This ghazal by Tasleem Fazli is a beautiful yet heartbreaking expression of loss and longing. The speaker describes how the beloved is slowly, but surely, leaving their life. They are leaving their heart, their thoughts, their memories, their body, their world, their sight, their dreams, their tears, and even the secrets of their heart.
The song begins with the speaker describing how their beloved is slowly becoming a part of their being. They compare their beloved to their breath, their heartbeat, and their soul.
How somebody becomes the part of your world, your thoughts, how your feelings sorrunds around somebody, all the things are briefly said in this song. You can get the line where Mehedi Sahab said,
Aap Tou Nazdik Se Nazdik-tar Aate Gaye
Pehlay dil, phir dilruba, phir dil kay mehmaan ho gaye
You kept coming closer and closer to me
First my heart, then my sweetheart, then you became the guest of the heart
This song emphasises how the existance of another person, an totally staranger becomes the very colse and part and parcel of another person. How the emotion, fellings, and time provokes that feelings to sink deeply into that person.
The chorus of the song is a heartbreaking plea to the beloved to slow down, to give the speaker some time to breathe. The speaker knows that they are on a path to destruction, but they are unable to resist their love.
In the second verse of the song, the speaker describes how their beloved is now their only source of happiness and sorrow. They say that they cannot live without their beloved, but that their love is also causing them great pain. The speaker feels lost and directionless, and they do not know what to do. At the middle of the Gazl, the part comes when the song begins with:
Pyaar Jab Haad Se Badha Saare Taqalloufh Mit Gaye
Aap se phir tum huye phir tu ka kunwaan hogaye
When love transcended its limit, all formalities were erased
First we were formal, then we became informal, finally we became one
The song “Rafta Rafta Woh Meri” is a timeless masterpiece that captures the essence of love, longing, and heartbreak. It is a song that resonates with people of all ages and cultures.
Slowly, slowly she is leaving my feelings
Slowly, slowly she is leaving my emotions
Slowly, slowly she is leaving my love
Slowly, slowly she is leaving my passion
The ghazal ends with a question that the speaker knows they will never be able to answer. “How can I forget you when you are in my heart?” they ask. The answer is, of course, that they cannot. The beloved will always be a part of them, even though they are gone.
The pain of Rafta Rafta Woh Meri is the pain of slow and gradual loss. It is the pain of watching someone or something that is precious to you slip away from you, one little bit at a time.
It is the pain of knowing that there is nothing you can do to stop it. It is the pain of feeling helpless and powerless. It is the pain of accepting that some things are simply out of your control.
The pain of Rafta Rafta Woh Meri is a deep and abiding pain. It is a pain that can linger for years, even after the loss has occurred. It is a pain that can make you feel empty and incomplete.