Ada Lyrics – A Disappointment

This is a very general belief that a collection of unknown/distant known/difficult known words can make a good piece of prose or poetry. But my definition of good poetry says something else. I believe that unless the readers/listeners realize that piece of poetry completely, that art does not have its salvation.

Another general belief says that lyrics have no role in making a song beautiful or lousy. A lot of people has said me that they don’t really give ear to the lyrics of a particular song. But I fail to understand this concept. If lyrics really have nothing to do with the concept of the song then can ‘Man Mohana’ be sung with the lyrics of ‘Hai Rama’ or vise versa? For me a song without proper understanding of lyrics is like savoring a dish without smelling it!

As I was listening to Ada songs and as I was getting more and more disappointed with the lyrics, I was giving the concept of lyrics in Hindi cinema a serious thought.

For me, the lyrics in Hindi cinema can be of two types – thought driven or word driven.

Let me give an example of a thought driven lyrics.

Jo gumshuda khwab tha..
…………………………
Who loha tha
Pighal gaya
Khincha Khincha
Machal gaya
Sitar Mein Badal gaya
Roobaroo roshni

Is there any word that cannot be understood easily?

This is an exemplary piece of poetry that actually makes you wonder what the writer must be thinking; that how can anybody think so beautifully and convey his thought in such pleasant manner.

On the other hand the word driven lyrics say very simple things with some unconventional words. The words that seem to play hide and seek with you while instigating you to catch their meaning. This kind of poetry can take any song to a different height. Most lyrics by Gulzar are like that. For example,

Kabhi neele asmaan pe
Chalo ghumne chale hum
Koi abra bil gaya to
Zameen pe baras le hum.

But what to do with such lyrics that neither gives you food for thought nor encourages you to get the meanings of the words. For example

Ishq ada hai, Ishq sada hai
Ishq dawa hai, Ishq dua hai
Ishq baka hai, Ishq fana hai
Ishq wafa hai, Ishq jafa hai
Ishq niha hai, Ishq aya hai
Ishq rida hai, Ishq haaya hai
Ishq asa hai, Ishq gada hai

Such a piece of poetry is a total let down for me. Why these particular words picked? Because they sound similar? Except for the sentence “Ishq baka hai, Ishq fana hai”, the others seem to be made forcibly to match the rhyme. The meanings of two words in a sentence don’t complement each other!

Ada lyrics keeps disappointing me throughout the soundtrack. For example, when I heard

‘Tu hai niha, main hoon aya’ in Meherbaan song,

the immediate thought that struck me was that I just heard the phrase of niha-aya in Ishq Ada song also. Now it’s again used in the Meherban song! This so blatantly speaks against the lyricist’s creativity. He couldn’t think of any other phrase for the second song?

Then there is another song Hai Dard. I have no idea how ‘Tapish’ can be rhymed with ‘Khalish’! Only because they sound similar? And what about the cultural difference?

I wish Ada lyrics were a little more serious, the music would be more enjoyable.