Hindi cinema has many ‘Tere Mere’ songs – ‘Tere mere sapne’, ‘Tere mere milan’, ‘Tere mere beech’, the list is endless. However, one last song I discovered from the movie ‘Goldfish’ might beat all the other ‘Tere meres’!
Papon sings in his timbre voice, “Tere mere ishq ka qissa abhi bana nahi” (The story of our love is not yet written). Composed by Tapas Relia, the song is titled “Taiy nahi kiya abhi” which translates to “I have not decided yet” – whether I am a passionate Heer or a detached fakir, Krishna’s devotee Meera or the poet Mir, whether I bring salvation or damnation, or even whether I exist or not.
The song is intimate, romantic and carries the melancholy of longing that reflects the protagonist Sadhana’s state of deep concern and pensiveness. Kauser Munir’s lyrics capture the unresolved emotions between mother and daughter, torn between the desire to embrace and the reluctance to embrace, their desperate need to unite and their struggle with feelings of insecurity, the result of past wounds that have not healed. The song also ensnares the audience’s discomfort – caught between a story they’d like to relate to and a reluctance that comes with being conditioned by society’s expectations. Taiy nahi kiya abhi…
While the album is steeped in evocative Hindustani classical, ‘Taiy nahi kiya abhi’ has ghazal undertones. Relia’s music plays quietly in the background as she acknowledges the gravity of silence. Notes and silence form a deep, intimate bond, just like Sadhana and Miku at the end of the film.
Song Stories is a monthly column that takes on an iconic number and explores why it still lives rent-free in our heads.
