Sheila Ki Jawani - A metaphysical Epos

Dear friends, 

    My name is Trollananda swamy. I represent an N.G.O called as Abbepari Technologies. I bring to you 

an illustration.  A special and a higher interpretation of a popular Bollywood number called, Sheila ki Jawani.

This is a magnificent piece of expression that  has very profound symbolism hidden in it. So profound that 

when the hidden meaning of the this song dawned on me, I felt I had unraveled the purpose of my life. This 

verse form is a three way conversation between a desirous man, a confused woman and the ever so evasive 

time itself. It has beautifully brought out the elemental subjects of our world. One should bear in mind that 

the element, "time" discussed in this song is the unquantifiable,the abstract, the unknown continuum of 

something that cannot be explained but only be experienced. In other words it is something that we all 

know as God. Let us analyse this work.

The first few lines are of the time. The following are the lines.

I know you want it but you never gonna get it
Tere haath kabhi na aani
Maane na maane koi duniya yeh saari, mere ishq ki hai deewani

The deathless time is saying to the physical world that "I am that one thing you all yearn for but you can 

never get a hold of". Time then continues to add "Many have made an attempt to understand me but what 

they have indeed obtained is delirium"

Ab dil karta hai haule haule se, main toh khud ko gale lagaun
Kisi aur ki mujhko zaroorat kya, main toh khud se pyaar jataun

The above two lines bring out the paradoxical nature of time. In the sense that there is no end nor the 

beginning of time as we see it. It is but a illusion and not a notion as we mortals seem to perceive. It is 

omnipresent, pervasive accross all realms imaginable by humans. It extends from eternity to eternity. It

does so by looping on to it self. Like an Escher's loop. When something loops on to it self it has attained
the state of eternity. There is no start, there is no end. Those two lines translate to "I embrace myself, I 

take myself in and emerge out like my original self. I am the source, and I am the sink. I need no other 

source nor a sink"

What follows next is a woman's confusion and her miserable identity crisis.

(what's my name, what's my name, what's my name)
My name is Sheela
Sheela ki jawani

The above lines depict the nature of a human being who is but wondering who he or she really is. Like the

Socrates has said "Know Thyself" or like how Jakie chan wondered who he was in the movie "Who am I".

This is precisely what she means when she is asking "what's my name, what's my name, what's my 

name". The woman is expressing her state of dilemma. She doesn't know if she is a person called "Sheila"

or if she is just a physical form of youthful spirit called "Sheila Ki Jawani". She is confused if she must 

beautify her body or if she must enrich her intellect to reach higher existence. It is typical, we all go through 

this crisis in our lives. We wonder that our materialistic life is so insignificant, earning for a living is pointless

but then we try to convince ourselves that may be this is how god wanted us to be. And we should take the 
path of karma and let the wisdom find us. 

I'm too sexy for you
Main tere haath na aani

Here too, the woman is expressing her dilemma. She says she is so polymorphic(read sexy as sections,

class,type et cetera) in her ways that even god is having a tough time giving her an identity. She says she is a 

nail(Aani in regional languages is for nail) that the god must hit on, to drive her through the wall of life.   

Now the time converses with the other kind of nature, which longs for power, which is selfish, which is 

corruptible and which is by norms a bad side of the nature. It converses, to a man who has dreams and 

desires. Who is deluded that time is in his favour and will always will be. Time teases him and puts his 

intentions to test by cunningly flirting with him. This is one test every man must sail through to see 

beyond horizons, to achieve salvation. This is one test a very few men have succeeded to pass. This is one

test that has rendered empires of epic nature crumble to shackles because the emperors were weak. Be it 

the Greek or Indian mythology. Be it Helen of Sparta or Draupadi or Sita. Men who rule kingdom take 

the bait of desire that time throws at them and then they head towards peril.

Take it off, take it off, take it off, take it off
Silly silly silly silly boys
O o o (you're so silly)
Mujhe follow follow karte hain
O o o
Haan jab unki taraf dekhun, baatein haule haule karte hain
Yeh magar, beasar mujhpe har paintra

The above lines translate to “Get rid of ego. Lose your past. Lose your desires of the future. You boys are 

fools(silly) who are in constant search of me, on a look out that will never end. But when I do come to 

you giving you what you longed for, you take conceit.You bask in your success. And forget that success 

is but temporary, another illusion and therefore I take aback”

Haye re aise tarse humko
Ho gaye sau arse re
Sookhey dil pe megha ban ke teri nazariya barse re

The above lines are from that of the men which translate to “I have done everything what it takes to reach

 where I want to. I have waited years and years for you to come and bless me. I am thirsty at soul and I 

need you (time) to fill me”

I know you want it but you never gonna get it
Tere haath kabhi na aani

The time is teasing the man again in the above lines.

What develops next is a competition between woman and man to woo the time get its attention. So the 

woman starts to draw time's attention by cutting into the conversation between man and the time.

Sheela
Sheela ki jawani
I'm too sexy for you
Main tere haath na aani

Na na na sheela
Sheela ki jawani
I'm too sexy for you
Main tere haath na aani

You could see that the woman is getting desperate and in a bid to gain time's attention she repeats herself 

twice. So that she be heard and answered to.

But indeed, time wants to test the man. So she lures him by starting to negotiate with him. The man who is

drinking in his desires is too naive to understand that he is being played and all this is an illusion

Paisa gaadi mehnga ghar
I need a man who can gimme all that
Jaibein khaali fateechar
No no I don't, I don't like that

Chal yahan se nikal tujhe sab laa dunga
Kadmon mein tere laake jag rakh dunga
Khwaab main kar dunga poore
Na rahenge adhoore
You know I'm going to love you like that, whatever

Haye re aise tarse humko
Ho gaye sau arse
Sookhey dil pe megha ban ke teri nazariya barse re

We can see in the above lines that the man the time are flirting. The interpretation is as done previously.

I know you want it but you never gonna get it
You never gonna get my body
I know you want it but you never gonna get it
Tere haath kabhi na aani
Maane na maane koi duniya yeh saari, tere ishq ki main deewani
Ab dil karta hai haule haule se, main toh khud ko gale lagaun
Kisi aur ki mujhko zaroorat kya, main toh khud se pyaar jataun

But alas, the man proposes and time disoses. It teaches him a lesson. And evades from him like a sly. The 

man is left alone, and made loser(Chutiya if you will) out of him. And the time leaves. It signs off from 

the conversation.

By this time the woman has got more desperate and in that desperation, she is driven to the verge of 

insanity.

(what's my name, what's my name, what's my name)
My name is Sheela
Sheela ki jawani
I'm too sexy for you
Main tere haath na aani
O no no sheela
Sheela ki jawani
I'm too sexy for you
Main tere haath na aani
Sheela
Sheela ki jawani
I'm way too sexy for you
Main tere haath na aani

You can observe that this time woman has repeated herself thrice since the last attempt with two repetition 

was a failure. 

Ain't nobody gotta body like (sheela)
Everybody want the body I have (sheela)
Drive you crazy coz my name is (sheela)
Ain't nobody gotta body like (sheela)
Everybody want the body I have (sheela)
Drive you crazy coz my name is (sheela)
Ain't nobody gotta body like (sheela)

Finally she hits the button of insanity and becomes crazy. She tried to understand who she really was and 

she ended up losing her mind.

I hope you are now in a position to appreciate this great great piece of symbolism. But the greatest is yet to

be told. You know this song was called and item song. There is a reason why it is called so. If you closely 

observe, “item” is an anagram of “time”. Isn't it brilliant how Bollywood hides such infinite wisdom in a 

song sequence that has no connection to the story line. 

Thanks for reading the illustration. Your comments will be appreciated.

Love,
-Trollananda Swamy