While I was listening to Lucky Ali’s song ‘Dekha Hai Aise Bhi’, it struck me that it’s not a normal song video. It has some deeper meaning to it (like many other Lucky Ali videos). You must have noticed that Lucky Ali’s videos have always been around travel and a variety of travel destinations, and there’s a Rumi-esque element into it. “What you seek is seeking you.” Although in his interviews, he has never explicitly said that traveling inspires him to write songs. In fact, in one of his recent interviews, he was asking about his main source of inspiration and he said it’s “Allah”.
Coming back to Dekha Hai Aise Bhi, at the starting of the video, Luck Ali sees a clairvoyant/tarot card reader who smilingly looks at him and tells him- “You’re back. You’ve been here before. Haven’t you?”- as if she’s been waiting for him.
Which kind of hints that he was here before. It could probably mean that he is reincarnated. He picks up a beaded red Indian neckband and starts his travel, in what looks like is the United States. He’s specifically getting into a bus on ‘Route 66’.
According to a Quora post, Route 66 is a symbol of hope. The Quora user goes on to explain its history-
Back in the thirties, when America was struggling with severe dust storms that greatly damaged its ecology and agriculture, throwing the States into an economic depression, Route 66 came to America as a mother comes to succour her child. It connected East America to the new West and opened up various employment possibilities. The long route sprouted on its side various eateries, gas stations, no-tell motels (motels where your identity is not demanded and the rooms are rented on an hourly basis), and various tourist traps. The highway also enabled the trucks to compete with rails because now the trucks could transport stuff from east to west faster. Route 66 brought along with it hope for a better future and soon began to be called the Mother Road.
Throughout the song, he is seen taking several buses and also hitchhikes to reach his destination. There is a recurring sight of a red Indian in his traditional costume. You also see Cowboys shooting at each other which signifies Lucky is in the Texas region. He is seen ending his journey going towards Santa Fe which is New Mexico’s capital. It’s roughly a journey of 8 hours.
His ride happens to be with the same Tarot card girl after he hitchhikes with her in her truck. In the end, she drops him in front of a shop. He comes to the shop where he sees no one. There is a table placed outside where he keeps his neckband and leaves.
According to the same Quora post, it implies that everything you take from this world is borrowed and on finishing one journey and while preparing for the other, it must be returned. Dekha hai aise bhi, kisi ko aise hi… refers to Deja-Vu arising from rebirth and continuity of life cycle. The Red Indian in the video represents the eternal God, who watches over you. Red Indians were the first people to settle in America. Everyone else who came after them is, in a sense, a tourist. The eternal God was always there, before you and me, before any and everything. We are tourists in this world, traveling at our ease, just as Lucky is traveling in America in the video.
If you think there is any other meaning of the song, do tell me.
