Zindagi Pyar Ka Geet Hai English Translation

Zindagi Pyaar Ka Geet Hai, translates to English as, Life is a Song of Love, and was featured in the 1983 film Souten. There are two versions of this song, the happy fast tempo version sung by Lata Mangeshkar, and the sad slow tempo sung by Kishor Kumar. Both versions have profoundly meaningful lyrics, however I prefer the sad one. With hindsight, people will remember this as a big song for an average film. The sad slow version is by far better and the acting skills of the late Rajesh Khanna augments it well. This is one of those songs that become more meaningful as you get older. When I first heard it in the 80s I knew exactly what it meant, however today, it holds more meaning for me, as it will for many of you. This is an extremely sad song, which often brings a tear or two, to those who understand it.

Zindagi pyaar ka geet hai,

Life is (gods) song of love,

Ise her dil ko gana padega.

That every heart has to sing.

Zindagi ghum ka sagar bhi hai,

Life is also an ocean of sorrows,

Haske us paar jana padega.

(Which) with a smile, we have to cross to the other side.

"Padega" approximates to "will have to". This is not because we necessarily want to, but we have no choice over the matter.

Zindagi ek ehsaas hai,

Life is a form of medicine,

Toote dil ki koi aas hai.

It is the answer to a broken heart.

Zindagi ek banwaas hai,

Life is a (lonely) exile,

Kaat kar sabko jana padega.

Everyone has to cut ties and go (alone).

In the end, we are all alone, because god casts us out into this world and when our time is up, we have to cut our ties and go back alone to the other side.

Zindagi bewafaa hai to kya?

So what if life is unfair?

Life is often unfair; it deals you bad cards, sometimes in life you can lose without making any mistakes. You might lose that job because of racists, or not get the career you wanted because of bigots. There is an ocean of unfair things that can happen, but you have to keep moving forward until you reach the other side. For one thing, life is also a promise (vachaan) to god, which requires fulfilling.

Apne ruthe hai hamse to kya?

So what if those we love do not love us back?

Sometimes in life, we have to do our duty by our loved ones, and we get nothing for it. They may not even love us back...

Haath me haath na ho to kya?

So what if we are not (together) hand in hand?

Saath phir bhi nibhana padega.

We will still have to fulfil it (life).

Although "saath" approximates to "together", it translates better as "we". No matter what happens we all have to fulfil it. It does not matter whether you are the Queen, or Prince Charles, or the great and legendary Peter Vis, we all have to fulfil life, and are governed by the same rules.

Zindagi ek muskan hai,

Life is a smile,

When life smiles at you, when you are crossing an ocean of sorrows, the only thing you can do is smile back, even though there is pain in your heart. If one day you find yourself in fields of gold with the sun shining on your back then do not fear for your journey is over and you are already in heaven.

Dard ki koi pehchaan hai.

It is the recognition of suffering.

Zindagi ek mehmaan hai,

Life is a guest,

Chhod sansaar jana padega.

that (eventually) has to leave the world...

A guest (mehmaan) does not own or possess anything and eventually leaves. Similarly, we too are guests in this earthly existence, and one day, we will have to say our goodbyes and leave.

However, there is always a much brighter side to life, as my mother always reminds me, Jiska jitna ho aanchal yahaan per, Usko saugaat utni milegi. :-) If you are listening to the Lata version, then lookout for the following lines which are my favourite.

Hai agar duur manzil to kya?

So what if the destination is far?

rastaa bhi hai mushkil to kya?

(and) so what if the road is also full of difficulties?

Raat taaro bhari naa mila to,

(If) our night-sky is not filled with stars,

Dil ka dipak jalana padega.

(then) we have to burn the light in our heart (to illuminate the way).