Slumdog Millionaire

The following English translation, of Gulzar's mostly-Hindi (and metaphorical) lyrics, is by Inkspillz (at Blogspot):

Jai Ho! (Meaning ... Something between “Hail” and “Hallelujah”)


Come, come my Life, under the canopy

Come under the blue brocade sky!


Bit by bit, I have lost my life, in faith

I’ve passed this night dancing on coals

I blew away the sleep that was in my eyes

I counted the stars till my finger burned


Come, come my Life, under the canopy

Come under the blue brocade sky!


Taste it, taste it, this night is honey

Taste it, and keep it,

It’s a heart; the heart is the final limit

Your dark black kohl

It’s some black magic, isn’t it?


Come, come my Life, under the canopy

Come under the blue brocade sky!


For how long, how very long

It’s been on your lips

Say it, now say it

The eye is downcast

Such lit up eyes

Are they two lit-up diamonds?


Come, come my Life, under the canopy

Come under the blue brocade sky!

Or ... paraphrasing in straightforward English, minus the beauty of metaphor ... Jamal has lived his entire life without a good roof above his head.  During the day, his roof is a beautiful blue sky.  During the night, his roof is a star-filled sky.

He has endured so much, during his life, it's almost like walking on burning coals.  Now that he has a chance to rise above life's miseries, he's been burned again.  (People believe he's cheating in the game show.)

Yet ... there is hope.  When all else looks bleak, the heart keeps going.  Then ... victory is near!  And more ... since what he has wanted to say for so long, he can now finally say to the one (Latika) he has loved since childhood.