Lata Mangeshkar?s voice can express love in a way that no other voice on this earth can. Just with one note, one word? and she says so much. Selecting ten out of thousands of gems is an impossible task? however, these are the songs that are closest to my heart.
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*Intimacy?.
Aap yun faaslon se guzarte rahe(Shankar Hussain)*
Love?.the distance between two hearts waxes and wanes?as uncertainty hangs in the air. As I listen to your footsteps, sometimes near and sometimes too far, I wonder if we would ever be one.
The first time I listened to this, I was amazed at the sheer beauty of feelings expressed. It was as if a lovely, angelic woman, remembering a beautiful dream, looks out of the window at the dew drop-drenched flowers and hums the sensual notes softly.
Aapki garm baahon mein kho jaayenge(soft notes in the air)
Aapke narm zaanon pe so jaayenge(softer)
So jaayenge.(Almost a whisper)
Love cannot get more intimate than this.
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*Longing?.
Lag ja gale ki phir ye haseen raat ho na ho(Wo kaun thi) *
Take me in your arms? just for this night. Because we may never see each other again. Give me something to remember you by.
Every time I listen to this song, I cry. I just can?t help it. This song is about love that slips through your fingers even as you are realizing it. You have one magical night - and you may never meet again in this lifetime. Touching for the first and maybe the last time? and longing for each other forever.
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*Dreaming?.
Sapnon mein agar mere aao to so jaaoon(Dulhan ek raat ki) *
Sleep is so elusive? ever since you have gone. If you promise to visit me in my dreams, I may sleep. If you promise to wait for me in the star spangled paths of night, I may sleep.
This song is a bittersweet symphony of love that is lost? love that lives only in memories and? in dreams. A forgotten touch, a half?remembered smile, haze of time covering everything? the only clarity comes through when semi-consciousness takes over the senses.
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*Sensuality?.
Ye dil aur unki nigahon ke saaye(Prem parbat) *
Someone?s love surrounds my being, I see him everywhere. As the gentle breeze bends down to kiss the river, I blush?.at the memories of our moments together
This has to be the most melodious song to have been ever composed and rendered just as soulfully. Sensuality merges with dreaminess as the velvety vocals caress your senses. The imagery of nature plays hide and seek with the nearness of a lover. Sometimes dark?sometimes light?.and sometimes beyond the realm of words.
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*Devotion.
Jaise Radha ne mala japi shyam ki(Tere mere sapne) *
Let me walk one step behind you. Let me worship the ground you walk on because your love completes me as a woman.
Love means worship? and the object of your adulation and worship is your man. Sounds archaic? Yet, do not miss the beauty of this primitive feeling of surrender to HIM. Listen to this song to know what the feminists in the world are missing.
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*Timelessness.
Ruk ja raat theher ja re chanda(Dil ek mandir)*
Close your eyes, hold my hand and wish upon that star? tell the time to stop. Tell this night to stop. Because tonight you and me are here, together.
A heartbreaking song that makes you realize that time is the biggest enemy of lovers? simply because it passes. And takes away the precious moments of togetherness. Yet, it?s love that makes you strong enough to leap into the vast space of time even when you do not know what waits for you in the future.
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*Despair.
Na jaane kyon hota hai ye zindagi ke saath(Chhoti si baat)*
Everything is just like it was yesterday. Yet, something is missing. You are missing. And so is my heart
Can vacuum hurt? Can something simply hurt because it is not there? This sure defies the logic of science. The fact remains that absence makes the heart go fonder. When someone leaves, every memory becomes more intense and more vivid. This song is about the first realization of love, which often happens after the person has walked away from one?s life.
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*Seduction?.
Baahon mein chale aao(Anamika) *
Don?t look away and break my heart so?Take me in your arms and tell me that you love me?because I may never love another this way again.
Does playing hard to get pays? Yes, it does. Because indifference leads to fanning of passion. This song is simply sweet seduction stated in words? I wonder which man could turn down such a beautiful invitation. And while you are listening to this number, do not miss out the line *?Chale hi jaana tha nazar chura ke yun?phir thaami thi saajan tumne meri kalaayi kyon? *An innocent complaint against the indifferent response of a lover.
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*Surrender?
Mora gora ang le laiye, mohe shaam daide(Bandini) *
Hide me in the shadows of night, let me become one with the darkness? because I can meet you only in the dark
This song is from my favourite movie, Bandini. As a beautiful woman makes her way to meet her lover, she wishes she would become as dark as the black night so that she can go, unseen. Wiling to merge one?s human form in the night just to become one with the lover is what love is about.
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*Ecstasy?.
Aaj madhosh hua jaaye re(Sharmilee) *
I am intoxicated with the feeling of love. Yes, I am flying now.
The ecstasy that results from requited love cannot be expressed in words? it can only be experienced. The feeling is amazing? like a rainbow that appears in the blue skies of the heart. As happiness cascades in your being, the feeling is akin to flying free, with love as your wings.
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