Tum aa gaye ho

“Love is the only reality and it is not a mere sentiment. It is the ultimate truth that lies at the heart of creation.” - Rabindranath Tagore

People talk a lot about love, but what exactly does it mean?

Love does not mean being together constantly; one can be distant and still be in love. Love may be anything from being physically attracted to being emotionally attached.

A beautiful aspect of love is that it enables one to play numerous roles such as friend, guide, teacher, mentor, partner, or anything else.

Love is a process, a journey that may or may not have a beginning but certainly does not have an end. It is a timeless feeling of absolute selflessness that fills the heart with warmth.

Is there any way to tell when someone has fallen in love? Is it possible to describe this emotion?

There is no way to tell if someone has fallen in love. There is no set rule for falling in love, nor is there a checklist to certify it. It might be discovered in an instant or it could take much longer.

Love cannot be expressed in words. Because it has no specific meaning, everyone has their definition of it.

Every writer has written about love, giving it a distinct meaning.

Gulzar, the wordsmith, has written many songs about love, each with its unique explanation of love. In this song also, he decodes the word 'love' in his signature style.

In 'Tum aa gaye ho,' he narrates the entire process of how it begins, grows, and then continues. For him, love means sharing a journey and discovering each other.

Tum aa gaye ho, noor aa gayaa hai

nahi to charaagon se lau jaa rahi thi

jeene ki tumse wajah mil gai hai

badi bewajah zindagi jaa rahi thi

The Beginning

"There are darknesses in life and there are lights; you are one of the lights, the light of all lights." - Bram Stoker

Love is a lot more than just a physical emotion; it is also a way of life and being. Without love, life can become monotonous and all the efforts would seem meaningless.

Love, not only metaphorically, but literally, brings light into our life. It provides comfort and stability, allowing us to recognize the beauty of life even in the darkest of times. Love improves our mental health and offers us a sense of joy and contentment.

Love brings light to us in other ways as well. It nurtures us with compassion and respect, and it inspires us to be our best selves. Love drives us to achieve our goals, no matter how difficult they appear to be. It gives us the courage to face challenges and keeps us motivated in life.

When we feel loved, we also have a sense of purpose. We know that someone loves us unconditionally, no matter what.

In a nutshell, love gives purpose to life and gives us the ability to keep going.

Gulzar, who has mastered the art of metaphor, uses the metaphor of 'noor' (light) to depict love, reflecting the idea that darkness (without having the other person around) is replaced with light (having the other person close by) while implying an end to despair and a feeling of joy.

Isn't it true that love brightens our lives and gives us a sense of fulfillment? What else would one need but love if it makes one's life more meaningful and worthwhile?

This is how one feels at the start of a love!

People are generally inspired by the work of others, but being inspired by one's work requires brilliance.

Here, Gulzar takes inspiration from his lines (tum noor leke chale aaye varna, mere charaghon se lau ja rahi thi) written for another song a long time ago and elaborates on them to create another masterpiece like this!

kahaan se chale kahaan ke liye,

ye khabar nahi thi magar

koi bhi siraa, jahan jaa milaa

wahin tum miloge

ke ham tak tumhaari duaa aa rahi thi

The Happening

“Ask for what you want and be prepared to get it.”

— Maya Angelou

Love is a strange journey in the sense that there is no predetermined destination here; the intention is just to go together. The journey of love never ends because the path is always beautiful.

Andrew Marvell writes in his poem 'The Definition of Love' that love is wholly governed by fate and that there is very little control over it. He claims that even if two individuals are deeply in love and devoted to one another, they may never be together.

This is true!

It is fate that determines our love. Love always finds a way to be found. Otherwise, how come a stranger becomes the closest person with whom we would want to travel the rest of the journey, talk about everything and, feel safe with the person around?

The lines above highlight the idea underlying the law of attraction. The law is based on the concept that thoughts are a type of energy that attracts other things that are similar to them.

This is exactly how love functions. If one wishes to be with someone and the feelings are authentic, any path will take them to love. As if someone had prayed for us to meet, and our meeting was the result of their prayers!

It's almost as if the Universe brought us together.

After all, vibration, not words, is the universe's language.

“Thoughts become things. If you see it in your mind, you will hold it in your hand.”

— Bob Proctor

Gulzar says that in love, one does not know the starting point and is also uncertain about the eventual destination. What matters in love is the trip you take together.

"So, I love you because the entire universe conspired to help me find you." — Pablo Coelho

din dubaa nahi, raat dubi nahi

jaane kaisaa hai safar

khwaabon ke diye

aankhon mein liye

vahin aa rahe the

jahaan se tumhaari sadaa aa rahi thi

The Road Ahead

‘If the path be beautiful, let us not question where it leads.’ – Anatole France

It is often said that love can transcend all boundaries, including the powerful distinction of time; nonetheless, it is also frequently associated with the concept of "forever."

Life's journey is filled with highs and lows, successes and failures, and is thus never consistent. Love brings a sense of uniformity to this journey called life.

We lose track of time when we are in love. We don't care what time of day it is or how the journey will be; we simply want to follow the call of our love.

Any obstacle or challenge coming our way doesn’t matter while being in love. We are just hopeful of it being the best. Love tells us that no matter how difficult the path is, we must keep moving with strong determination.

In love, our minds tend to wander; in a sense, we become dreamers (khwabon ke diye aankhon mein liye). Love makes us dreamers because anything seems possible for us when we are in it.

Love can help us to manifest the dreams we never thought possible. We create a world of possibilities and are so full of hope & optimism. Love creates natural positive energy that helps us to realize our dreams.

That’s the power of love.

Tum aa gaye ho noor aa gaya hai…

"Love is the whole thing. We are only pieces."—Rumi

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=tSjrsT8pTbQ

P.S.: I am thankful to my reader who had asked for this song. This song not only enabled me to explore different spaces but also let me complete my trilogy on 'Aandhi'.