इसे रोटी कह दो Call it bread

Synopsis: Call It Bread is a reflective, metaphor-rich song about the stories we tell ourselves to keep hope alive. Through images of extinguished lamps, broken compasses, dry wells and barren fields, it explores why people continue to trust failed ideas, harmful relationships and empty promises. Rather than judging, the song gently asks whether we cling to the familiar because it comforts us—or because we no longer know how to question it.

Lyrics

Original (Hindi)	English Translation
जो दीया बुझ चुका, उसे आज भी जलाते हो	You still try to light the lamp that has long gone out.
बुझी हुई लौ को भी रोशनी मानते हो।	You still mistake an extinguished flame for light.
जिस हाथ ने मारा, उसी पर भरोसा रखते हो	You place your trust in the very hand that struck you.
ख़ामोश दुआओं को भी असरदार मानते हो।	You still believe silent prayers will somehow work.
इसे रोटी कह दो, इसे रोटी कह दो।	Call it bread. Just call it bread. (An ironic refrain meaning: give it whatever comforting name you like.)
टूटा हुआ कम्पास फिर भी जेब में क्यों रखते हो	Why do you still carry a broken compass in your pocket?
जो उत्तर नहीं दिखाता, उसे उत्तर क्यों कहते हो?	If it no longer points north, why still call it your guide?
रुकी हुई चरखी को क्यों आज भी घुमाते हो	Why do you keep turning a spinning wheel that stopped long ago?
जो धागा कब का टूट गया, उसे जोड़ते जाते हो?	Why keep trying to mend a thread that snapped long ago?
पुरानी घड़ी की सुई क्यों आज भी चलाते हो	Why keep winding the hands of an old clock?
जो वक़्त कभी का बीत गया, उसे क्यों खोजते हो?	Why keep searching for a time that has already passed?
इसे रोटी कह दो...	Call it bread. Just call it bread.
बुझे हुए मीनार पे पहरा क्यों देते हो	Why guard a lighthouse whose light went out years ago?
जो रोशनी कब की गई, उसे क्यों ढूँढते हो?	Why search for a light that disappeared long ago?
सूखे पड़े कुएँ को झरना कह बैठे हो	You've mistaken a dry well for a flowing spring.
पुराने तार में धुन क्यों बजाते हो	Why play music on an old broken string?
जिसे सुनने वाला कबका जा चुका है?	When the one who listened has long since gone?
बंजर खेत में हल क्यों चलाते हो	Why plough a barren field?
राख हुई ज़मीन से फसल की आस लगाते हो?	Why expect a harvest from land reduced to ash?
इसे रोटी कह दो...	Call it bread. Just call it bread.
शायद पहिया इसलिए घूमता है, कि घूमना ही उसकी ज़ात है	Perhaps the wheel keeps turning simply because turning is its nature.
शायद दुआ जवाब नहीं चाहती, बस साथ की बात है।	Perhaps a prayer doesn't seek an answer—it simply longs for companionship.
शायद वो टिकट, हाथ में सपने जैसा लगता है	Perhaps that ticket feels like holding a dream in your hand.
शायद ज़ंजीर भी हीरा बन जाती, जब कोई उसे रगड़ता है।	Perhaps even a chain begins to look like a diamond when polished enough.
शायद पहले भी जल चुके हैं	Perhaps we've been burned before.
राख से वापस ना उठ सके	And never managed to rise from the ashes.
इसलिए अब झुकना सीखा है	So we've learned to bow our heads.
क्योंकि सवाल पूछ ना सके।	Because we never dared to ask questions.
सीने में जो कम्पास है	Why does the compass inside your heart...
वो अब भी क्यों काँपता है	...still tremble?
नक़्शे बदल गए मगर, घर अब भी ढूँढता है?	Though the maps have changed, why does it still search for home?
थका हुआ दिल फिर भी क्यों धड़कनें गिनता है	Why does a weary heart still count its own heartbeats?
किसी और की चाबी से चला, फिर भी अपना मानता है?	Why do you call it your own when it has always been wound by someone else's key?
इसे रोटी कह दो...	Call it bread. Just call it bread.
जिस हाथ ने मारा, उसी पर भरोसा रखते हो	You still trust the very hand that struck you.
टूटा हुआ कम्पास फिर भी, घर तक तुम्हें लाता है।	Yet somehow, that broken compass still leads you home.
तुम कह देते अंधेरे को, ठीक है, ठीक है...	You simply tell the darkness, "It's alright... it's alright..."
इसे रोटी कह दो। इसे रोटी कह दो।	Call it bread. Just call it bread.

Link to the song: https://music.youtube.com/watch?v=BUiVSpQWFUI&si=W8By1kxGJXL4XiAU