Jhin Min Jhini is my favorite song from Maqbool. The scene is a bridal function. Sameera ia due to marry her sweetheart Guddu and there is an air of merriment around the house. People have come a-visiting, great quantities of biryani and delicious sweetmeats are being cooked in the courtyard and everyone is overjoyed. The women of the house have gathered in an adjacent courtyard. Much teasing is going on, some women are applying henna and then the song begins. The tone is a little cheeky and teasing and playful and then a couple of stanzas into the song, it tapers off into the extraordinary Amir Khusro composition Aaj Rung Hain. Legend has it that Khusro searched long and hard for his preceptor and when he finally chanced on him, he experienced such bliss that this song originated and he sang it to his mother when he returned home.
Aaj rung hain, e maa, rung hain,
Mere mehboob ke ghar rung hain,
Des bides mein dhoondhe phiree hoon,
Woh to jab dekhoon more sung hain…
There is such a glow today, O Mother, such a glow,
Such a glow in my beloved’s home,
I wandered here and abroad searching,
But he is with me, whenever I look…
Although the word ‘Rung’ stands for color, it is being used in a larger context here. Or so I read online in various forums. ‘Rung’ here signifies a glow, a different quality of beauty, a kind of gorgeousness. Such is the delight of Khusro when he meets his Pir, Nizamuddin Aulia that he refers to him as his mehboob or beloved.
It is an interesting juxtaposition of poetry: on one hand, you have women teasing a young girl who is about to marry her beloved and on the other hand, you have Khusro’s magnificent exulation at having already met his beloved.
The song ends with,
Mohe piri paayo,
Nizamuddin Aulia, Qutubuddin Aulia, Fareeduddin Aulia, Allaudin Aulia, Naseeruddin Aulia
Allah ka pyaara woh to, jag ujiyaara woh to, jag ujiyaara,
Aaj rung hain, e maa, rung hain,
Mere mehboob ke ghar rung hain…
I have found my Pir,
Nizamuddin Aulia, Qutubuddin Aulia, Fareeduddin Aulia, Allaudin Aulia, Naseeruddin Aulia,
He is the darling of Allah, the light of the world, the light of the world,
There is such a glow today, O Mother, such a glow,
Such a glow in my beloved’s home…
Such is the bliss at having found one’s Guru or to be more precise, being found by one’s Guru!
inspirethoughts says:
Beautifully explained!
August 13, 2008 — 5:08 pm
Lakshmi says:
Thanks…!
August 13, 2008 — 9:41 pm
arunshanbhag says:
Very nicely done!
as I first read it, I too thought ‘glow’ did not fit well and was thinking of “Joy” in a broad sense; but you are right, difficult to translate and maintain context;
Such is the delight of Khusro when he meets his Pir, Nizamuddin Aulia that he refers to him as his mehboob or beloved.
in the bhakti tradition, many devotees have explained their love for Krishna, as if he were their lover – thus the popularity of the love of Radha for Krishna;
I think it was Tukaram who said that he considers himself married to Vithal of Pandhapur, “Vithal is my everything, ..” (or something like that).
Great to see the universality of bhakti.
August 13, 2008 — 8:14 pm
Lakshmi says:
Oh yes, the Ras Leela is essentially an expression of that same love, isn’t it? Where each Gopi saw Krishna as her beloved and He graciously multiplied His form and danced with each one of them… such bliss!
August 13, 2008 — 9:43 pm