No Life Without Love – Ishq Bina Kya Jeena – Taal

The ambience of the set is that of a ‘mehendi’ ceremony of the heroine’s friend. The heroine Mansi (Aishwarya Rai) is a singer and is expected to sing at the occasion. She obliges and begins to tell the tale of love through her song. Having recently met a young lad Manav (Akshaye Khanna), she has got a glimpse of what love can be and she is thinking of him all the time. Here, Manav too, is mesmerised by her beauty and falls for her immediately. He somehow finds about this ceremony and decides to visit. Upon entering the place he finds that Mansi has just begun her song and he falls all over in love with her again after listening to her nightingale voice. He stands in the corridors (trying to hide from others) and admires this beautiful singer standing in front of him.

Ishq bina kya marna yaara
Ishq bina kya jeena yaara
Gudh se meetha, ishq ishq
Imli se khatta, ishq
Vaada yeh pakka, ishq ishq
Dhaaga yeh kachcha, ishq
Ishq bina kya marna yaara
Ishq bina kya jeena

Dying without having felt love is not dying
Living without being in love is not living
Love is sweeter than the jaggery
Love is sourer than the tamarind
Love is a commitment, a strong bond between the two people
Love is the delicate thread that ties them together

She says if one has not experienced love and died then one has not lived life at all. And living without love is of no use. It is the sweetest thing and yet it is the most sour one. Love is extreme. It is like that delicate thread of life that bonds people in a very strong way.

The lyrics of the song are written by Anand Bakshi. The way in which love is explained in the song, only a true lover can write it. He even goes on to say that love is more beautiful than god! The words and the comparisons that are drawn remind us of people who have recently fallen in love; either with someone or in love with love itself!

Neeche ishq hai, upar rab hai
In dono ke beech mein sab hai
Ek nahi, sau baatein karlo
Sau baaton ka ek matlab hai
Rab sab se sona, ishq ishq
Rab se bhi sona, ishq

There is Love on earth and there is god above
And everything else is between these two entities
No matter if you say a single word or hundreds of them
All mean only one thing
That God is the most beautiful of them all
But love is even more beautiful than God himself

Sujatha Mohan, Anuradha Sriram and Sonu Nigam have lent their voice to this song. The combination of Sonu Nigam and Rahman has always worked wonders. Nigam hits the high notes so effortlessly that one can only gape and listen. He then softens his tone so instantly that he doesn’t even give us the time to breathe and appreciate.

Lovers do not care for the materialistic things like jewels and money. All they want is love (something similar to what god is for a true devotee). We can see these kind of comparisons between love and god throughout the song; sometimes it is subtle, sometimes in your face!

Heera na panna, ishq ishq
Bas ek tamanna, ishq ishq

It is neither diamonds nor emeralds
Love is just a desire

The movie Taal (1999), which means rhythm, is a love story with music as its backbone. It was directed by Subhash Ghai. The music is by A.R. Rahman and he has done full justice to the theme of the movie. He takes his music to some divine level with each song, giving different shades and moods according to the situation. Ghai went on record and dedicated the name of the movie to the music director A.R. Rahman.

In this song he has used simple instruments like ‘manjeera’, flute and violin. The violin plays the major role as the hero is shown to have a liking of the instrument and plays it in the movie. It is inculcated in most of the songs; musically and visually.

Ishq hai kya, yeh kisko pata
Yeh ishq hai kya, sabko pata
Yeh prem nagar anjaan dagar
Saajan ka ghar hai kisko khabar
Chhoti si umar, yeh lamba safar
Yeh ishq hai kya, yeh kisko pata
Yeh dard hai ya dardon ki dawa
Yeh koi sanam ya aap khuda
Yeh koi sanam ya aap khuda, aap khuda

Who knows what love is
Yet, everyone knows what love is
A town of love which has unknown paths
Who knows where my beloved’s house is
This life is short and we have to walk a long journey
Who knows what really love is
Is this the pain that we experience or the medicine that cures the pain
Is it my beloved or the almighty himself

After listening to the girl sing about love, our hero decides to make a superb entry in front of the audience by playing the violin and telling about his views on love (as if replying to the girls words). He says everyone knows what love is yet no one actually knows it. To the girl then he says that you have only heard of the word love, but he has experienced it himself so he knows it better.

Tumne ishq ka naam suna hai
Humne ishq kiya hai
Phoolon ka gulshan, ishq ishq
Kaanton ka daaman, ishq

You have just heard the name of love
I have actually fallen in love and experienced
(I will tell you what it is) Love is a beautiful garden of flowers
Yet, there are thorns embedded on it

How beautifully it is shown that love is everything. It is the extreme and everything between those extreme points. One has to experience love to actually know it. But I wonder if someone can really understand love completely or it is a continuous process of learning and loving together!

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=hkxcCXynDPc