The heart has a mind too

Usha Wadhwa

NO more will we enjoy those soulful romantic melodies of yore. No more will KL Saigal, Talat Mehmood and company touch our heart strings. Mukesh singing Maine dil tujhko diya will not create the same impact. 

Heart has been dislodged from the seat it has occupied since man began writing poetry and love lyrics. It has been thrown down from its high pedestal by the all-knowing scientists. “No, we don’t love with our hearts.” They have declared and can give proof — all research-based evidence. They can show you CT scans where a mere look at your beloved’s photo will “trigger sparks in the brain”. They use high-sounding technical words to confuse us simple folks further: neural wiring, release of oxytocin, dopamine levels, etc.  

To impress us, they call themselves neuroscientists, talk about “the low road and the high road of relating”. Also, “men and women love differently” they point out. 

Well, Mr Scientist! If you have CT scans to prove your point, I can give you some solid proofs that heart, and not the brain, is the true abode of love. A chance mention of one’s beloved and the heart goes racing faster than a bullet train. And a face-to-face chance encounter makes the heart thump so loudly, like it would break itself free of the rib cage.

Does the brain do anything of this sort? 

The heart has a magical power too. It continues to perform its duty of pumping blood even after it has been handed over to the loved one or gets lost. Is the brain equipped to do that? No chance! 

The heart listens to no logic, no reasoning, doesn’t care about  highs and lows, doesn’t count gain or loss, just pure and simple love. But the moment love enters the realm of the brain, even if by mistake, it is sure to suffocate love by asking innumerable questions — police constable style.  

Tell me, Mr Scientist, have you exhausted all other subjects of research that you now come invading  the matters of the heart, of which you know nothing about?

You have made it real tough for poets and singers too. Try replacing the word ‘dil’ every time it occurs in a song with ‘dimag’, or ‘heart’ with ‘brain’ in every lyric and try singing it, Mr Scientist! 

The storytellers have their objections too. Imagine the situation — the boy kneeling before his ladylove trying to profess his eternal love by saying “I love you. I love you with the whole of my brain!” 

Sounds ridiculous. Doesn’t it?

So, shift your loyalties if you want, but I will keep listening to Hemant Kumar’s Yaad kiya dil ne kahan ho tum with my complete faith in the abode of love.