Ekla cholo re... If they answer not to thy call, walk alone.

I have the song 'Ekla Cholo Re' from the movie Kahaani on repeat for some days now. And i don't seem to stop loving it. I listened to pretty many versions of the same song and i'm mesmerized by it's beauty. Bengali has always been one of my favorite languages. Though i do not follow everything in the song, it's just so sweet to my ears, i don't seem to get enough of it! Amitabh Bacchan has done an amazing job with his voice in this one. The gravity of his voice pulls me towards the song all the more.

The line 'Ekla Cholo Re' hits somewhere hard inside, somewhere deep. Isn't that like the ultimate fact in reality? We walk alone. Everything else in life is like an illusion, don't you think? We are alone when we are born, and alone when we die. We walk alone all our lives with the illusion of being surrounded by people we call society. Socializing is not wrong, and infact is a must. But why do we depend on people so much that we forget our existence independently?

Why do most of us depend on others for our identity? Aren't we someone beautiful and unique all by ourselves? God has made each one of us differently for a reason. I once came across this quote..

"I am the part of the creation, materializing from the same artist that created sunsets and rainbows, rain and snow!"

How beautiful is that thought. Imagine God choosing every little characteristic in you. How would you feel if i told you that, today what you are is how God wished to see you?! If you think what God is seeing is not a happy sight, don't you think we should strive to make ourselves one? I think God, and parents will always love us for what we are, how we are... always! It's upto us which way we would prefer to present ourselves as.

Here's the translation of this wonderful song crafted by Shri Rabindranath Tagore.

courtesy

If they answer not to thy call walk alone,

If they are afraid and cower mutely facing the wall,

O thou unlucky one,

open thy mind and speak out alone.

If they turn away, and desert you when crossing the wilderness,

O thou unlucky one,

trample the thorns under thy tread,

and along the blood-lined track travel alone.

If they do not hold up the light when the night is troubled with storm,

O thou unlucky one,

with the thunder flame of pain ignite thy own heart

and let it burn alone.

Here are more versions of the same song, beautifully sung!

Shreya Goshal

Kishore Kumar

Usha Utthup

Suchitra Mitra

After listening to this song, 'alone' doesn't seem so bad anymore, does it?