Regular readers of this blog may have been secretly hoping that they had been spared my summer translation ordeal. No such luck.
In my last post I wrote about Rahat Fateh Ali Khan's live performance of Sitaron Se Aagey by Allama Muhammad Iqbal.
Jamshed has the song on repeat mode and I have to admit that Iqbal's words and Rahat's vocals soar synergistically in this hypnotic qawwali.
Today it is the Allama's turn to suffer my efforts to translate some of his most famous verses.
In his live performance, RFAK quotes additional verses from Iqbal's famous poems like Bang-e-Dara and Armaghan-e-Hijaz besides the poem 'Sitaron Se Aagey' from Bal-e-Jibreel.
sitaron se aagey
fareb-e-nazar hai sakoon-o-sabaat
tadapta hai har zarra-e-kainat (1)
theharta nahin karwaan-e-wujood
ke har lehza hai taaza shaan-e-wujood (1)
samajhta hai tu raaz hai zindagi
faqat zauq-e-parwaaz hai zindagi (1)
jawanon ko meri aah-e-sehar de
phir in shaheen bachon ko baal-o-par de (2)
khudaya! arzoo meri yehi hai
mera noor-e-baseerat aam kar de (2)
sitaron se aagey jahan aur bhi hain
abhi ishq ke imtihan aur bhi hain *
har ek maqam se aagey maqam hai tera
hayat zauq-e-safar ke siva kuch aur nahin (3)
tahi zindagi se nahin yeh fizaayen
yahan sainkadon karwan aur bhi hain *
qanaat na kar alam-e-rang-o-bu par
chaman aur bhi aashiyan aur bhi hain *
tu hi nadaan chand kaliyon par qanaat kar gya
warna gulshan mein ilaaj-e-tangi-e-damaan bhi hai (4)
agar kho gya ek nasheman to kya gham
maqamat-e-aah-o-fughan aur bhi hain *
nishan yehi hai zamaane mein zinda qaumon ka
ke subha-o-shaam badalti hain unki taqdeeren (6)
na pucho mujh se lazzat khanaman barbad rehne ki
nasheman sainkadon main ne bana kar phoonk daale hain (5)
tu shaheen hai parwaaz hai kaam tera
tere samne aasman aur bhi hain *
nahin tera nasheman qasr-e-sultani ke gumbad par
tu shaheen hai basera kar pahaadon ki chataanon mein (7)
guzar auqat kar leta hai ye koh-o-biyaban mein
ke shaheen ke liye zillat hai kaar-e-aashiyan bandi (8)
garche hai dilkushan bahut husn-e-farang ki bahaar
taerik-e-buland baal dana-o-daam se guzar (9)
ay tair-e-lahuti us rizq se maut acchi
jis rizk se aati ho parwaaz mein kotahi (10)
jhapatna palatna palat kar jhapatna
lahoo garam rakhne ka hai ek bahaana (11)
parindon ki duniya ka darvesh hoon main
ke shaheen banata nahin aashiyana (11)
gaye din ke tanha tha main anjuman mein
yahan ab mere raazdan aur bhi hain *
All poetry defies translation, Iqbal's even more so.
I find his poetry hard to understand even in the language it was written in and it is nigh impossible to convey the nuances in an alien language belonging to a vastly different culture. The rhythm, the emotion, the undercurrent is lost but that having been said, here is what Jamshed and I have been able to figure out.
beyond the stars
peace and stability are illusions
each atom of creation is agitated
the caravan of life never halts
for each moment renews the glory of life
you think life is a great mystery
life is just the desire to fly
give the young my sighs at dawn
give wings to these young falcons
lord this is my desire
spread wide the light of my awareness
other worlds lie beyond the stars
trials of passion still await
your destination lies beyond all havens
life is nothing but the exhilaration of travel
these breezes do not arise from the void
a hundred other caravans ply here
do not be appeased by just this colourful fragrant world
other gardens and refuges exist
you, the innocent one, were content with just a few buds
though the rose-garden also held a cure for your limited grasp
why grieve over the loss of one nest
other places to sigh and lament remain
the mark of the vital nations of the world
is that their destiny changes with each dusk and dawn
ask me not the rapture of homelessness
i have built and set afire a hundred nests
you are a falcon – flight is your calling
endless skies are unfurled before you
nest not upon the dome of the emperor’s palace
you are a falcon – dwell amongst rocky mountain peaks
it ekes out a living amidst peaks and deserts
for the craft of nest-building disgraces the falcon
though the charm of the west is seductive
resist this baited trap – o bird of paradise
o bird of heavenly skies
death is nobler than prey that encumbers your flight
to swoop and to twist, and to twist to pounce
is just a pretext to keep the blood warm
i am the dervish of the kingdom of birds
the falcon builds no nest
gone are the days of my isolation at the gathering
i now have confidants here
Comments & suggestions are welcome especially for
'tahi zindagi se nahin yeh fizaayen'
Index:
* Sitaron Se Aagey (Bal-e-Jibril-060)
(1) Bal-e-Jibril-142
(2) Bal-e-Jibril-105
(3) Bal-e-Jibril-044
(4) Bang-e-Dara-116
(5) Bang-e-Dara-055
(6) Armaghan-e-Hijaz-34
(7) Bal-e-Jibril-139
(8) Bal-e-Jibril-012
(9) Bal-e-Jibril-025
(10) Bal-e-Jibril-054
(11) Bal-e-Jibril-176