A tribute to a soldier’s better half

A tribute to a soldier’s better half

–Santi Swaroopa

I love movies. I love everything about movies. I love my Indian movies the most. In India, a movie is not just a story being enacted. There are these wonderful sets, elaborate costumes, beautiful dances and there are songs, some of them circumstantial and others for sheer entertainment. I, for one, am obsessed with the lyrics of these songs. As a child, I was encouraged to listen to the lyrics by my father, an avid literature lover. 

This write up of mine is a result of my love for one of the most beautifully penned lyrics in a long time. The song is Teri mitti, from the movie Kesari.  The lyrics are by Mr Manoj Muntashir. I hadn’t heard this song till I was actually watching the movie. The melody of the song and its words captivated me like nothing before.

Just for a premise, this song is sung by the wife of a soldier who’s sending her husband for war. She knows that it will be the last she will ever see him. 

 So she tells him, 

My beloved, this soil also has a right to a few of your breaths (literally, it means the country has a claim on you)

She then asks him not to keep looking back (at her) and points out that their togetherness is only till this moment.

She reminds him, “this land of yours adorns herself in your blood, not I but she (the country) is your first love, my love”. 

Go and become one with her,

So you can bloom in the flowers of this earth,

So you can fly amongst the fields,

So you can flow in the waters of this land,

That is what my heart truly desires for you. 

When I heard the lyrics, I could not imagine which description fit this woman better, a wife or a patriot. She knows the country needs him. She understands that it is not easy for her man to leave her and go.

So she is actually giving him permission to give his best at the frontier, even if it means death. I mean who can do that!! She is trying to make it easy by reminding him that his duty towards his country is foremost and that this land is his first love. She in a way, releases him from their bond of a man and wife and asks him to fight for his first love. She is also trying to show him a beautiful future in which even after death, he will be happy amongst the blooms, fields and waters, as he will be one with his beloved. 

I have come across a lot of lyrics where the soldier is describing his emotions of missing his loved ones. But this is the first time I have seen a spouse being brave enough to let go. 

 I respect all those brave heroes who fight for our country. But as the meaning of these lyrics dawned on me, I realised how great is the sacrifice of their loved ones who permit them to do their duty. It would be impossible to place myself in their shoes.

It is only gratitude,respect and prayers that we can have for these unsung heroes. 

Thank you Mr.Muntashir for this thought and for this creation of yours. 

Thank you Parineeti for rendering this so soulfully.

*****