1949
Mere Piya Gaye Rangoon (My husband went to Rangoon)
room India
"Mere Piya Gaye Rangoon" (My husband went to Rangoon), from the 1949 hit movie Patanga, is one of the mosst famous songs in India. For many Indians, Rangoon was once a place of prosperity where you could reinvent your life and be free; one Indian family now living in the United States refer to Rangoon as it was their "first America". In this song, the wife talks only of missing her husband. The husband, calling from Rangoon, tells her he is living a lonely life and that he is poor and hungry. The reality (as portrayed in this clip from the film) is quite different. Here are the lyrics, in Hindi and English:
Hallo, hindustaan kaa deharaaduun?
Hallo, Dehra Doon? [a town in India]
Main apanii bivii renukaa devii se baat karanaa chaahataa huun
I want to my speak to my wife, Renuka Devi.
Haan haan
Yes, yes
Mere piyaa; ho mere piyaa gaye Rangoon
My husband, o my husband has gone to Rangoon
Kiyaa hai vahaan se telifuun
He has telephoned from there
Tumhaarii yaad sataatii hai
Your thoughts are tormenting me
Jiyaa mein aag lagaatii hai
My heart is on fire
Mere piyaa gaye ranguun
My husband has gone to Rangoon
Kiyaa hai vahaan se telifuun
He has telephoned from there
Tumhaarii yaad sataatii hai
Your thoughts are tormenting me
jiyaa mein aag lagaatii hai
My heart is on fire
Ham chhod ke hindustaan
After leaving india
Bahut pachhataaye
I regretted much
Huii bhuul jo tumako saath na lekar aaye
i made a mistake by not bringing you along with me
Ham barmaa kii galiyon main aur tum ho Dehra Doon
I am in the streets of Burma and you are in Dehra Doon
Tumhaarii yaad sataatii hai
Your memories are tormenting me
Jiyaa mein aag lagaatii hai
My heart is on fire
Merii bhuukh pyaas bhii kho gaye
My thirst and hunger are also lost
Gam ke maare
In my grief
Main adhamuii sii ho gai gam ke maare
i am half conscious because of my grief
Tum bin, saajan, janavarii faravarii ban gaye me aur juun
Without you, my love, January and February have become May and June
Tumhaarii yaad sataatii hai
Your thoughts are tormenting me
jiyaa mein aag lagaatii hai
My heart is on fire
Ajii tumase bichha.dake ho gaye ham sanyaasii
Since separating from you, i living like a monk
Khaa lete hain jo mil jaaye ruukhii suukhii baasii
I eat what ever i get, dry or stale
Ajii luungii baandh, ke karein guzaaraa bhuul gaye pataluun
I live my life by just wearing a longyi, I don't even have trousers anymore
Tumhaarii yaad sataatii hai
Your thoughts torment me so
Jiyaa mein aag lagaatii hai
My mind is on fire