves, flutters

Baraat, procession, or succession

Khushboo, fragrance

Paigham, message

Rishta, connection, or relationship

Angan, courtyard, I use garden for simplicity

Dhadkan, heart beat

Begane, others’, as in belonging to others

Iqrar, accept, agree, or confess

Itna, this much

Jalne, burn

Parwane, moths

Khwabon, dream

English Translation

Pal, pal, dil ke paas, tum rehti ho,

Every second, close in my heart, you remain,

You remain close to my heart every second,

jeevan, mithi, pyaas, ye kehti ho...

saying, life... sweet... thirst...

Har shyam, aankhon per, tera anchal lahariye,

Every evening, upon my eyes, your scarf flutters,

Your scarf flutters over my eyes every evening,

Har raat, yaadon ki baaraat, le aaye.

Every night, procession of memories, it brings.

Every night bringing a procession of sweet memories.

Main saans leta hoon, teri khushboo aati hai,

Every breath I take, I receive your fragrance,

ek maheka maheka sa, paigham latee hai,

(and) each and every aroma, brings a message,

mere dil kee dhadkan bhi, tere geet gaati hai.

the beat of my heart too, sings (this) song to you.

Kal tujhko dekha tha, maine apne angan mein,

Yesterday I saw you, in our garden,

jaise keh rahee thi tum, mujhe baandh lo, bandhan mein.

as if you were saying, take my hand in marriage.

Yeh kaisa rishta hai, yeh kaise sapne hain,

What is this connection, whose dream is this,

begane ho kar bhi, kyun lagte apne hain,

they belong to others, (but) why do they feel like mine,

main soch mein rehta hoon, dar dar ke kehta hu.

I remain in wonder, very fearfully saying.

Tum sochogi, kyu itna, main tumse pyar karoon,

You are wondering, why this much, I love you,

You are wondering why I love you so much,

tum samjhoge deewana, main bhi iqrar karoon.

you are thinking (I am) mad... (and) I too have the same opinion.

Deewano ki yeh baatein, deewane jante hai,

This is the talk of those madly in love, (that only the) crazy in love understand,

jalne mein kya maza hai, parwane jante hai,

the joys of burning, only the moths understand,

what the joys of burning are, are known by the moths only,

tum yun hi jalate rehna, aa aa kar khwabon mein.

similarly, you keep me burning, by continually entering my dreams.