It’s Annual Translation Time again.
Listen to the incomparable Nusrat Fateh Ali Khan highlighting Javed Akhtar‘s denunciation of our modern obsession with material wealth – and it’s malignant effect on our ability to appreciate the beauty of life.
Listen, and remember that at the end of the day the winner of the rat race is still a rat !
shehr ke dukaandaro
karobar-e-ulfat mein
sood kya ziyan kya hai
tum na jaan paoge
dil ke daam kitne hein
khwab kitne mehnge hein
aur naqd-e-jaan kya hai
tum na jaan paoge
o merchants of the city
in the trade of love
what is profit and what is loss
you shall never know!
the price of a heart
the value of dreams
the currency of life
you shall never know!
koi kaise milta hai
phool kaise khilta hai
aankh kaise jhukti hai
saans kaise rukti hai
kaise raah nikalti hai
kaise baat chalti hai
shouq ki zabaan kya hai
tum na jaan paoge
how soulmates meet
how flowers bloom
the lowering of a gaze
the catch in a breath
how the path emerges
how the tale flows
the language of desire
you shall never know!
wasl ka sukoon kya hai
hijr ka junoon kya hai
husn ka fusoon kya hai
ishq ke daroon kya hai
tum mareez-e-danai
maslihat ke shaydai
raah-e-gumrahan kya hai,
tum na jaan paoge
the tranquility of a tryst
the frenzy of separation
the enchantment of beauty
the essence of love
afflicted with intellect
devoted to self interest
the path to losing oneself
you shall never know!
zakhm kaise phaltay hain
daagh kaise jalte hain
dard kaise hota hai
koi kaise rota hai
ashq kya hai nalay kya
dasht kya hai chalay kya
aah kya fughaan kya hai,
tum na jaan paoge
how wounds fester and heal
how scars smoulder
how pain hurts
how the sufferer cries
tears and lament
wilderness and blisters
sighs and wails
you shall never know!
janta hoon mein tum ko
zouq-e-shaiyri bhi hai
shaksiyat sajaane mein
ik yeh mahiri bhi hai
phir bhi harf chunte ho
sirf lafz sunte ho
in ke darmiyaan kya hai,
tum na jaan paoge
i know you
as a connoisseur of poetry
at personality embellishment
you are adept
yet you pick and choose letters
and hear just the words —
what lies between the lines
you shall never know!
Comments & suggestions are welcome.