Ek Ladaki from 1942 - A Love Story

Remember Shakespeare’s Sonnet 18 (the first few lines?):

"SHALL I compare thee to a summer’s day?
Thou art more lovely and more temperate:
Rough winds do shake the darling buds of May,
And summer’s lease hath all too short a date:
Sometime too hot the eye of heaven shines,
And often is his gold complexion dimm’d,
And every fair from fair sometime declines,
By chance, or nature’s changing course untrimm’d:
But thy eternal summer shall not fade..."

I always felt the lyrics of "Ek Ladaki" were inspired by that sonnet. For the edification of my non-Hindi speaking friends here are the lyrics with a sort of tranliteration...

ek ladaki ko dekha to aisa laga...
When I saw this girl, she seemed to me like... (Shall I compare thee?)

jaise khilata gulaab:
like a blooming rose

jaise shaayar ka khvaab
like a poet's dream;

jaise ujalii kiran
like a glowing ray of light;

jaise ban mein hiran
like a deer in the forest;

jaise chaandani raat
like a moonlit night;

jaise naramii baat
like a soft word;

jaise mandir mein ho ek jalta diya
like a lamp burning in the temple.


ek ladaki ko dekha to aisa lagaa...
When I saw this girl, she seemed to me like...


jaise subah kaa ruup
like the beauty of the morning;

jaise saradii kii dhuup
like winter sunshine;

jaise viinaa kii taan
like a note from the Veena (a stringed musical instrument like the Sitar)


jaise rangon kii jaan
like the essence of all color;

jaise balakhaayen bel
like a twisting vine;

jaise laharon ka khel
like the play of waves;

jaise khushbuu liye aaye thandii havaa
like a cool scented wind.


ek ladaki ko dekha to aisa laga... When I saw this girl, she seemed to me like...

jaise naachataa mor
like a dancing peacock;

jaise resham kii Dor
like a silken thread;

jaise pariyon ka raag
like a melody sung by fairies (heavenly creatures not the earthly types);

jaise sandal kii aag
like the fire of sandalwood;

jaise solah singaar
like the sixteen (traditional) ornaments of beauty;

jaise ras kii phuhaar
like a refreshing mist jaise :

aahistaa aahistaa badta nasha
intoxication is slowly building up...