काहे तुम गोकुल जाओ.......

A haunting song in Subha Mudgal's powerful voice that tears me up every single time I listen.It is from a brilliant movie "Raincoat" by "Chokher Bali" fame Rituparno Ghosh. The story is loosely based on O.Henry's "The Gift of the Magi". For all the movie-lovers out there, this movie is a must-see. It is impossible to not fall in love with this song when the movie opens. Besides the powerful voice and a simple arrangement, it succinctly weaves the whole story into these simple lyrics.


सुबह सुबह क्या ख्याल आज?
वापस गोकुल चल मथुरा राज
मथुरा नगरपति काहे तुम गोकुल जाओ?
मनोहर बेश छोड़ नंदराज
सर से उतार्के सुन्दर ताज
मथुरा नगरपति काहे तुम गोकुल जाओ?
राज धंध छोड़ भूमि पर वाज
और काहे बाँसुरी बजाओ?
मथुरा नगरपति काहे तुम गोकुल जाओ?

कौन सा अनोखा गीत गाहे पी ककूल?
राजपाठ जैसे आज भाई धूल
कौन सा अनोखा गीत गाहे पी ककूल?
बिरहन लागी फिर हृदय फूल
राज-काज मन ना लगा
मथुरा नगरपति काहे तुम गोकुल जाओ?

पुर-नारी सारी व्याकुल नयन
कुसुम सजा लगे कंटक शयन
पुर-नारी सारी व्याकुल नयन
रात भर माधव जगत बेचैन
काहे आधी रात सारथी बुलाओ?
मथुरा नगरपति काहे तुम गोकुल जाओ?

धीरे धीरे पहुँचत जमुना के तीर
सुनसान पनघट, मृदुल समीर
धीरे धीरे पहुँचत जमुना के तीर
खन खन माधव बिरह मदीर
उसे काहे भूल न पाओ?
मथुरा नगरपति काहे तुम गोकुल जाओ?

अपनी पिरिया अब पूरी घर-वाली
दूध नवन घिवू दिन भर खाली
बिरह के आँसू कब के पोंछ डाली
फिर काहे दर्द जगाओ?
मथुरा नगरपति काहे तुम गोकुल जाओ?
Disclaimer: I haven't written anything in Hindi in a very long time. If there are any spell-errors, please do let me know.

I attempted to translate word-to-word, but felt that wouldn't even come close to justifying the song.Here is a summary:
It talks about Krishna leaving Mathura, where he is the King, to go back to Gokul, in order to meet his beloved, Radha. It describes the pangs of love that so suddenly encompass Krishna that he renounces his regalia and kingly duties and feels the need to head to Gokul in the middle of the night, while his people watch in dismay. Radha on the other hand is a house-wife now, engrossed in her daily chores. She has long wiped off the tears of separation.
Poet asks Krishna repeatedly : Oh lord of Mathura!Why do u wish to go to Gokul now?Why do you want to bring back those painful memories once again?.......

And here is my version of it(This song sees the light of the day after many software crashes. And having an extremely bad quality mic didn't help my cause either:-( Please bear with a very-far-from-perfect recording quality)

Song:Mathura Nagarpathi
Music: Debajyoti Mishra
Movie: Raincoat
Lyrics: Rituparno Ghosh
Original Singer: Subha Mudgal
Unplugged version : Kavitha Nagarajan
Disclaimer: I am not a native hindi-speaker. Please provide feedback on any diction issues.Thanks.


Mathura Nagarpathi..... | Upload Music