From March 2020 till now, through bed and oxygen shortages, and through lockdowns and the migrant worker crisis, one set of people has ensured that despite the despondency, hope still floated.
They are frontline workers — mostly nameless people in uniform and without who are as respected as maligned; objects of gratitude but also of angry people’s fury.
How does one even begin to thank them? But, thank them one must — for keeping something functional when the world around us was crumbling.
For being stoic and effective when faced with people high on emotion and less on logic. For being there to hold the hand of a dying patient, for having the generosity of spirit to do a little jig in hospital for those in isolation.
For, seeing their family in absolute strangers. For patting the shoulder of someone crazy with grief. For being there.
Lyricist Neelesh Misra, known for teasing deep meaning out of the simplest of words with just how he places them, teams up with singer Arijit Singh, the one with a voice so deep, mellow and soothing, but also one with a voice that questions and makes us ponder. The result is ‘Jaanein Bachayenge’ presented by Arijit Singh’s Oriyon Music and Neelesh Misra’s Slow.
The song is an ode to healthcare staff who have not seen their families, or even their own faces a long time, clothed in PPE kits. They’ve seen their children smile and grow only on phone screens. They’ve wept into their masks, unseen to the world… ‘Chhup kar ke naqabon mein, ham kitni baar roye’ as the lines go.
What can you do to help doctors? “Meri bhooli muskurahat, tum yun sambhaal rakhna. Apna khayaal rakh ke, mera khayaal rakhna”. Please hold on to my forgotten smile. Take care of yourself, and thereby take care of me, writes Misra.
The song is set to visuals drawn from social media and news sites, each one searing. There’s one of a person by the side of an ambulance, crumbling in grief as he speaks to someone and there’s another who has no tears left in her eyes. Amid such grief, frontline workers have been there for people.
Be it volunteers, police personnel or others, they’ve gone beyond the call of duty.
But have they been compensated enough? Have they been protected enough? Not quite.
Misra weaves in words that pierce the heart, and is especially effective when he writes about the oxygen shortage: “Bhar ke cylinderon mein, main zindagi hun dhhota; Kaash aisa jaadu aata, ye khatm hi na hota.” (I fill cylinders with life and carry them; Will there be a miracle? Will this cylinder never get over?)
Frontline workers are not without pain. Medical professionals have had to ‘choose’ among patients in ICUs because ventilators and oxygen were in short supply. They are crushed, having been trained to save lives, not choose whom to save. “Andar se toote hain ham, phir bhi chalte jayenge”, writes Misra. “We are broken from within, but we will go on”.
Arijit’s voice washes over, raw and questioning, forcing you to stop and think of the people who’ve worked selflessly. And long after the song is over, and long after the pandemic ends, never forget the frontline workers… they gave their all, so that other families can stay as one.
English Transliteration
Chehra hamaara ab ham
kam kam hi dekhte hain
kamron mein bebasi ke
bas gham hi dekhte hain
bacchon ka apne hasna
bas phone par hai dekha
Ghayal hatheliyon par
jeevan ki tooti rekha
ham ghar ke bistaron par
kab se nahin hain soye
chhup kar ke naqabon mein
ham kitni baar roye
Lo rakh lo apne tamge
in surkhiyon ko rakh lo
Har roz ki in farzi
hamdardiyon ko rakh lo
Kyu mera rehnuma ye
sab rokta nahi hai
Kabhi maut ke munh mein yun
koi jhonkta nahin hai
Koi rehnuma nahin hai
kuch soojhta nahin hai
Jo zindagi bachaate, unko
koi poochhta nahi hai
Meri bhooli muskurahat
tum yun samhaal rakhna
Apna khayaal rakh ke
mera khayaal rakhna
Verse 2
Bhar ke cylinderon mein
main zindagi hun dhhota
Kaash aisa jaadu aata
ye khatm hi na hota
Aankhon ke saamne jo
cheekhein nikaalte hain
Wo saans ki nadi mein
sikke khangaalte hain
Auron ke gham se ab
hai toot rahi chhati
Aankhein hain thaki aise
ab ro bhi nahin paati
Mujhe de do thodi fursat
mujhe de do ghar ka kona
Mujhe doston se milna
mujhe der tak hai sona
Bacchon ne jaane apni
ki ya na ki padhaai
Wo qaid hain kamron mein
mujhko bhi na rihaai
Kaise milega rasta
kuch boojhta nahi hai
Koi rehnuma nahin hai
kuch soojhta nahin hai
Jo zindagi bachaate, unko
koi poochhta nahi hai
Meri bhooli muskurahat
tum yun samhaal lena
Apna khayal rakh ke
mera khayal rakhna
Kamzor ab na padna
na mujhko padne dena
Jo bhi ho jaise bhi ho
mushkil na badhne dena
Andar se toote hain ham
phir bhi chalte jayenge
Jaanein bachayenge
Jaanein bachayenge
Jaanein bachayenge
Jaanein bachayenge
