Main janda, tainu aaj/Peer hundi/Dil tere uthdi ek/Cheez
(I know today you/have pain/in your heart rises/a pang)
And goes on to further accept the fact that this is difficult, that the time, the events, the circumstances, are akin to storms, raging across your word. The next two stanzas describe the betrayal and struggle a woman feels when one she treasured, loved, showered affection on, is the one that causes her this pain, this suffocation, this trauma (and Rabbi maintains the gentle tone of, “yes I know its hard”).
Main Janda Aunde/Din ‘ch tufan kei/Kuch Sujda Na/Uddi ey reit
(I know in the day/arrive many storms/you can think nothing/and there’s just sand)
Rakhdi ti jisne tu/Saambh Saambh/Ghut ghut seene naal/La
Kal jo si sohna/Sagna da haar tera/Ajj ban gia/Gall da o faah
(What you guarded/with great care/against your bosom/very close
What was yesterday/a lucky necklace/is today a noose/around the neck)
The chorus stanza comes next and is simply uplifting, and the music changes, complementing the tone, as it becomes encouraging, telling Ballo that all of this is karma, and this too will pass, as long she faces it with dignity and strength.
Ni Ballo/Ni Ballo/Gham khada/Ey tan lekha si/Karma da/Vekh lai jar lai/Ihnu khirhe mathhey/Beetaga sama/Hovange/Katthey
(O Ballo/O Ballo/Why this sadness/This is just cause/And effect/See it, feel it/Raise your chin/This time will pass/We shall be/Together)
The next stanzas couple stanzas hold the most meaning for me, and are quite powerful yet simple. Again, I am amazed by just the depth and feel, and how does one convey so much in such few words? And exactly what is needed to be said and heard?
Main janda dabbian tu/Kai yadan/Jo suttian na gaian/taithon
O aundian ne kandhan tapp/jadon meetein tun akhan/jadon laven foki mattan/maithon
(I know you buried/many memories/that you couldn’t/throw away
They come climbing walls/when you close your eyes/or when you listen to my/empty advices)
See what I mean? I may be getting too excited in my love for this song, but I personally have the impression that for a lot of women, this song is almost like what Killing Me Softly describes (for those who are fans of that song). In a song being played, you hear and feel like your own emotions have been stripped open. Except Ballo is not just empathic but aims to say “Its okay, and you can’t let this bring you down.” Yes, it is a struggle, and yes, it is a constant fight within you. As the next stanzas describe, you constantly judge yourself, debate yourself, accuse and sentence yourself. You try to find your faults one day, and another day blame the one who hurt you; one day you attack yourself and blame it all on your own doings, another day its not you…and yet, there is never a resolution, it is never over.
Kardi ein nitt tu/Mukadma/Kardi ein tikhian/Jirha
Kade akhein dokhi/Kade kar devein bari/Par hovey na/Koi faisla
(Everyday you/Litigate/Everyday a sharp/Debate
Sometimes its guilty/Sometimes its innocent/But never a/Resolution)
Again, the chorus comes in, and tells Ballo to lift her chin up and face the time, because this will pass.
And the last stanzas are both empowering and desolate. Rabbi ends with words that leave you both saddened, and also strangely stronger.
Tera maseeha/Bane das kivein koi/Duniya sabh bhulli firdi
Khud varke tainu folne painu/Khud painde tainu chalne paine/Navein akhar gharne paine
(Who tell me/Can be your messiah/When all are as lost
You’ll have to turn the pages yourself/You’ll have to journey yourself/Shape your own script)
It is the truth, and it is delivered like a soft blow at the end of a motivational speech. Ballo, there is indeed only you. Only you can control your life, pick up the pieces, create your world and your journey, clean up the messes and answer your own questions. We are all lost beings, and we cannot guide each other, and while we feel pain and hurt by each other, we are all on an equal footing, just trying to make our way and live our life.
