Rediscovering Lyricism
Is lyricism dead in today’s songs? This was the thought debated by Gulzar, Madan Gopal Singh and Swanand Kirkire at the recently held literary festival in the city of Bollywood. I am sure most people of 60s and 70s have remarked what has been done to songs today with a signature ‘Gaane to hamare zamane me hua karte the.’ (The songs played in our time could be called songs).

Even some of us -s the off-springs of 80s and 90s do wonder what some songs are made up of these days. The lyrics have shifted from being formal and elaborate to being very casual. Some have become multi-lingual; some have become bold while some have become outrageously in-your-face care-a-damn. Some are written off as cheap while most of them are pretty predictable. Despite all that, lyricism has not died, not yet. There are some frank and honest expressions which tell us that. There are those beautifully romantic songs and those gritty motivational numbers too. There is rebellion and there is the otherwise lost soul-searching that pinches you somewhere.

Then what is it that has changed? A professor at University of Delhi and a great Sufi singer, Madan Gopal Singh pointed towards the want of resonance in our thoughts, words and soul that produces what we think, speak and desire. This ‘want’ emanates from the want of time and patience evident in our lifestyles. A connoisseur of Sufi music, he was also quick to notice how the romance of distances is lost today. The longing, the awaiting, the reluctance in expression is nowhere to be seen in today’s fast world.

The discussion started with the recollection of Jean Paul Sartre’s words when he had described the distinction between words in prose and poetry. He believed that ‘Words in a poem are illuminated’. The words in a poem have a certain light around them and a music to them which says more than what is written. There is less of description and more to understand. Madan Singh also asked if we referred to lyrics as only the ones that we hear in Bollywood movies. Largely yes! Bollywood brought poems and lyrics to masses in a fashion that they became the language people talked in. These songs have changed the way a lover would express his emotions. A woman who would otherwise not speak for herself, would often expressed her desire through songs. And even in those remote places where a Bollywood movie could not reach, its songs definitely did.

It was delightful to hear Gulzar, who was the most accepting of this change, given his age and the nature of his work. He quipped that if distances are lost, the ‘touch’ and togetherness has increased and it is aptly manifested in the songs that people sing now. The same feelings are expressed subtly. He also drew attention to how songs are changing today along with the changing attitudes of society. If what we eat, how we walk, what we wear and how we think has changed, why not what we sing. Taking a cue from romantic numbers, the ever-surrendering woman now talks of walking hand in hand with her man. Today women have explored their sexuality and sing songs of their freedom, independence and self-worth.

Swanand Kirkire brought some amazingly different set of points on the table. He talks of ‘reluctance’ of a different kind. He believes today’s youth is trying to find their voice and don’t want to say everything in great detail. There is reluctance in directly addressing a deep feeling. They do not want to assume responsibility and believe in living on their own terms. They look for an ‘experience’ out of everything and are eager to experiment in the ‘only life that they have’. And they talk business.

So is writing lyrics also all about business today? Of course yes. Today a lyricist is mandated to write keeping in mind that the song should be ‘enjoyable’, essentially meaning that it should be a ‘dance-able’ number which would set people rolling in wedding sangeet nights, dandiya festivals and night clubs. Or something which people would like to use as a ringtone or a caller tune on their precious phones. This again comes from the way music is heard today. It is downloaded and stored on laptops, phones and iPods, generally heard while travelling or in parties which calls for enjoyable and light numbers. These songs in turn define our attitudes to life, approach to people around us and the language we speak. Also what doesn’t appeal goes to the trash bin immediately. So they call it ‘survival of the fittest’.

Another significant observation that comes across is - the background song playing in movies that has become a vogue and suits us well. The hero or the heroine does not need to lip sync and the songs are not about ‘I’ always. It changes the way an emotion or a situation is described. This backgrounder gives a lot of space for reflecting the musings of the actor. Lyrics have evolved wonderfully today. There is a deep emotion that wants to burst out, and there is rebellion too. Today’s generation is definitely far more removed from religion than ever, but has discovered the need of a spiritual quest. This spiritual quest is only an extension of self-discovery and finds a resemblance in some of the traditional Sufi songs. Today words are generously drawn from Sufi compositions and toyed with to suit the sequences in Bollywood movies. Has this also made people aware of some great Sufi classics? Yes and No. Yes these songs have definitely generated a keen interest in Sufi music but not all of these categorized songs mirror Sufism.

Irate and overwhelmed by the swirling sea of stabbings and stampedes surrounding the stage, Keith Richards picked up the microphone and threatened to stop playing unless the violence stopped. Barger is supposed to have walked up to the guitarist, poked a pistol in his ribs and vowed to kill him if he did anything of the sort. Richards is adamant that Barger has imagined this threat of his. But the Stones did indeed go on to finish their setlist, which even included the first ever live performance of Brown Sugar. Needless to say, Barger and Richards don’t exactly send each other birthday cards.

So what do these insights lead to? Are we giving it out through our songs or are these words giving us a new language? The egg and chicken question remains unanswered here too. But certainly lyricism is not dying yet. It is constantly transforming to find a place in peoples’ lives. And with the kind and variety of songs the music factory is churning out now-a-days, it is a challenge to sound different. The discussion leaves us with a lingering thought about the hardly discussed lyrics that we write and sing today. Swanand Kirkire concluded with a soulful rendition of a very soulful song – bawra man dekhne chala ek sapna…