A drive to remember.

Driving to work this morning, I was reveling in the wonder of a moment when one's inner state, the weather, and the song one is listening to are in perfect harmony. The music was on shuffle, it was raining and driving to work the following song, written by Khusro and rendered by Shafqat Ali Khan starts to fill me, finding its way through my ears. Just reading the words will take away from the 'feel' of the song, but it is all I can offer.

"Abr mi barad-o man mi shavm-e az yar-e judaa

Choon kunam dil becheneen roz e zedildar judaa.

Abr baraan wa man-o yar satadah be-widaa'

Man judaa girya kunaan, abr judaa, yaar judaa

sabz anokhez o hava khurrm bostan sar sabz

bulbule roo- e- se -a mandeze gulzar judaa

ay mar a dardahe har moyez-e ulfat bandi

cheekunin band zebandam hamiy yaar judaa

husn e tu deeri na payadi chooz e khusro rafti

gulbasi deeri na bashad choo shud az- khar judaa"

(Translation)*
How can I leave my beloved?

In this enchanting rain , how do I wrench this heart away?

Heavens pour as I leave my love. Each weeps in loneliness, its own way.
Meadows green, the blooming orchards sway,

but in separation the dark nightingale laments far away.
Entangled I am in your locks, and yet in one stroke

you have severed my being, from the beloved away.
Beauty will not last not, if kept away from 'Khusro'.

Without the thorn, a flower wilts soon enough, if plucked away

The poignancy of the song was amazing, for in that moment there was nothing I could have wanted more than to be able to enjoy the monsoon, the cool breeze, and the captivating green freshness of the world, with the beloved. To just walk, nowhere in particular, oblivious to time or place. What else is there to life, I thought, than to live an infinite number of moments when you are happy?

They can't have been my friends, I thought, the song and the weather; for they ignited in me a longing and reminded me of what I missed.

Then again, who else, but for the closest friends, would know what we want the most, and remind us of the same from time to time lest we forget it.

So I smiled, and the three of us had a nice drive together.

(* Not mine. I also apologise to those who read, speak, and write Persian for the many spelling mistakes that I am sure I have made, in trying to remain close to the pronunciation.)