We hold these truths to be self evident: That all words are created equal and are endowed by their creator with certain inalienable rights among which is the right to life — to simply exist free of harassment; liberty — the right to be seen and spoken freely and used whenever deemed desirable. And happiness — the special joy that comes when they happen to say best what is in one's heart.
- The Bawdy Manifesto
Why do people swear? Most people start because it makes them feel cool and grown up to use 'forbidden' language. But in time, these words become a sort of short-code to express certain emotions - anger, frustration, amazement.
Swear words are extremely 'all-purpose' and can usually be moulded to fit into any mood or situation. As Bawdy Manifesto believes, "Few other words have their force, directness, or clarity of meaning".
While all cultures and languages have these words, some use them more freely. And the use of swear words in art forms like music and movies remains a contentious issue.
Hollywood uses swear words - so does the music industry, especially with the advent of rap and hip-hop. Parental concerns are addressed by rating films using expletives PG-13 or R. And albums with the 'parental advisory - explicit lyrics' sticker.
Gaali gaali mein shor hai...
No new information so far - so why write about it now? Well, two reasons. As film makers seek to make movies which reflect 'youth culture' how do they get around this problem? You want dialogues which embody how people actually speak but if you do that, the censors will go bleep bleep bleep!
The scriptwriters of Rang de Basanti solved this problem by getting creative. They coined entirely new phrases like 'Teri maa ki aankh' and 'Behn de takey' to convey the actual swear words... And it was pretty amusing and effective I must say!
On the other hand the song 'Sutta na Mila' by Pakistani band Zeest - a current campus cult - actually uses MCs and BCs and gets away with it because it's been 'released' only as an MP3. XLRI band Bodhitree's song GMD (G**** mein Danda) is also quickly spreading from PC to PC.
Whether you like it or not, it is a trend to take note of. I've explored the issue in greater detail in my new column on sify.com: Desi bands to swear by
Beyond the literal
Personally, I'm not into swear words - or smoking - but I quite like these songs for the spirit they represent. The words, I think, simply add an extra 'underground' appeal. Part of the overall package.
As lyricist and lead vocalist Skip of Zeest says, " I created this satirical, comical, slang song just for fun, but I always wanted to compose a song that could reflect my life story and that of other optimistic losers too. The song is so popular only because every average “tapori bachcha” can relate to it".
Here's to more songs by unknown, talented bands, outside the realm of ishq vishq pyaar vyaar. Songs with or without swear words that junta can relate to!
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ReplyDeleteI created this satirical, comical, slang song just for fun, but I always wanted to compose a song that could reflect my life story and that of other optimistic losers too. The song is so popular only because every average “tapori bachcha” can relate to it
*/
What the world has come to ? I miss the days when good lyrics was
a necessary part of songs...
"dil ki yeh aarzoo thi koi"
"choudavi kaa chaand ho"...
hmmmm (sigh)...
I listened to both od above stated songs. Sutta na Mila and GMD. I didn't like these songs.
ReplyDeleteYou being a woman liked these songs!
I think slangs are bad. There is no necessity of such songs. These come under C grade category.
I think those students who like these songs, are not actually good students.
They are sick or must have problem in them.
Don't spread such bad things.
At the time of its release, GMD was one of the most popular songs in IIT Kharagpur. Though we are used to songs/poetries of such genre, most of the compositions were either very short compositions (like 'Pinky' from IIMA, though it was later attributed to a different origin) or were very unprofessional. BodhiTree's GMD, 'Sabka Katega', etc. were both complete as well as professional(ly recorded). They have been successful in a level of what private releases into colleges would allow, but I doubt whether they would get clearance to launch them commercially. It is possible to release albums like 'Asshole' in USA, but anything equivalent would be heavily dealt upon by the government or the 'moral police'.
ReplyDeleteBehen de Takkey, Maa ki aankh etc. are pretty ancient. :) But very Dilli. We don't dare to use it in Bombay. :))
ReplyDelete:-)
ReplyDeleteI had heard XL Ki Kudiyan before. Now i am hearing the rest. Do i appreciate the lyrics? Now that is something i need to ponder on. Being an REC engg. student i can assure you swear words is part and parcel of your life. They start a sentence and ends a sentence. They are the beauty of the whole line. So can they be sung outside campus? Not really. In college these words are used for the heck of it. No meaning or conotation is meant when they are used. This cannot be guranteed when used outside. Do i like their music? It is nice...good...But i think they can do better by composing and writing better songs than writing crap and thinking they represent the youth because i really don't think they do. End of the day music and its lyrics are individual choice, any one can write lyrics, the deciding factor is whether they are good or bad.
Thanks for the songs! My friends were raving about GMD and Sutta, so I wanted to see what the big deal was. Amusing.
ReplyDeleteSwear words are definitely an essential part of language, and regarding the 'quality of the lyrics' argument, low-brow songs exist in every generation, and even they are generally necessary (as necessary as something of this sort can be). They provide a compliment to the 'quality' songs, after all.
A common song that u'll want to sing along when you are drunk and want to make a noise.
ReplyDelete"Alice, who the F*** is Alice?"
:)
Swear words and acne ridden teens, you cannot seperate the two, Can you imagine an ID Rock without 'Start the Fuckin' Music'? Not that I am pro-fanity ;) In many ways a band wants to stand out and what better way than to stir up a controversy? Checked out the new jammag.com site, it looks awesome! have you changed the design of the inner pages as well? Will trawl around a bit and let you knw. Psst did you read by Rang De take?
ReplyDeleteI've heard "maa ki aankh" being used a whole lot in Delhi. It wasn't really coined by the Rang de Basanti Swear Team!
ReplyDeleteI think it comes down to the fact that there's a time and place for everything, and if you're with college buddies, *especially* if they're Punjabi, swearing is as much a part of ettiquete as is a well pressed shirt for a job interview.
ReplyDeleteFor those interested in the "psychology" of swearing, read Broca's Brain by Carl Sagan, which offers an interesting viewpoint on why we swear.
hmmm....though these songs have good entertainment value, the ease with which they are available and the harm it can cause to impessionable young minds is quite scary...No parent would like his kid going around saying "yaar, aaj mere papa ne mere gaand main danda ghusa diya"....
ReplyDeleteBut personally, i like both the songs... maybe they reflect how some(if not most) of the college crowd (i'm willing to bet my life that it's the male population that these songs speak of) thinks :)
Hi,
ReplyDeleteIf you go by the words and use it literally then probably you will draw unwanted attention and censorship (in movies).
But if you happen to say it as any other word in your day to day life,then I don't see it the wrong way. Well let me put it this way,you are fresh out of college and you love those 4 and 5 lettered words and they are used in your langauge quite frequently but with time,one matures and you don't use those.I studied in the Southern belt and graduated from REC,Surathkal and there a very common word is "chumma" it is used for everything such as "chumma class ditch kiya","chumma yaar" (when I am with a female class mate),all these doesn't make me insane or bad character guy. It just adds to the youth culture.
Nice post,Rashmi :-)
Rgds,
tanay
I thot the bands that did "Sutta" and "GMD de" were the same i.e Zeest. Am i missin' sumthin' here?
ReplyDeleteI havent heard both the afore mentioned songs...but i think i more get the gist of the conversation.
ReplyDeleteRashmi i've heard a lot of my panju friends use "bahen dey takey" pretty often...dont think its new...
ohh now i get what that was all about... in the university i used to study in , there was a formal event by international students showcasing their culture.. and this one guy came to the stage and started singing and suddenly going bc mc bc mc..of course, the americans didn't get it, but those who did went red in the face...
ReplyDeletehey ...just so you know maa ki aankh and behen ke take are not innovative ameliorations of curse words ..they have been there a long time...they werent invented by the rang de basanti scriptwriters :)
ReplyDeleteI'm enormously amused by the commentor who thinks that you as a woman should be morally outraged. Because women don't swear and have higher standards of morality than men, right?
ReplyDeleteWell let me add another dimension to the usage of swear words in campus and in friends circle.
ReplyDeleteThe choicest of the swear words are always meant for best friends.I mean I can't remember any day when friends will meet together in a simple desi way and say "namaskar" to each other.I remeber having competitions between batches and also have a swear antakshari.
For us BC,MC and GMD was always a part of college campus."XLde kudiyaan" and" XL meri jaan and "Sutta na mila " are something which generations co relate to the fun which people have had in college.
The Manipal version of Summer of 69 is another song which comes to my mind which has become hugely popular cause songs like these strike a chord with a complete batch and it lingers in our mind for a long time to come.
I guess Enimen would really be proud of the "Sutta" GMD song.... Perhaps its not the literal meaning of the word which matters but the kick one gets out of its usage is what makes it really COOL.
just adding to the TMKA-is-not-an-original-RDB-creation thread: Rajnikant kept spouting that in CHAALBAAZ.
ReplyDeleteHeard both the songs as well as the XL ki Kudiyan one. Bodhi Tree has amazing lyrics and feel - this band is going to better Zeest.
ReplyDeleteAnd to this Anil guy, I love both the songs, and I guess people think I am a good student. Don't see what the problem with swearing should be - getting dissed with just because of a word is simply stupid.
I do not like these songs, because they are remarkably poor in musical or entertainment values. What they do represent however, is a remarkable paucity of content, especially in music and movies, that the Indian college going student can relate to. Does not mean that we have an entire generation using swear words, but profanity is a part of youth, and the brashness that comes with it.
ReplyDeleteHi,
ReplyDeleteSorry for the red-herring. Just came across this article:
http://www.dailypioneer.com/displayit1.asp?pathit=/sundaypioneer/foray/fory1.txt
would be gr8, if you could throw some light on the matters discussed there.
hello all,
ReplyDeletehas anyone heard this song called vertigo (no, not U2, this one is Indian). It has sanskrit shlokas played to heavy rock, plus opening English stanzas. Wonderful sound, though I am sounding cliched.
It goes something like "Do you believe it ..." and then the Ganesh mantra,then the Gayatri mantra and then the Hare Krishna chant.
For whatever you guys call me, Kulashaker , the british band who once mixed Krishna hymns, WAS GOOD. They had a good sound, though many of my friends thought it wasnt, particularly the secular types. ( My liking it has nothing to do with secularism or lack of it, it just sounds good ).
It sounds better after a couple of beers. If these guys become a hit, we can say that it can start a rage in Indian rock.
(not Pakistani rock, so dont consider the repititive Strings. they have been using the same guitar riff for over 4 years, song after song ).
This reminds me of one of my friends from college days who used to say "Saale Makhanchor Bansuriwaale" to all those who used to take offence when we used MCs and BCs for them ..
ReplyDeleteAnd if somebody objected he would innocently say "What?? I am saying name of god!!" .. :)
Dun care what the others say or do...
ReplyDeleteneither am i in to swearin or smokin... but the song - suttah na mila... is jus 2gud.... its not a cult... its kinda devine to a few i know... haha... u jus play the track once... n ur lips ll sing along... the ALTER EGO hits in! play it once for my cuzin n day long he ll be talking the same way.... mein khana khaaya... hajam na hua... g* mein se... he goes on n on.... It has the EFFEX! ;)
Rise & shine don’t stand up & stink.
ReplyDelete Rise & shine don’t stand up & stink.
ReplyDeleteThis comment has been removed by the author.
ReplyDeleteMaa kee Aankh was a Rajnikanth creation. Please see Chaalbaaz if you want to be sure. Please dont take away the novelty of Rajni. RDB was a good movie. But it was Rajni all the way for that curse word.
ReplyDelete