It was 1994, and the one audio cassette that was playing in every household was Hum Aapke Hain Koun..! And Maye ni Maye, I believe the first song on the cassette, was increasing the income of the neighbourhood dance classes. There was a line in the song that intrigued me for a long while, that went “us jogi ke sang meri tu kar de ab kudmaai.”
That stumped me because neither I, nor the people I knew, seemed to know what this kudmaai was. A few years later, when the Internet was there to help us, I found out that it was a Punjabi word, which meant engagement, sagaai, roka, basically deciding that these two are now going to be married to each other.
Now, there is a new song in Rocky aur Rani kii Prem Kahaani that is called ‘Kudmayi’ with the lines going ‘teri kudmayi ke din aa gaye’, basically meaning that we didn’t realise the time to get your marriage fixed has arrived so quickly.
Just for reference, the word is pronounced as kuRmaai, with a ड़ sound (/ɽ/) there and not ड.
Zinda Banda Meaning
Zinda is Hindi/Urdu for 'alive', while 'banda' is a casual word for a person. Originally 'banda' meant a follower of god, but it has now become synonymous with a 'person' in casual language.
Hence, the words 'Zinda banda' literally mean someone who is alive. While the words may literally sound odd, poetically, they would mean someone who is lively or energetic.
Zinda Banda is the title of a song from Jawan (also spelled as Jawaan). Jawan is a word used for a soldier, though it literally means 'young'.
The words are used in a popular couplet by Wasim Barelvi, even though the original couplet doesn't use them.
Here is the original couplet which is credited along with the official YouTube video of the song, as well as mentioned by Shah Rukh Khan on Twitter.
उसूलों पर जहाँ आँच आए टकराना ज़रूरी है
जो ज़िंदा हो तो फिर ज़िंदा नज़र आना ज़रूरी है
Which translates to: It's imperative to confront when your principles are at stake. If you're alive, it's imperative to look alive.
The version in the film is:
उसूलों पर जहाँ आँच आए टकराना ज़रूरी है
बंदा ज़िंदा हो तो फिर ज़िंदा नज़र आना ज़रूरी है
There is hardly any change in the meaning, even though it changes the 'meter' (or the length) of the couplet a bit. SRK's next line, 'बंदा हो, तो ज़िंदा हो' means 'a person should be alive', which is more like, if you exist, you better be ready to fight for what you believe in.
Hence, the words 'Zinda banda' literally mean someone who is alive. While the words may literally sound odd, poetically, they would mean someone who is lively or energetic.
Zinda Banda is the title of a song from Jawan (also spelled as Jawaan). Jawan is a word used for a soldier, though it literally means 'young'.
The words are used in a popular couplet by Wasim Barelvi, even though the original couplet doesn't use them.
Here is the original couplet which is credited along with the official YouTube video of the song, as well as mentioned by Shah Rukh Khan on Twitter.
उसूलों पर जहाँ आँच आए टकराना ज़रूरी है
जो ज़िंदा हो तो फिर ज़िंदा नज़र आना ज़रूरी है
Which translates to: It's imperative to confront when your principles are at stake. If you're alive, it's imperative to look alive.
The version in the film is:
उसूलों पर जहाँ आँच आए टकराना ज़रूरी है
बंदा ज़िंदा हो तो फिर ज़िंदा नज़र आना ज़रूरी है
There is hardly any change in the meaning, even though it changes the 'meter' (or the length) of the couplet a bit. SRK's next line, 'बंदा हो, तो ज़िंदा हो' means 'a person should be alive', which is more like, if you exist, you better be ready to fight for what you believe in.
Ve Kamleya — Kamleya Meaning
Ve Kamleya is the title of a song from the film Rocky aur Rani kii Prem Kahani. The word 'kamleya' comes from kamla, meaning a crazy person, and is the vocative form of the word, that is, a form used when you call someone.
So when you say 've kamleya', it means 'O crazy one', and thus, the line 've kamleya mere naadaan dil' means 'O my crazy, naïve heart.'
Wo Hue Laapata Lyrics Translation — King
The song uses the gender-independent, ‘respectful’ pronouns for the beloved about whom the protagonist is talking. Therefore, ‘they/them’ is used while translating since it’s not specified it’s a woman he’s talking about or even that it’s an exclusively romantic love, though these are the common assumptions.
Tumhein Kitna Pyaar Karte — Lyric Review
tumhein dil nisaar karte
tumhein jaan nisaar karte
Wasn't it supposed to be 'tumpe dil nisaar karte'? (Of course that wouldn't fit the meter here, but just talking of the grammar.)
But then of course, one can take some poetic liberty, as long as the meaning of the lyrics doesn't go some other way, and they are understood by people.
Except that in case of words like 'nisaar', things can go the 'other' way very quickly.
Nisaar means to sacrifice, and if not used carefully, it can go kinda... wrong. That is to say, instead of saying sacrificing 'for someone', you might sacrifice that someone in a line.
So when the words should be (hum) tumpe X nisaar karte (meaning, I would have sacrificed X for you), you can't really change it to 'tumhein' nisaar karte, because then it becomes more like I'd have sacrificed 'you'.
Of course, here it's not exactly 'tumhein nisaar karte', because the words are tumhein dil nisaar karte and tumhein jaan nisaar karte, but then Urdu gives you an option to club some words in such a way that words like dil-nisaar and jaan-nisaar can be used as words with their own meaning. (For the uninitiated, Javed Akhtar's father, who was a famous poet and lyricist too, was called Jaan Nisaar Akhtar.) Hence, 'jaan-nisaar' can easily mean someone who sacrifices his life.
So in this song's lines, if you see dil-nisaar and jaan-nisaar as words in their own right (because they would grammatically be perfect fits in these lines), the lines mean more like, I'd have made you someone who sacrifices your heart, sacrifices your life — something that might sound okay, but not really the intended meaning, I believe.
I know it's a bit of a nitpicking in an otherwise lovely and very enjoyable song, but then, what are big lyricists there for if one can't discuss such nuances? 🤓 Especially when you love the song...
tumhein jaan nisaar karte
Wasn't it supposed to be 'tumpe dil nisaar karte'? (Of course that wouldn't fit the meter here, but just talking of the grammar.)
But then of course, one can take some poetic liberty, as long as the meaning of the lyrics doesn't go some other way, and they are understood by people.
Except that in case of words like 'nisaar', things can go the 'other' way very quickly.
Nisaar means to sacrifice, and if not used carefully, it can go kinda... wrong. That is to say, instead of saying sacrificing 'for someone', you might sacrifice that someone in a line.
So when the words should be (hum) tumpe X nisaar karte (meaning, I would have sacrificed X for you), you can't really change it to 'tumhein' nisaar karte, because then it becomes more like I'd have sacrificed 'you'.
Of course, here it's not exactly 'tumhein nisaar karte', because the words are tumhein dil nisaar karte and tumhein jaan nisaar karte, but then Urdu gives you an option to club some words in such a way that words like dil-nisaar and jaan-nisaar can be used as words with their own meaning. (For the uninitiated, Javed Akhtar's father, who was a famous poet and lyricist too, was called Jaan Nisaar Akhtar.) Hence, 'jaan-nisaar' can easily mean someone who sacrifices his life.
So in this song's lines, if you see dil-nisaar and jaan-nisaar as words in their own right (because they would grammatically be perfect fits in these lines), the lines mean more like, I'd have made you someone who sacrifices your heart, sacrifices your life — something that might sound okay, but not really the intended meaning, I believe.
I know it's a bit of a nitpicking in an otherwise lovely and very enjoyable song, but then, what are big lyricists there for if one can't discuss such nuances? 🤓 Especially when you love the song...
Pehle Ishq Lada Loon — The Beauty of Lyrics in Zara Hatke Zara Bachke
How many times do we get to listen to lyrics which are not only fun, but also talk about the character a little, and then even add some figures of speech, or alankaars, as they are called in Hindi?
The lyrics from Vicky Kaushal and Sara Ali Khan starrer Zara Hatke Zara Bachke seem to do that in quite a few places, thanks to Amitabh Bhattacharya's nuanced writing for the film.
I mean there is 'Baby tujhe paap lagega' there in the film too, but interestingly, the two songs which seem to be doing really well are the ones I'm going gaga over — namely 'Tere Vaaste' and 'Phir aur kya chaahiye'.
First of all, I love how Vicky Kaushal's character is accommodated in the lyrics. The lazy/go-with-the-flow character comes out so beautifully in a few places. My top favourite being 'jab tak teri neend na toote, ugta nahi hai sooraj mera' from phir aur kya chaahiye. The line literally means that his sun doesn't rise until she wakes up. It's like using all the lovely poetry to say, "I don't want to wake up before you". 😂
'Tere Vaaste' is even more clear on the objectives, as 'Chaand taaron se kaho ki abhi Thehrein zara, pehle ishq laRaa loon uske baad laaunga' sets up the priorities right from the first line. And then there are the lines 'chehra hai tera chanda/ naina tere sitaare/ ambar tak jaana hi fizool hai'. Of course he's praising her beauty, but the lines also tell that he's not really interested in putting so much hard work if there is not much of a need.
These lines can be considered as showing the character's world, or the fact that he's already married to his love and hence takes her just a little bit for granted in spite of all the love. Either way, they seem to work for the film.
Other than that, of course the alliteration in 'solah-satrah sitaare sang baandh laaunga' and the wait-for-it shlesh (one phrase, two meanings when read/listened two different ways) in 'tu hi re / tu heere' are fun.
The 'tu hi re / tu heere' one is also interesting because 'tu hi re' is an old, immensely popular song, so when you listen to the words for the first time, you pretty much always think of it as 'tu hi re' rather than 'tu heere', but then after three repetitions of the phrase, you suddenly hear 'ni heeriye' and you think of it as 'tu heere', that is 'Heer' too then.
It's like not only adding the figure of speech, but even trying to make you aware of it, something Irshad Kamil had done in 'manwa laage', where he wrote 'khule khwaabon mein jeete hain, jeete hain baawre', where 'jeete hain' worked both as living, and winning. Interestingly, there Kamil used the phrase 'Jeete hain' twice. Whether it was just because of the music, or whether he wanted to stress on the two meanings of the phrase, he'd know better.
The lyrics from Vicky Kaushal and Sara Ali Khan starrer Zara Hatke Zara Bachke seem to do that in quite a few places, thanks to Amitabh Bhattacharya's nuanced writing for the film.
I mean there is 'Baby tujhe paap lagega' there in the film too, but interestingly, the two songs which seem to be doing really well are the ones I'm going gaga over — namely 'Tere Vaaste' and 'Phir aur kya chaahiye'.
First of all, I love how Vicky Kaushal's character is accommodated in the lyrics. The lazy/go-with-the-flow character comes out so beautifully in a few places. My top favourite being 'jab tak teri neend na toote, ugta nahi hai sooraj mera' from phir aur kya chaahiye. The line literally means that his sun doesn't rise until she wakes up. It's like using all the lovely poetry to say, "I don't want to wake up before you". 😂
'Tere Vaaste' is even more clear on the objectives, as 'Chaand taaron se kaho ki abhi Thehrein zara, pehle ishq laRaa loon uske baad laaunga' sets up the priorities right from the first line. And then there are the lines 'chehra hai tera chanda/ naina tere sitaare/ ambar tak jaana hi fizool hai'. Of course he's praising her beauty, but the lines also tell that he's not really interested in putting so much hard work if there is not much of a need.
These lines can be considered as showing the character's world, or the fact that he's already married to his love and hence takes her just a little bit for granted in spite of all the love. Either way, they seem to work for the film.
Other than that, of course the alliteration in 'solah-satrah sitaare sang baandh laaunga' and the wait-for-it shlesh (one phrase, two meanings when read/listened two different ways) in 'tu hi re / tu heere' are fun.
The 'tu hi re / tu heere' one is also interesting because 'tu hi re' is an old, immensely popular song, so when you listen to the words for the first time, you pretty much always think of it as 'tu hi re' rather than 'tu heere', but then after three repetitions of the phrase, you suddenly hear 'ni heeriye' and you think of it as 'tu heere', that is 'Heer' too then.
It's like not only adding the figure of speech, but even trying to make you aware of it, something Irshad Kamil had done in 'manwa laage', where he wrote 'khule khwaabon mein jeete hain, jeete hain baawre', where 'jeete hain' worked both as living, and winning. Interestingly, there Kamil used the phrase 'Jeete hain' twice. Whether it was just because of the music, or whether he wanted to stress on the two meanings of the phrase, he'd know better.
Zakir Lyrics | Naalayak | Shaamein Subah Milte Nahi
Came across this beautiful song called 'Zakir' by the band Naalayak. Loved the sound and the lyrics of the song, though the less than perfect pronunciation of a few Urdu words, like khaalid and aaqil, was a little disappointing, especially given the vocabulary the song uses. Also, the use of the word Zaakir was a bit off, since Zaakir means the one who explains, who does the 'zikr', (and hence the line would have been more like 'zikr kare wo, zaahir nahi', not taking the meter into account).
Nonetheless, loved the sound and even the overall song. Do listen to it if you haven't.
shaamein subah milte nahi
khaalid hai par dilchasp bhi
mornings and evenings never meet.
It's permanent, but it's interesting too.
subaha poochhe raatein
shaamein kya haseen
shaamein poochhe raatein
subaha kya nayi
mornings ask the nights,
how beautiful the evenings are.
and evenings ask the nights,
what's new with mornings.
zaakir kare wo, zaahir nahi
aaqil hoon main, aasim nahi
She explains, but doesn't reveal anything.
I am intelligent, not a sinner (she tells.)
subaha poochhe
raat-shaamein kya haseen
shaamein poochhe
raat-subaha kya nayi
shaamein shubha milna zara,
oh, evenings and mornings, meet for a bit.
chali na jaaye ghaRi is daur ki
unse chhupi hai jo humse nahi
let the time of this age not pass,
the one that is hidden from them (the mornings and the evenings that is),
but not from us.
subaha poochhe
raat-shaamein kya haseen
shaamein poochhein
raat-subaha kya nayi
shaamein subah milte nahi
khaalid hai par dilchasp bhi
zaakir kare wo, zaahir nahi
aaqil hoon main, aasim nahi
Nonetheless, loved the sound and even the overall song. Do listen to it if you haven't.
shaamein subah milte nahi
khaalid hai par dilchasp bhi
mornings and evenings never meet.
It's permanent, but it's interesting too.
subaha poochhe raatein
shaamein kya haseen
shaamein poochhe raatein
subaha kya nayi
mornings ask the nights,
how beautiful the evenings are.
and evenings ask the nights,
what's new with mornings.
zaakir kare wo, zaahir nahi
aaqil hoon main, aasim nahi
She explains, but doesn't reveal anything.
I am intelligent, not a sinner (she tells.)
subaha poochhe
raat-shaamein kya haseen
shaamein poochhe
raat-subaha kya nayi
shaamein shubha milna zara,
oh, evenings and mornings, meet for a bit.
chali na jaaye ghaRi is daur ki
unse chhupi hai jo humse nahi
let the time of this age not pass,
the one that is hidden from them (the mornings and the evenings that is),
but not from us.
subaha poochhe
raat-shaamein kya haseen
shaamein poochhein
raat-subaha kya nayi
shaamein subah milte nahi
khaalid hai par dilchasp bhi
zaakir kare wo, zaahir nahi
aaqil hoon main, aasim nahi
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