Season of Longing – Dil Dhoondta Hai – Mausam

Some memories are nostalgic and unfading. These memories venture into an unhurried journey along the fleecy clouds of flashbacks. The heart yearns for the days of leisure and carelessness with a great sense of nostalgia. Finding the lazy days which are concealed, buried and long gone.

jee dhoondta hai fir wohee fursat ke raat din
baithe rahein tasavvur-e-jaanaa kiye hue………
This original verse was written by the unparalleled Mirza Ghalib. Gulzar built multiple layers of words on it and made it into this peerless song, where the feeling of longing intensifies tenfold. The song again has all the shades of Gulzar’s works, where the words are restrained in nature yet they give the hidden message.
The valley echoes and enlivens with Lata Mangeshkar’s humming. The haunting swarmandal with the violins start the search through the lanes of the memories when images from the past begin to appear but in a misty way. Those memories, images are like hazy winter sunshine. They provide ample warmth yet not clearly visible. Just then a sharp image of tenderness and intimacy flash in the mind as Bhupinder Singh croons –

Dil dhoondta hai, fir wahi fursat ke raat din
Baithe rahe tasawwoor-e-jaana kiye hue

Searching for the leisurely times which went by, those days and nights of comfort and ease. The heart yearns for those days and the imagination wanders back to them. The free spirited tabla in the background has been a witness to those days. The guitar and the violins give way to the delirium state of the heart. The delirium which lulls into an eerie silence. With slight whooshing of the wind becoming insightful for further images.

Jaadon ki narm dhoop aur aangan mein let kar
Aankhon pe kheench kar tere daaman ke saaye ko
Aundhe pade rahe kabhi karwat liye hue

The lazy winters spent together, as lazy and misty as the winter sun. Those tender moments in each others arms, lying with his hand shielding her eyes from the glare of the rays. Or just turning in bed lazily with face down.
Mind forms these inward images with a great sense of nostalgia.

Yaa garmiyon ki raat jo purwaiyan chale
Thandi safed chaadaron pe jaage der tak
Taaron ko dekhte rahe chath par pade hue

As the seasons change, their togetherness grows. But the season of longing is there to stay. It escalates with cool summer breeze at night. Staying awake under the star lit sky together on the cool, white spreads on the terrace. The search for these days gone by is still on.

Barfilee sardiyon mein kisi bhi pahaad par
Waadee mein goonjtee hui, khamoshiyaan sunein
Aankhon mein bheege bheege se lamhe liye hue

From season to season, the leisurely days have just become memories now. The quiet moments of togetherness in the snow capped mountains, listening to that quiescence of love echoing in the valley. The heart yearns to relive those melting moments, brought in those misty eyes.

Mausam (1975) tells the story of Dr. Amarnath Gill (Sanjeev Kumar), who returns to Darjeeling after many years and decides to look for his past love, Chanda ( Sharmila Tagore). Sanjeev Kumar plays his character’s regret and pain with depth and ease. Mausam is about the missed time in life, where separation was inevitable. Quivering between the present and the past through memories and revelation, Gulzar has narrated the story beautifully and this particular song steals the show. It creates an atmosphere where a lonely person is looking for his lost soul and expresses poignant poetry in every frame.
A dual version song consisting of a duet sung by Lata Mangeshkar and Bhupinder Singh and a sad solo version which is rendered in an unhurried voice of Bhupinder Singh. The film was released after the death of its music director Madan Mohan, who has given a brilliant piece of music which adds to the charm of these poetic verses.

The song which metaphors as the witness of the continuum – the past and the present, the beginning and the end

Dil dhoondtaa hai phir wahi fursat ke raat din
baithe rahe tasavvur-e-jaanaa kiye hue
dil dhoondtaa hai phir wahi fursat ke raat din……….

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=M8s4Mb1sgN0