Skip to main content

Khabi Khabie Mere Dil Mein...


Sometimes the thought crosses my mindthat you've been made just for me.Before this, you were dwelling somewhere in the stars;you were summoned to earth just for me...
Sometimes the thought crosses my mind
that this body and these eyes are kept in trust for me
that the dark shadows of your hair are for my sake alone,
that these lips and these arms are charged to my care...

These are the first two verses (translated) of one of my mom's favourite songs- Khabi Khabie, from the movie of the same name. The song was written by poet Sahir Ludhianvi with music composed by Mohammed Zahar Khaiyamm and sung by Lata Mangeshkar and Mukesh. It is such a beautiful, soul-baring and hair-raising love song. Here is a picture of my mom surrounded by the flowers she loved, for her 60th birthday. She died 5 years later. Ironically, she never knew what the lyrics meant.

Today marks 7 years since she died, but some of the things I have to be grateful for are:
- We had a loving relationship but not always peaceful
- She was able to see how I turned out and I hope she was proud of me and my choices
- She was able to hold her first grandson before she died
- We got a chance to do many mother-daughter things together. Memories I still have, of going to cloth stores, going to teas, having her lean on me..just once
- I think I understood my mother. As I've gotten older and as a mother myself, I think the picture becomes clearer.

One of the most important things I have remaining of my mother is her little recipe book. A small 2"x4" notebook with her uneven writing (she left school at around 13 years, so her handwriting suffered). I've never made anything from her recipe book, but I think this is the year I will try - my mom was a most excellent cook which I never truly appreciated until I started cooking.

In the meantime, I will go and listen to Khabi Khabie and let the tears flow.

To listen to the song, go here. The quality might not be excellent- the movie was released in 1976.
There are slightly different translations, but I like this one, so go here for a translation of the lyrics, and for the poet Sahir Ludhianvi reading his poem go here.
Labels:

Comments

Savi said…
Hi Sally,

I miss your mum too - she was a wonderful person. She (and your dad) always made me feel like part of the family when I came to visit. And I agree, her cooking was excellent!

I feel all nostalgic now after listening to that Youtube clip - I remember my mum singing that song around the house when I was little.

Take care,
Savi
10 August 2009 at 10:34
gitm said…
hey, I also think of her when I hear the song. I think we were fortunate for having her as a mother. Your comments certainly brings back mixed feelings...but none negative.
T
10 August 2009 at 14:36
Aels said…
Just so beautiful - in every way
11 August 2009 at 09:24
Greta said…
What a lovely and moving tribute to your Mom. Though I never met her, your words and sentiments brought tears to my eyes.
11 August 2009 at 11:39
Austin Trini said…
I appreciate everyone's thoughtful comments and they reminded me again how blessed I was to have time with her. But it never is really enough is it?
12 August 2009 at 20:52
Unknown said…
Hi Sal,

I was knocked over reading your blog for the 1st time yesterday, - your Mom was a gem, and now you have a different set of challenges;.....whats your song?
17 August 2009 at 18:43
Post a Comment

Popular posts from this blog

Weeks 15, 16; Cycles 6 & 7

Another two-in-one post. I think this may be considered my "challenge" post.  The good news is that I have now completed 7 of 12 cycles, so I am looking at the end of chemotherapy. As I look back on my initial post , I realise that I had neglected a key piece of information about the kind of cancer I have.  Some women have cancers that are responsive to hormones, (quite simply, it appears that hormones make the cancer grow) and some women don't. I fall into the latter category - I am what is called triple negative. This is not a good thing. On my most recent visit with my oncologist we talked through "the numbers" that is, the survival rates and we assessed again how well my tumour is responding to chemotherapy (not as well as we'd hoped).  So these last two weeks have been quite a challenge mentally. It doesn't help that one of the side effects of all of this is a decline in disciplinary standards at our house.  Over the course of the summer I w...
6 comments
Read more

Food as Medicine & Vitiligo Update

Before I talk about food, a quick: Vitiligo Update It still pisses me off that the hyperactive immune system that attacks my own pigment cells just let cancer sail right on through. Enough rant. Since my cancer diagnosis, my vitiligo has just exploded. It's spread from knees and elbows to legs, face and neck. It bothers me more now. Picture from 2009 Hands now  2016           The growing spread of vitiligo Treatments Topical steroids weren't working and while Latisse (the eyelash drug) worked on one spot above one eye, it does not seem to be helping with the other spot above the other eye. There is a pulsed light treatment I have yet to try, but before I go that route, I want to try the food route. Food as Medicine I've blogged previously as viewing Food as Fuel , the next step is to view food as medicine with the potential to heal some ailments. I've read a couple of books, It Starts with Food and The Paleo Appr...
Post a Comment
Read more

Talking with Lucas on climate change

This is my post for Blog Action Day . This is an annual event where bloggers everywhere in the world post about the same issue on the same day to spark discussion around an issue of global importance. This is part of a conversation I had with my 8-year old. Mama : Do you know what climate change means? Lucas : I think it means when it is like 90F and it is hot.   And the change? It's when in the daytime it might be 90F and sunny and hot, and then you go inside for dinner and then right after dinner and it might have dropped to 70F Well, yes it is that in a way.  That describes what is happening in your area, but when people use the term "climate change" they really mean something more global, like affecting climate around the world Have you heard of the team "global warming"? What global warming is that it is made up of CO2 (carbon dioxide) and when they burn stuff the smoke releases CO2 and it's like a blanket covering the earth and if it k...
9 comments
Read more