Khoon se khelenge holi gar vatan muskhil mein hai

Sarfaroshi ki tamanna ab hamaare dil mein hai

Dekhna hai zor kitna baazu-e-qaatil mein hai
Karta nahin kyun doosra kuch baat-cheet

Dekhta hun main jise woh chup teri mehfil mein hai

Aye shaheed-e-mulk-o-millat main tere oopar nisaar

Ab teri himmat ka charcha ghair ki mehfil mein hai

Sarfaroshi ki tamanna ab hamaare dil mein hai

Waqt aanay dey bata denge tujhe aye aasman

Hum abhi se kya batayen kya hamare dil mein hai

Khainch kar layee hai sab ko qatl hone ki ummeed

Aashiqon ka aaj jumghat koocha-e-qaatil mein hai

Sarfaroshi ki tamanna ab hamaare dil mein hai

Hai liye hathiyaar dushman taak mein baitha udhar

Aur hum taiyyaar hain seena liye apna idhar

Khoon se khelenge holi gar vatan muskhil mein hai

Sarfaroshi ki tamanna ab hamaare dil mein hai

Haath jin mein ho junoon katt te nahi talvaar se

Sar jo uth jaate hain voh jhukte nahi lalkaar se

Aur bhadkega jo shola-sa humaare dil mein hai

Sarfaroshi ki tamanna ab hamaare dil mein hai

Hum to ghar se nikle hi the baandhkar sar pe kafan

Jaan hatheli par liye lo bhar chale hain ye qadam

Zindagi to apni mehmaan maut ki mehfil mein hai

Sarfaroshi ki tamanna ab hamaare dil mein hai

Yuun khadaa maqtal mein qaatil kah rahaa hai baar baar

Kya tamannaa-e-shahaadat bhi kisee ke dil mein hai

Dil mein tuufaanon ki toli aur nason mein inqilaab

Hosh dushman ke udaa denge humein roko na aaj

Duur reh paaye jo humse dam kahaan manzil mein hai
Sarfaroshi ki tamanna ab hamaare dil mein hai.

Dekhna hai zor kitna baazuay qaatil mein hai.

Sarfaroshi ki tamanna is a poem by the popular Indian revolutionary Ram Prasad Bismil. A song which I heard for the first time in the movie legend of Bhagat Singh, and then again in the movie rang de basanti.
Seeing Atul Kulkarni say the lines with fervor made the hairs on my hands stand up. Whether it was because of my liking for the actor, the way he rendered the lines or the sheer power of the lines, am not sure.
Rang De Basanti was on TV recently. One of my all time favourite movies, one which I have seen not less than 5 times. I enjoy every bit of it. The humor, the wit, sarcasm and the reticent romance, and the indispensable feel of patriotism.
I love the part when R.Madhavan says “har desh perfect nahi hoti. Use perfect banana padta hein”. Brilliant!! How true! We never tire ourselves comparing our ‘impoverished’ motherland to the giants like America and the like. But how many of us do actually even dream of making a better India ? How many of us even dare to dream of a better India ? All we people know is to get a B-degree from somewhere and fly of to a foreign land, making big bucks and licking the asses of those people who we tried so hard to kick out.
It is a sad state of affairs when we need movies like RDB and Bhagat Singh to bring out the patriot in us. It is true in my case too. I watch these movies; I love them by the way, and for a maximum of 2-3 days am smitten by the patriotic bug. The only songs I sing and listen to then, are the "e mere watan ke logon"s and "sarfaroshi ki tamanna"s. I dream of perhaps having been born at the time of the independence struggle, perhaps as someone who participated in the protest marches. All these are feelings which overpower me, but sadly only when a stimulus attacks. A stimulus like a (mere) bollywood movie. Sad!
There are quite a few lines in the movie(RDB) which are food for thought. For example when amir khan says “ zindgi jeene ki do tareekein hote hein. Ek jo hota hein hone do, bardasht karte jaao, aur doosra,zimmedari udhao usko badalne ki” I found myself thinking in which category I belonged to. And sadly (again!), I guess I fall into the former. Though somewhere there is a rebel in me. And though I consider it my weakness to actually wait for something, anything to bring out that rebel in me, I am at least relieved that there is a fire in which I term as ‘healthy patriotism’.
Though I am crippled by my family and others who care, about not letting me be in the army, or air force preferably, I quote bismil again "Even if I have to face death a thousand times for the sake of my Motherland, I shall not be sorry. Oh Lord! Grant me a hundred births in Bharath. But grant me this, too, that each time I may give up my life in the service of the Mother land."