Ik Bagal by Piyush Mishra

As a song or poem, you have a choice to make — tell the audience what you want to tell them, or don’t.

Ik Bagal (On one side) chooses not to, not clearly at least. Even the title — Ik Bagal, which literally translates to “one side” with the preceding “on” being implied if you read the lyrics. On first glance, it seems whimsical if you are being generous, and nonsensical if you are not. Either way, it is seemingly simple just like the rest of the song. The apparent simplicity of the song (both words and music) is beguiling though, and sort of rubs into your face when you take a minute to think about it and realize that you don’t actually know what the song is about.

Yeah, you read that right. If I am being honest with you, I still don’t know what the song is really about. I have a guess, and I think it is a good one. But it is still a guess. There is some discussion on the interwebz about what the song means and some enterprising folks have come up with interpretations. There are some of these I like more than others. In the absence of an explanation by Piyush Mishra, the interpretation is really up to you and me. Perhaps, that is how it ought to be. Literary scholars will argue that a work takes on its identity when it leaves the pen (Word document, really) of the author and I overall tend to agree.

Let us quickly go through some of these interpretations then, shall we? On the surface, the song is a lullaby being sung by a mother living in poverty to their child. The simplistic nature of the words and the music fits with this and there is an explicit reference to the mother in the song itself. The words themselves are another matter however. Mishra draws up comparisons between roti (Indian flatbread) and chaand (the moon), using them as metaphors for….well that is where it gets tricky. Some bloggers, YouTube commenters and academics think that the metaphors are about the struggle between our dreams and hopes as ordinary people and the reality of the oppressive systems we live in. Others invoke a more divine meaning implying that the song is talking about our existence in the material reality and the ephemeral nature of it all.

Having looked around a bit and knowing Piyush Mishra’s background as a theater artist, I am more inclined towards the more materialistic interpretation. I think Mishra is using the structure of a lullaby as a conversation between a mother and the child to illustrate the hardships poverty brings upon people and how hope helps them survive these hardships. In the song, Mishra romanticizes the idea of hope as a bulwark against poverty a bit much for my taste, but it is a song and where will we really be without romance?

I also like the fact that Mishra packs this much meaning in the song without relying on arcane Urdu or Punjabi. There is a whole thesis to be written about the use of Urdu and other languages in Hindi music for aesthetic purposes. It has worked beautifully time and again, but I wonder if it is overdone. I have a feeling that this is a situation somewhat unique to Hindi (perhaps my Portuguese friend can tell us more) and I am curious about why that is. It also seems to me that Urdu is the language most frequently borrowed from, which is interesting in itself. Setting sociology and linguistics of Hindi music aside, Mishra does really well in using a bare-bones structure effectively to convey a lot of complex thought.

The song itself isn’t a hit, but it is popular with artsy Hindi aficionados, making it somewhat of a cult classic. It rose to popularity when it was included in the soundtrack to Gangs of Wasseypur (an acclaimed gang movie from Bollywood), although I am not sure if it was written for the movie. Piyush Mishra has a band called Ballimaaraan, and he frequently performs this song with them (video linked below). In other interesting trivia, an artist has used the opening line of the song as the title of a project to draw attention to the dwindling fish populations in the seas around Mumbai. Fascinating how much a Google search can tell you, really!

Well, I have gone on for too long. Here is the song and its translation to English.

Ik bagal mein chand hoga, ik bagal mein rotiyaan,

On one side there will be the moon, on the other there will be a roti (Indian flatbread)

Ik bagal neend hogi, ik bagal mein loriyaan,

On one side there will be sleep, on the other there will be a lullaby,

Hum chaand pe roti ki chaadar daalkar so jayenge,

We will spread a sheet of roti on the moon and sleep. (Note the visual metaphor — a roti is roughly circular just like the moon, and therefore can cover the moon when held up)

Aur neend se keh denge lori kal sunane aayenge

And we will tell sleep that we will sing a lullaby tomorrow.

Ik bagal mein khankhanati sipiyaan ho jayengi,

On one side there are clinking oyster shells,

Ik bagal mein kuch rulaati siskiyaan ho jayengi

On the other side there are the tears induced by sobbing,

Hum seepiyon mein bhar ke saare taare chun ke aayenge

We will pick all the stars of the night and keep them in the shells,

Aur siskiyon ko gudgudi kar kar ke yun behlayenge

And assuage the sobs with tickles.

Amma teri siskiyon pe koi rone aayega, koi rone aayega

Child says: O mother, someone will come if you cry!

Gham na kar jo aayega wo fir kabhi na jayega, wo fir kabhi na jayega

Don’t you worry, since whoever comes will not leave.

Yaad rakh par koi anhoni nahi tu laayegi,

But remember to not bring an improbable crisis upon yourself,

laayegi to fir kahani aur kuch ho jayegi

because if you do, the story will be something else.

Honi aur anhoni ki parvaah kise hai meri jaan

Mother says: Who cares about probabilities, my child?

Hadd se jyada ye hi hoga ki yahin mar jayenge

In the worst case, we will just die.

Hum maut ko sapna batakar uth khade honge yahin

But we will call death our dream and stand up right here

Aur honi ko thenga dikhakar khilkhilakate jayenge

And mock destiny and leave here laughing.

Here is a bonus video of Piyush Mishra performing the song with his band. It sounds quite different from the movie version.

Hope you are having a wonderful weekend and the song adds some ruminations and reflections!