On Cloud Nine – Baadal Pe Paon Hain – Chak De! India

The feeling of success is exuberating and if the success that one has achieved was long due then the feeling is liberating. This is exactly what happens with the girls of the Indian women’s hockey team when they qualify for the world cup and get a chance to go to Australia. Most of these players belong to a humble background and this experience is one of a kind for them. It is then that emotions run high and the song depicts these emotions.

Socha kahan tha, yeh jo, yeh jo ho gaya
Maana kahan tha, yeh lo, yeh lo ho gaya
Chutaki koi kaato na hai hum toh hosh mein
Kadmon ko thaamo yeh hai udate josh mein

Who would have thought this would happen
Who would have thought it and look, it happened!
O don’t pinch me for I am wide awake
Just hold on to my feet, they are ready to fly away in this frenzy

The complete disbelief that they would never even qualify for the world cup, they give up hope. But it is in such situations that an unexpected turn changes your life completely and we tend to fly high in this newfound happiness and want to sail farther ahead, away from the darkness which was enveloping us all this time.

This song from the movie Chak De! India (2007) is a peppy, happy number sung by Hema Sardesai. It is composed by Salim-Sulaiman and the lyrics are penned by Jaideep Sahni.

The words are simple and accurately depict the situation of the song in the film. One relates to these lyrics very easily. The words are used by most of us in our everyday conversation and this makes the song more believable.

Baadal pe paon hain, ya chhhoota gaon hai
Abb toh bhai chal padi apani yeh naon hai

My feet are on the clouds and the village is left behind
The sail of my boat has got the wind and now it is moving ahead

Salim-Sulaiman are known for creating fresh music tracks and this number has that freshness in abundance. The use of western instruments gives it the required edge; the guitar piece is quite interesting to listen to. Add to it the vocals by Hema Sardesai, who provides the youthfulness, the ‘josh’ to this song.

Aasmaan ka swaad hai, muddato ke baad hai
Sehma dil dhakdhak karein, din hai ya yeh raat hai
Haay tu mehrbaan kyun ho gaya bakhuda, kya baat hai

I have tasted the sweet success after a long time
But my nervous heart is beating rapidly
And I am unable to distinguish between day and night
God is showering his blessings upon me and I cannot believe it!

Sometimes when the fruits of our sincere efforts come quite late than expected, then the feeling of disbelief overtakes that of happiness when we actually get it. Then we start questioning almost everything; right from ‘am I dreaming?’ to ‘is God really blessing me?’ The world around seems to be in a complete chaos and it takes a while to sink in the feeling.

In the movie, when the song is being played in the background, the girls are shown flying to Australia and seeing a completely different world. They see how other teams are preparing themselves and have got the accessories necessary to be in a world championship. Whereas, all they have is talent and sincere efforts (well, and their super coach Kabir Khan played by Shah Rukh Khan) and each one remembers how they have toiled their way till here.

Chal pade hai humsafar, ajnabi toh hai dagar
Lagta humko magar, kuchh kar denge hum agar
Khwaab mein jo dikha par tha chhipa bas jaayega wo nagar

We are treading this unknown path together
But we feel if we do something then
The achievement which was a hidden dream till now
Would get fulfilled and together we will achieve it

A sports movie always teaches us things like honesty, sincerity and integrity. It also shows that a positive attitude takes us ahead and we can actually achieve our dreams; even if they were hidden behind the clouds of hopelessness.

Isn’t this applicable in real life as well?