Zaruri Tha- It was Destined!

Some songs get into my head with a jolt and refuse to leave. I have to listen to such songs obsessively and understand the lyrics deeply from as many sources as possible. This is one such song. To understand the lyrics, I looked at various translations on the internet. I also asked for help from my facebook friends. 

There is a funny incident about this song. I had asked my friend to fast forward this song once, because I quite disliked the way the singer sang the aalaap in a nasal tone. So she removed it from her playlist. However, it came up in another playlist by mistake while we were out on a road trip across Himachal. This time, the words caught my attention despite the nasal aalaap. I sat up straight and listened to it mesmerized. Imagine, I was almost never going to hear this song!

While translating this song, I faced the usual issues of finding soft words in English to convey the meaning. In addition, this song has many references to Islamic prayers (tawaaf- circumambulation, tasbih- prayer, namaaz, qaza- missing out on a prayer), which make this song and the love it conveys special. It is difficult to translate these literally. So, I have taken the liberty of replacing these by generic terms. As a result, some of the beauty and depth of the song is lost. My loss. 

Zaroori Tha- It was Destined
(Written by Khalil-ur-Rehman Qamar)

Lafz kitne hi tere pairon se lipte honge
Tune jab aakhiri khat mera jalaya… hoga
Tune jab phool, kitabon se nikaale honge
Dene waala bhi tujhe yaad toh aaya hoga

I am sure the words would have clung to your feet

When you burnt my letters one by one,

And the dried flowers that you plucked out from the books

Must have reminded you of the one who had gifted you them

Teri aankhon ke dariya ka
utarna bhi zaroori tha
Mohabbat bhi zaroori thi
Bichadna bhi zaroori tha
Zuroori tha ki

Hum dono tawaaf-e-aarzoo karte
Magar phir aarzu’on ka
bikharna bhi zaroori tha

Your eyes had to overflow with these tears

There was no other way,

We had to love each other like we did

And then we each had to go our own way. 

It was necessary  

To have had desires and dreams,

And it was equally necessary

For them to be ripped apart at the seams.

Bataao yaad hai tumko
Woh jab dil ko churaya tha
Churaai cheez ko tumne
Khuda ka ghar banaya tha

Woh jab kehte thhe 
Mera naam tum tasbih mein padhte ho
Mohabbat ki Namaazo ko
qaza karne se darte ho

Magar ab yaad aata hai
Woh baatein thi mahaz baatein

Kahin baaton hi baaton mein
Mukarna bhi zaroori tha

You stole my heart

Tell me do you remember?

And gave it a special place

Right there in your life’s center.

You used to say that my name

was the first word you uttered every day!

And that you might forget to remember me

even for a second, was your deepest fear?

But now I believe these were mere words

Nothing more, nothing less,

And it was necessary for you

To back out of these commitments

Wahi hai sooratein apni
Wahi main hoon, wahi tum ho
Magar khoya huaa hoon main
Magar tum bhi kahin gum ho

Mohabbat mein dagha ki thi
So kaafir the so kaafir hain
Mili hain manzilein phir bhi
Musaafir thhe, musaafir hain

Tere dil ke nikaale hum
Kahaan bhatke, kahaan pahunche
Magar bhatke toh yaad aaya
Bhatakna bhi zaroori tha

We have the same faces as before

I am who I was, you are who you were,

But I am a lost wanderer

And you too are not fully here.

We could not be faithful to our love,

(disbelievers that we were and are)

So despite having reached our destinations,

Rootless, we continue to wander.

Having left the cocoon of your love,

See where I am, how much I have strayed,

But only when I was lost did I understand

that one must be lost first in order to be found.

Teri ankhon ke dariya ka
Utarna bhi zaruri the
Mohabbat bhi zaroori thi

Bichhadna bhi zaroori tha
Zaroori tha ki

Hum dono tawaaf-e-aarzoo karte
Magar phir aarzu’on k
Bikharna bhi zaroori tha

Teri aankhon ke dariya ka
Utarna bhi zaroori tha

Your eyes had to overflow with these tears
It was destined
We had to love each other like we did

And then it had to end.

It was necessary  

To have had desires and dreams,

And it was equally necessary

For them to be ripped apart at the seams.

Listen to the song here:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=eoTj5IksBXM