Songsplained: Ye Kahan Aa Gaye Hum

Song: Ye Kahan Aa Gaye Hum

Movie: Silsila

Artists: Lata Mangeshkar, Amitabh Bachchan

Music: Shiv-Hari

Lyrics: Javed Akhtar / Shiv Kumar Sharma / Hari Prasad Chaurasia

The song describes the yearning of two lovers who want to be together but the world is cruel to them. Lata Ji's soothing voice resonates the hope and the very feeling of love. 

"Ye kahan aa gaye hum, yun hi sath sath chalte,

Teri baahon mein ae janam mere jism-o-jaan pighalte"

(See where we've reached, walking together all the way,

In your arms, my darling, my body and my soul melt)

The song is about the realisation of how time flies when you are with someone you love. There are so many milestones that you touch together, so many roads you tread upon, so many lanes that take you nowhere, so many dreams, desires and harsh realities that you witness, they eventually make you strong, together.

Amitabh describes her beauty by comparing the night with her hair, the moonlight with her eyes, the moon with her bangles, the stars with her lap. To him, her scent feels like fresh air, that frees him from all the worries and boundaries of the world. The murmuring of leaves reminds me of her whispering. He recalls his love and feels her around him, even though he knows, she is not there anymore. 

To which, Rekha responds, 

"tu badan hai main hun chhaya,

Tu na ho toh main kahan hun"

With you, I belong. Without you, I don't exist. She continues to remind him how the universe planned for them to fall in love;

"Humein milna hi tha humdum, isi raah pe nikalte."

When he is around, she feels like she is glowing. She is filled with the fragnance of his love which falls on her like the moonlight falls on the ground and lights it up. 

Rekha's melody is interrupted by Amitabh's soulful renditions. It is like waking up with a jolt from a beautiful dream. His words echo the reality of their relationship. 

"Majboor ye haalat idhar bhi hain aur udhar bhi,

Tanhai ki ye raat idhar bhi hai aur udhar bhi"

His heart is filled with love but he knows that they are both lonely, caught up in the web of life. The cruel world is deaf to their love.

"Kehne ko toh bahut kuch hai magar kisse kahe hum,

Kab tak yun hi Khamosh rahe aur sahe hum?"

He is tired of hiding his love for her. He is tired of running away. He is tired of the loneliness, the misery. He is ready for the final leap. He wants to break down the walls between them, tell everyone in the whole world, what they are to each other.

"Deewaar jo hum dono mein hai, aaj gira de,

Kyun Dil mein sulagte rahein, logon ko bata de, 

Haan humko mohabbat hai, mohabbat hai, mohabbat..."

His words echo the question, "why is it a crime to love?"

Yes, we love each other. Yes, it is LOVE. And that is it. That's all he wants to say.