Hi Vaat Dur Jaate

 Hi Vaat Dur Jaate

ही वाट दूर जाते

Poet: Smt Shanta Shelke 

Music: Pandit Hridaynath Mangeshkar 

Voice: Smt Asha Bhonsle

This is a song I must have first heard as a teenager. It had a mysterious character that pulled me in. I began singing it. Over and over. In the bathroom. In company of family and friends. Somehow they too seemed to like hearing it from me. It sank deeper and deeper into me. As a melody. Never imagined it would sink much deeper in a whole different way, until today. I was trying to practice it after a long time as I showered. It requires the voice to flow through high notes and then suddenly take a dip, like an eagle flying high in the air taking a swift scoop to pick something from the ground. And then soaring up again to disappear from the view as it turns towards its nest. 

I have heard the words of this song through my ears in Ashatai’s voice hundreds of times and through my head as I made unashamed attempts to imitate her, another hundreds of times. But today as I let the voice glide through its melody, every word, every phrase was opening before me like a sacred book. I wonder what Shantabai had in mind when she wrote the lyrics. At what age she wrote them? Was she inspired in a particular moment? 

I will share here the meaning that was revealed to me unexpectedly today. But first the literal meaning. 

ही वाट दूर जाते स्वप्नामधील गावा

माझ्या मनातला का तेथे असेल रावा 

This path goes a long way, towards the village of my dreams.

I wonder if in that place lives the parrot my mind imagines to exist.

जेथे मिळे धरेला आभाळ वाकलेले

अस्ताचलास जेथे रविबिंब टेकलेले

जेथे खुळ्या ढगांनी रंगीन साज ल्याला

माझ्या मनातला का तेथे असेल रावा 

ही वाट दूर जाते….

Where the sky leans over to meet the earth

The golden disc of the sun is seen touching down at sunset

Where the crazy clouds have dressed up in colorful attire 

The parrot of my fantasy, wonder if  it dwells there? 

स्वप्नामधील गावा स्वप्नामधून जावे

स्वप्नातल्या प्रियाला मनमुक्त गीत गावे

स्वप्नातल्या सुखाचा स्वप्नीच वेध घ्यावा

माझ्या मनातला का तेथे असेल रावा 

ही वाट दूर जाते….

To reach the village of the dreams, one needs to go there through the dreams 

One should sing wholeheartedly to the beloved of one’s dreams 

One should follow the happiness of one’s dreams, but only in dreams. 

ही साउली उन्हाला कवळून बाहूपाशी 

लावून ओढ वेडी खग येती पोटराशी

एकेक चांदणीने नभदीप पांघरावा 

माझ्या मनातला का तेथे असेल रावा 

ही वाट दूर जाते….

( Note: This last stanza is not included in the recorded song in Ashatai’s voice.)

The shadow stands there in a tight embrace of the departing sunlight 

It creates a longing in the hearts of the birds to fly back to their offspring 

Each star seems to get cozy wrapping starlight around itself 

Here, you must have gathered by now that the poet has skillfully used verbal imagery to paint a poignant picture of a sunset.

As she watches the magic of the moment unfold before her eyes she muses about the dreams in her heart. A village faraway. A parrot that is a metaphor for freedom, happiness and dreams. A beloved she dreams of. The path stands as a metaphor for the future. 

The sky meeting the earth represents the meeting point of dreams with reality. The colorful clouds signify the vivid thoughts and memories gathering in the mind. The birds flying back to their nests is the awareness of tired working parents returning home to meet their children for who they were toiling outside all day so there would be food on the table. 

Sunset is called the golden hour. After a day, that typically scorches when the sun is above the head, finally this evening time brings a sense of relief, quiet and beauty. Mind that had been running all day trying to shoulder its mandatory responsibilities, finds a moment of solitude and a chance for reflection. The chatter of the world falls into the background and the heart’s voice is able to express itself. 

The same concept of a quiet hour after a long, busy day can be applied to the sunset of a lifetime. One has walked a long distance since birth, through childhood and adulthood and now the responsibilities have slowly been lifted. There is a future but it is uncertain. One is not sure where the road from this point leads to. 

As you stand at the threshold of a life lived adhering to ground realities you finally have the leisure to glance at those dreams that always seemed or proved too far out of reach. And so you allow the voice of your heart to speak. To express. To be heard finally. You allow yourself to acknowledge your own dreams. Dreams of enjoying endless freedom, boundless happiness and unlimited possibilities. A life with someone for whom your heart held much love. You wonder how it would be to experience it the way you had dreamed. Your mind gets crowded with lots of old memories and all sorts of new emotions that had no place in a life dictated by pragmatism. 

On one side you see this beautiful picture that allows your heart to come alive. On the other hand you see the birds pulled by maternal instincts towards their offspring, returning back to the nest. Attachment to your own children are sending a message. Dreams are dreams and realities are realities. Dreams are like balloons that would take you off your feet into the sky if you chase them. In contrast realities will 

The beautiful moment of sunset is slowly drifting away. Shadow is like the mind trying to hold on to the momentary beauty of the fleeting light, pleading it to not leave but helplessly growing darker and darker as it tugs at the horizon. And as one sees the magic of the moment diffuse before the eyes, another magic begins to unfold. The sky begins to slowly light up one star at a time, until the entire sky is covered by millions of tiny sparkling points of light. Each heavenly body seems to have wrapped the light around itself and made itself visible in the infinite scheme of things. You too are standing in the darkness and feel the light wrapping around you making you aware of your own presence. 

What a beautiful picture of human experience Shantabai has created! Just trying to read it in my small capacity makes me appreciate her genius in new light. 

But that wasn’t all. Over and above this interpretation, there was something about the lyrics that revealed to me today.

I see that there are three realities of existence. One is the ground reality or practical reality or in Marathi what one may call व्यावहारिक सत्य. Second is the imagined reality or illusory reality or भ्रम or काल्पनिक सत्य. And third is the absolute reality or eternal reality or divine truth or पारमार्थिक सत्य. 

The song conveys a whole different meaning when viewed with an understanding of all three of these realities. 

The middle one, the ground reality is the easiest to understand. It is what most of us identify with all through our lives. A reality that recognizes our physical and emotional states. Our journey takes place in this plane of existence. Irrespective of whether we chose it that way or became reluctant travelers. 

The second reality is our dreams. Our hopes and aspirations that never materialized for one reason or another. Our fantasies. A world that is nowhere reflected in the practical reality of our existence.

And then there is another reality without which neither the ground reality nor the world of imagination would exist. It is the substratum on which everything else gains a temporary existence. The show goes on because there is an eternal presence, a consciousness that supports the changing picture of life. It is the witness in front of who we grew from being a child to an adult. A witness who knew about our hidden dreams and aspirations while we were too busy handling the responsibilities of life. 

That reality is like the steady sky against which life enacts a performance like the colorful clouds. It is the sky that witnesses a sun rise, mid day and sunset forever and forever. Life after life appears and disappears in its presence. The sky seems to meet the earth( physical reality) and also to hold the clouds ( changing situations of life). But that’s just an illusion. It remains untouched. 

We standing on the ground carry a whole lot of fantasies and imaginations that are far removed from what we can make come true. There is nothing wrong in dreaming such things. For example dreaming of having wings and flying with the eagles in the sky. The caveat is that one should be aware that it is a fantasy. One should be aware what is imagined and what is not. Out of that which is not a dream, that is, out of what is in the physical plane of existence, one must be aware that it is not permanent. 

And lastly, to be able to digest the fact that our ground reality is not permanent we need to find a footing on the absolute reality of our existence. Only then the mind can be secure and fearless. 

So the lyrics of the song become the reflections of a person standing at the sunset phase of life understanding perfectly well what represents the sky, what are the colorful clouds, what represents the birds returning to their offspring at the end of the day( the attachments created by identifying with physical body). It reminds that dreams are dreams and must be recognized as such. They can be acknowledged but should not be confused with reality. 

Interesting part is the metaphor of the stars. The poetess has taken a very unique view when looking at the stars and their light. Instead of each star emitting the light out, she describes it as wrapping the light around itself. The light is given an identity that is separate from the star. The light belongs to divinity. It is bestowed on each individual entity denoted by the star. The aware mind recognizes the light in each entity in the universe and how it allows for them to be seen and find their own place in the bigger scheme of things. 

One twist could be given to the imagery of the birds flying to their nests to hug their offspring at the end of the day. That is to put the human mind in the position of the offspring and the divine in the position of the parent. At the end of the day, like any devoted parent, the divine light will come take its offspring into its arms and let it rest there once darkness takes over outside. The mind will be absorbed into the divine light permanently. In that light there is no sunrise or sunset. The light seeks the mind that recognizes it as its source.