Harf
Script shown with the Urdu

ساڈا حق Sadda Haq — Our Right

Irshad Kamil

1971– living

Geet

A man is being told, by everyone, that he is wrong. He has counted it: in this world, at every step, the human being is wrong, and whatever he does thinking it right, they call it wrong. The song is his answer, and the answer is a demand: sadda haq, our right, keep it right here, etthe rakh, and let the world keep its rules.

Irshad Kamil wrote it for Rockstar in 2011, and Mohit Chauhan sang it, at the moment in the film when the musician decides to stop asking permission. Four passages ahead. The middle ones are the argument with the world, and they are the most direct lyrics Irshad Kamil has written.

01  — tum logon ki, is duniya mein

تم لوگوں کی، اس دنیا میں
ہر قدم پہ، انسان غلط
میں صحیح سمجھ کے جو بھی کروں
تم کہتے ہو غلط
میں غلط ہوں تو پھر کون صحیح

तुम लोगों की, इस दुनिया में
हर कदम पे, इंसान गलत
मैं सही समझ के जो भी करूँ
तुम कहते हो गलत
मैं गलत हूँ तो फिर कौन सही

tum logon ki, is duniya mein
har kadam pe, insaan galat
main sahi samajh ke jo bhi karoon
tum kehte ho galat
main galat hoon toh phir kaun sahi

In the world you people have made, at every step the human being is wrong. Whatever I do believing it right, you call it wrong. If I am wrong, then who is right?

The passage gives the song its starting position: the world's judgement, quoted before it is answered. Har kadam pe insaan galat, at every step the human is wrong, is the world's rule as the singer has learned it, and the inversion is his answer: sahi samajh ke, believing it right, is the only compass he has. The question that ends the passage, phir kaun sahi, then who is right, is the question the whole song is the argument to.

02  — marzi se jeene ki bhi main

مرضی سے جینے کی بھی میں
کیا تم سبکو عرضی دوں
مطلب کی تم سبکا مجھ پے
مجھ سے بھی زیادہ حق ہے
ساڈا حق، ایتھے رکھ
ساڈا حق، ایتھے رکھ

मर्ज़ी से जीने की भी मैं
क्या तुम सबको अर्ज़ी दूँ
मतलब की तुम सबका मुझपे
मुझसे भी ज़्यादा हक़ है
साड्डा हक़, ऐत्थे रख
साड्डा हक़, ऐत्थे रख

marzi se jeene ki bhi main
kya tum sabko arzi doon
matlab ki tum sabka mujhpe
mujh se bhi zyada haq hai
sadda haq, etthe rakh
sadda haq, etthe rakh

Must I file an application with all of you even for living by my own will? As if all of you have more right over me than I do. Our right: keep it right here. Our right: keep it right here.

The passage is the demand's first form, and the demand is made in the language of offices. Arzi, the written application, is the word for petitioning authority, and the singer refuses to submit one for the right to live by his own will. The Punjabi demand follows, sadda haq etthe rakh, our right, keep it here, and the repetition of the refrain is the song's whole method: the right is not requested, it is placed.

مرضی marzi
one's own will, what one wants
عرضی arzi
a written application, a petition
حق haq
a right; what is owed to you
صدا حق sadda haq
our right: Punjabi

03  — he in gaddaaron mein

ہے ان گداروں میں
یا ادھاروں میں
تم میرے جینے کی
عادت کا کیوں گھوٹ رہے دم
بیسلیقہ میں، اس گلی کا میں
نا جس میں حیا، نا جس میں شرم
من بولے کے رس میں جینے کا
ہرجانہ دنیا دشمن
سب بیگانہ، انہیں آگ لگانا
من بولے، من بولے
من سے جینا یا مر جانا

हे इन गद्दारों में
या उधारों में
तुम मेरे जीने की
आदत का क्यों घोट रहे दम
बेसलीक़ा मैं, उस गली का मैं
ना जिस में हया, ना जिस में शरम
मन्न बोले के रस में जीने का
हर्ज़ाना दुनिया दुश्मन
सब बेगाना, इन्हें आग लगाना
मन्न बोले, मन्न बोले
मन्न से जीना या मर जाना

he in gaddaaron mein
ya udhaaron mein
tum mere jeene ki
aadat ka kyun ghote dum
besaliqa main, us gali ka main
na jis mein haya, na jis mein sharm
mann bole ke ras mein jeene ka
harjaana duniya dushman
sab begaana, inhen aag lagaana
mann bole, mann bole
mann se jeena ya mar jaana

Among these traitors, or among these debts: why are you smothering the breath of my habit of living? I am without manners, I am from that lane where there is no modesty and no shame. The heart says: live in the juice of it. The world is the enemy of that penalty. All are strangers, set fire to them. The heart says, the heart says: live by the heart, or die.

The passage is the misfit's self-portrait, and the portrait is offered as a defence. Besaliqa, without the code, is the word for the one who has no manners, and the lane he claims has neither haya nor sharm, the two social virtues the world measures by. The refrain, mann bole, the heart says, is the song's whole theology, and its conclusion is the flat choice: mann se jeena ya mar jaana, live by the heart or die. The fire, aag lagaana, is the misfit's answer to the strangers, and it is the fire of the song itself.

غدار gaddaaron
traitors
بےسلیقہ besaliqa
without manners, rough at the edges
حیا haya
modesty, a sense of what is proper
بیگانہ begaana
a stranger, not one of your own

04  — oh eco-friendly, nature ke rakshak

اوہ ایکو فرینڈلی، نیچر کے رکشک
میں بھی ہوں نیچر
ریواجوں سے، سماجوں سے کیوں
تو کاٹے مجھے
کیوں بانٹے مجھ سے اس طرح
کیوں سچ کا سبق سکھائے
جب سچ سن بھی نہ پائے
سچ کوئی بولے تو تو نیام قانون بتائے
تیرا ڈر، تیرا پیار، تیری واہ، تو ہی رکھ
رکھ سیلے

ओ इको-फ्रेंडली, नेचर के रक्षक
मैं भी हूँ नेचर
रिवाजों से, समाजों से क्यों
तू काटे मुझे
क्यों बाँटे मुझसे इस तरह
क्यों सच का सबक सिखाए
जब सच सुन भी ना पाए
सच कोई बोले तो तू नियम कानून बताए
तेरा डर, तेरा प्यार, तेरी वाह, तू ही रख
रख साले

oh eco-friendly, nature ke rakshak
main bhi hoon nature
riwaazon se, samaajon se kyun
tu kaate mujhe
kyun baante mujh se is tarah
kyun sach ka sabak sikhaaye
jab sach sun bhi na paaye
sach koi bole toh tu niyam kanoon bataaye
tera dar, tera pyaar, teri wah, tu hi rakh
rakh saale

Oh eco-friendly, protector of nature: I too am nature. Why do you cut me from your customs and societies? Why do you divide me like this? Why do you teach the lesson of truth when you cannot even hear truth? When someone speaks the truth, you cite rules and laws. Your fear, your love, your applause: you keep them. Keep them, all of it.

The passage turns the argument on the world's own vocabulary. The world's self-image, eco-friendly, the protector of nature, is quoted, and the reply is the song's boldest line: main bhi hoon nature, I too am nature. The cutting, kaatna, is the word for pruning and for ostracising, and the song refuses both. The attack on the truth-teaching is the passage's sharpest: the lesson is taught by one who cannot hear the truth and cites laws when it is spoken. The closing refusal, tera dar, tera pyaar, teri wah, tu hi rakh, is the song's final word on the world's currency, and it is the only demand the song makes: keep your fear, your love, your applause. We do not trade in them.

رواج riwaazon
customs, the way things are done
سماج samaajon
societies
سبق sabak
a lesson
قانون kanoon
a law

Reading it whole

The song is an argument with the world, and the world is given the first word. The opening passage is the world's judgement, quoted at length: every step, the human is wrong, whatever you do believing it right is called wrong. The song's answer is not a rebuttal but a question, and the question is the whole song: if I am wrong, then who is right?

The demand is made in Punjabi, sadda haq etthe rakh, our right, keep it here, and the repetition of the phrase is the song's engine. The demand is not for victory. It is for placement: the right is to be kept where it belongs, and the refrain's doubling, etthe rakh, is the song's way of standing its ground. The world's rules are not asked to change. The right is asked to stay put.

The middle passages are the argument, and the argument is total. The first one is the complaint of the misfit: among the traitors and the loans, they are smothering the habit of his living, and the lane he comes from has neither shame nor modesty. The refrain that follows, mann bole ke ras mein jeene ka, the heart says live in the juice of it, is the song's whole philosophy, and the conclusion is flat: mann se jeena ya mar jaana, live by the heart or die.

The last passage turns the argument on the world's own terms. The world calls itself the protector of nature, and the singer answers: I too am nature, so why do you cut me from your customs? The line about truth is the sharpest: you teach the lesson of truth and cannot hear it; when someone speaks it, you quote rules. The closing demand, tera dar, tera pyaar, teri wah, tu hi rakh, keep your fear, your love, your applause, is the song's final position: the world's currency is refused. The recording is one of the defining anthems of the decade, and it remains the sound of the moment the musician stops asking.

Recordings

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Text and rights

Devanagari text supplied and checked by a reader who knows the language. The Urdu script and the transliteration follow that reading.

The song is from the film Rockstar (2011), music A. R. Rahman, lyrics Irshad Kamil. The refrain returns between passages in the recording more often than it is printed here, and the Punjabi lines follow the reading.

Irshad Kamil is alive and the song is recent work. It is quoted here as the subject of Harf's own criticism: the translation, the reading of each passage and the essay around them are original work written for this page. If you hold the rights and would like something changed, tell us on Instagram.