Anjan Dutta is a popular artist of the 1990s Bengali music scene defined by… Read Full Bio ↴Anjan Dutta is a popular artist of the 1990s Bengali music scene defined by anyodharar gaan (alternative songs). He passed his childhood in St Paul's School, Darjeeling, a Himalayan township of West Bengal. He holds an MA degree in English literature from the University of Calcutta, in India. Anjan started his career as an actor in Bengali cinema. His first film was Chalachitro directed by Mrinal Sen, where he won the prize for the best newcomer actor, at the Venice Film Festival. But later on, his career diverted towards the world of music. Anjan Dutta's style of music is different from the others in the sense that it has simple tunes, one that is reminiscent of western hits. His lyrics are simple in nature. Anjan's music is somewhat influenced by blues and country music. He is the first Bengali artist to depend more on the saxophone. Anjan Dutta is also a co-director of several Bengali and Hindi language movies. He has admitted that he is a fan of Bob Dylan and his Bengali contemporary Suman Chatterjee. Recently, he has acted in Aparna Sen's film, Mr. and Mrs. Iyer. In a nutshell, Anjan Dutta may be regarded as one of the best serious actors in the Indian parallel cinema movement, that has seen the likes of Mrinal Sen's much-esteemed film "Bhuvan Som". Anjan Dutta has been regarded by some as being the 'angry young man' of serious cinema in contemporary India.

Happy Birthday
Anjan Dutt Lyrics

Jump to: Overall Meaning ↴ Line by Line Meaning ↴

Chhonda I am writing this letter to you
from a manhattan pub and its twelve fifty two.
They've switched off the music and they're washing the glass,
got to return back to my hotel.

There's so many things that i want to say,
now that i 've come so far way.
All the wrong things i've done and all the wrong things i've said

what u mean to me today.

And i want to ask you how things are at home,
whether u miss me, what u cooked yesterday.
but this napkins is too small to fit in all that
and they have shut down the mall.

Outside the broadway it's cold and its blue
and my pocket is bury as the soles of my shoe.
I wish I could stay and talk about you
to the old man behind the bar.

I wish i could tell you what this day means to me,
wish i could write a fancy poetry,
but all I've written in the past half an hour
is a little "happy birthday to you".

I am sorry to be such awefull old man
wish I could make u understand
but since I am so far, so far away from you
well a little "happy birthday to you"!.

ছন্দা এই চিঠিটা লিখছি তোমায়,
একটা ম্যানহাটন বার থেকে রাত বারোটায়.
ওরা নিভিয়ে দিচ্ছে আলো, ধুয়ে ফেলছে গেলাস,
আবার সেই সস্তার হোটেল.

আজ অনেক কিছুই বলতে চাইছি তোমায়,
বসে এই সুদূর আমেরিকায়,
রোজকার সেই একঘেয়ে মিথ্যে কথা নয়,
মনের ভেতর থেকে!.

ইচ্ছে করছে জানতে কাঁদছে কি মন?
কি করছে আমার কলকাতা এখন.
কিন্তু ন্যাপকিনটা বড়ই ছোট ভেতরটা নীল,
আর পেন এর কালি ফুরিয়ে গেছে.

বাইরে বড়ই ধোয়াশায় ভেজা,
ভেজা আমার ছেড়া জুতার শুকতলাটা,
আর পকেটেও মাত্র ডলার ছ' টা,
শেষ হুইস্কিটাও ফুরিয়ে গেছে.

আমি জানি আমি লোকটা সুবিধের নই,
সব ছেড়েছুড়ে বেড়াই ঘুরে বিদেশ-বিভূঁই.
তবু ন্যাপকিনটা আজ আমি পোস্ট করবই
নেশা কেটে যাওয়ার আগে.

ইচ্ছে ছিল লেখার তোমায় অনেক কথা,
বড়সড় মানেওয়ালা কবিতা.

কিন্তু ঘন্টাখানেক ধরে শুধু একটাই কথা লিখেছি -
Happy Birthday to you!!.

Overall Meaning

In this song, Anjan Dutt is narrating a letter to his beloved Chonda from a Manhattan pub on her birthday. He is reminiscing about all the things he wants to say, all the wrong things he has done, and all the love he feels for her. He wishes he could stay and talk to the old man behind the bar about her, but he has to return to his hotel. As he looks outside, he sees the cold and blue Broadway, and his pocket is empty as the soles of his shoe. He wishes he could tell her that the day means something to him, and write fancy poetry for her, but all he has written is "happy birthday to you." He apologizes for not saying more and being an "awful old man" but sends his love and wishes her a happy birthday.

The lyrics of "Happy Birthday" by Anjan Dutt encapsulate the bittersweet emotions and nostalgia experienced by someone who is far away from their loved ones on a special day. The song's poetic lyrics beautifully explore the complexity of emotions felt by someone who wants to express their love but finds themselves unable to do so fully. The song's melancholy tune perfectly captures the sense of longing and love.

Line by Line Meaning

Chhonda I am writing this letter to you from a manhattan pub and its twelve fifty two.
I am writing this letter to you, Chhonda, from a pub in Manhattan at 12:52 am.

They've switched off the music and they're washing the glass, got to return back to my hotel.
The bar has stopped playing music and is cleaning up, signaling that I should head back to my hotel.

There's so many things that i want to say, now that i 've come so far way.
I have so much to say now that I am so far away from you.

All the wrong things i've done and all the wrong things i've said what u mean to me today.
I want to apologize for the wrongs I've committed and convey to you the depth of your meaning to me.

And i want to ask you how things are at home, whether u miss me, what u cooked yesterday.
I'm curious about how things are back home, whether you miss me, and what you cooked yesterday.

but this napkins is too small to fit in all that and they have shut down the mall.
This napkin is too small to contain everything I want to say, and the bar is closing down.

Outside the broadway it's cold and its blue and my pocket is bury as the soles of my shoe.
The weather is cold and blue outside of Broadway, and my pockets are as empty as the soles of my shoes.

I wish I could stay and talk about you to the old man behind the bar.
I wish I could stay and talk to the bartender about you.

I wish i could tell you what this day means to me, wish i could write a fancy poetry, but all I've written in the past half an hour is a little 'happy birthday to you'.
I wish I could express the true depth of what this day means and write you some fancy poetry, but all I can come up with in the last half hour is 'happy birthday to you.'

I am sorry to be such awefull old man wish I could make u understand but since I am so far, so far away from you well a little 'happy birthday to you'!.
I apologize for being an awful old man and wish I could make you understand, but since I am so far, all I can offer is a little 'happy birthday to you.'

Contributed by Noah C. Suggest a correction in the comments below.

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