The Aurora Song

Last week of 2025. –20°C. Arctic Circle.
We waited all night for the Northern Lights (aurora borealis), and saw nothing but clouds.
And next day, when the forecast was bleak, the sky opened for a brief, miraculous moment.
Green and pink lights danced across the darkness, impossibly alive.
That fleeting, otherworldly encounter became this song!

Video  

 

Lyrics

चलो चलो देखन Aurora! 

बादरवा छाए, चहूँ ओरा 

महूरत गयो, दुःखी मन मोरा | 

  

फिर अनसोचे दरस हुए 

भाग अचानक मोड़ लिए 

गगन झूमत लाल हरा   

झटपट निकालो Camera!  

 

The Art of Waiting

This is my first Marathi Hindustani Classical 'Bandish'. The word Vaat (वाट) has multiple meanings and all of them are used in this song. The melody is in Raga Pratiksha (Pratiksha means 'the wait') as well. 

वाट बघूनी वाट लागली
वाटे वरती वर्षं टाकली
त्रास तीनशे साठ!

वाट साधकास, वाटे समर्पण,
शिकावी स्थैर्य, स्वीकृती, संयम
वाट दाखवी वाट!

(वाट बघूनी वाट साधली!)

Explanation

The wait is driving me crazy!
I've sacrificed years in waiting,
Facing hurdles at every turn.

For the seeker, every wait is an act of surrender,
teaching stability, acceptance, and discipline.
The wait shall reveal the way!

Opinion

There are so many waits in life, from the mundane, to intense, to profound. 

Waiting in traffic, in line, for a flight, for dinner, for a video to load, for a package, for the rain to stop (or start), 

to 

Waiting for test results, a job or promotion, for hammering to stop in the flat above yours, for your broken leg to heal, waiting for a loved one, waiting to be rescued from the International Space Station,

to

Waiting for your soulmate, waiting for your child to be born, for them to grow up, to heal from loss of a loved one, to find your purpose in life, for spiritual guidance and growth,

to ultimately, enlightenment!

Each wait can be a friend, a teacher, a guru.

Embrace the wait!

Yaman Tarana, Drut Ektaal

 

दीम तनन तारे दानी

ओदेतन नननन  देरेना

(तारे दानी) x ३ ||

दीम तनन तारे दानी 

ओदेतन नननन देरेना

(तारे दानी) x ३ ||

The 'Fortress of Solitude' Song

अब देखो ना, बोलो ना, चलो हटो!

निकट न आवो, पीछा ना करो अब,

चैन से मोको, जीने दो || 

निलज छलिये रुक! अब और नहीं!

पथ ना रोको, 

      सुख ना टोको,

            चैन से मोको,  जीने दो || 

Explanation & Context

We all need a 'fortress of solitude' now and then. 

It might be a break after an argument, a refuge for introverts overwhelmed by social noise, a stalker, or a shield against greedy corporations and scammers trying to exploit you.

Don’t watch, don't speak, back off!
Leave me alone, don’t follow.
Let me live my life in peace! 

Shameless charlatan - stop! Never again.
Stay out of my way,
Don’t kill my joy,
Let me live my life in peace!

Tarana in Raga Bageshree (Teentaal)

 

तन देरेना देरेना तदीम तदीम 

ओदे तन देरना,  ओदानी तनन  (दीम)

तदारे दानी,  ओदानी दीम   || 

देरना तदीम दीम, ताs रेs ताs रेदानी 

( तदारे दानी) x ३ ओदानी दीम   ||

Aaja Mandirwa - Raga Husseini Kanada, Vilambit Ektaal

आजा मंदिरवा मोरे, पिहरवा अब
बिन तोरे कैसे मैं सुख पाउँ ॥ध्रु॥
देख देख के तोरी, सुंदर सूरत ॥
नादरंग गाये इस मंगल महूरत (पिहरवा अब) ॥१॥

Raga Vachaspati - Unspoken, Vilambit Ektaal

 

कैसे मन सुख पावे?

कैसे कहूँ बतिया, डर लगे जिया को,

अब रोके ना जाए!

 

कोई ना जाने दुःख हमारा,

छिप गयी मन की बतिया,

'नादरंग' अब कहा ना जाए! 

Interpretation:

How will I ever find joy?

Fear shackles my true feelings,

that threaten to burst forth, awoken.

 

No one knows of my pain within,

of bottled emotions and thoughts,

that shall forever remain unspoken!