The Bug vs Urdu

The Bug Vs. Urdu, the well-fed band, Ross’ twin and Dead Hitmakers

Some time ago a friend of mine took Haroon ‘Aaron’ Rashid to task for being lazy with his Urdu lyrics. The line he objected to was from Haroon’s Mehbooba (Main Nain Dekheen Hain Aa Mehbooba Teri Maghroorian/ Ab Batain Teri Hongi Kiya Pooriyan). This fellow bug pointed out that there was no word pooriyan in the Urdu language in the sense Haroon was seeking to use it and the only Pooriyan he was aware of were the ones he got to eat with halwa on his days off.

Point taken, but my take is a tad different on this. Admitedly, Haroon is often quite lazy with his lyrics, but I just think there is something inherently awkward about the language Urdu and what one can do with it. Mayhaps it be my burgerness coming out but I find Urdu extremely unexpressive. One may love it for its ornate love poetry and high flown bombast, but it appears extremely weak in expressing baser (lust) or more direct emotions (affection, hate, etc) in a direct manner. There are only certain things that can be said in Urdu. What can one say of the language that does not have any words for the place between the formal Aap and Tum and the rather rude Tu. How in God’s name does say ‘I love you’ in a direct manner over Valentine in Urdu (Yes, I wanted to say it over Valentine’s to a lovely Buggette.) Main tum sai mohabbat karta hoon? Pyaar? Dunno why, but it never feels right in Urdu. No wonder Abrar shifts to Punjabi for his informal and more direct lyrics. Or Sajjad Ali with his Teri Yaad.

Noori, of late, the most well-fed band in the land, seem to have gotten around this awkwardness in a most spectacular manner. Their recently released debut album Suno Kai Main Hoon Jawan, horrible cover reproduction aside, is unique in how lyrically groundbreaking it is. There isn’t a love song in sight (Manwa Re aside) and the album benefits all the more because of it. Ali Noor’s Urdu lyrics are unique in that they encompass a gamut of normally unexpressed emotions in Urdu. But then again one expected this from Urdu-dan Noor who enunciates his Urdu words, Qafs and Meems especially, sort of like Ross G does in Friends. He is the only person I know who when he says ‘Hey Partner’ makes the two English words sound like Urdu.

Ali Noor baiting aside, a development of note was that the daily Nation announced that Junoon had broken up. If true, Junoon’s passing seems to have helped the band musically. Their post-breakup Maza Zindagi Ka may well be another milk-the-occasion anthem, but as far as post-demise efforts go this one is pretty alright. It is definitely better than some of the bad stuff the still prolific Nusrat Fateh Ali Khan has put out since his passing. Khan Sahab really should have kept up his standards even after his demise. Contrast this with the classy Nazia Hassan who, to her credit, has not put out any bad albums – remixes nothwithstanding- since her demise. Some artists I guess can even overcome death. Some are even helped by it. Junoon should have broken up much sooner.

For now, this is enough. Someone feed Gumby something. Email food and shoutouts to KiraMaqora@gmail.com.

(Published 23.02.2008 in Sunday Magazine, Daily Times)