Article by EIH Researcher and Writer
Rahma Ali
Recently, a coke studio song transcended borders yet again, with its vibrant take on conveying feelings of despondence in love. Its title, ‘Pasoori’ refers to the mercurial movement of the heart when caught between the excitement, adrenaline, anguish, and agony of interactions with your beloved. It is a state of unrestfulness where the heart jolts and sways upon becoming a willful victim of love.
Pasoori features Sheema Kirmani, one of Pakistan’s few surviving classical dancers.The song begins with an almost nostalgic tune playing behind Sheema Kirmani, who stands in the center, perfectly poised. It seems to be inviting you to revisit the ruins of the past, which seems fitting, since classical dance is an art form that is forcefully pushed so deep into the past, that its retrieval seems difficult. Following nostalgia, is an evocation of a sense of yearning. Sheema ji turns ever so gracefully, extending her hands forward and then towards her heart, her eyes pleading. It revives feelings of longing and desperation for your beloved.
The song is anchored around these themes, which are rampant is Punjabi folk tales. A line in the song goes: “Bhool gayi majboori nu, Dunya di dastoori nu. Saath tera hai bathera, Pura kar zaruri nu” (I forgot about my chains, And people’s refrains. You’re enough for me, Fulfill my destiny). These strongly mirror Punjabi folk plots, where the union of two lovers is resisted by those around them, and they persevere regardless.
The video to the song is as noteworthy as the lyrics themselves. It is full of pastel-colored roses, magazine posters, bright walls and table cloths, dhols (drums), vintage television sets and radios, and multiple doors and windows opening to elaborately dressed individuals seated in fixation. Ali Sethi looks himself in the mirror and fixes his cap, before turning to pick the beat. This act, before his emergence from the room within, may be understood as a reflection of how we negotiate identities when shifting between public and private spaces.
Similarly, other characters in the video are framed within open doors and windows, perhaps referring to the human desires and aspirations that remain private and unverbalized. These lines closer to the end of the song: “Bana de, saja de, panaah de humain” (Give me life, give me love, take me in your arms) resonate with me for dealing with this very theme. Certain expressions of your identity can only be shared in the most intimate relationships. And the use of the words ‘panaah’ (refuge) and ‘saja’ (ornament) when pleading to the beloved are suggestive of how the private nature of feelings of love alone is conducive to an unrestrained and decorated expression of the self.
