Traditionally the insomnia of hot sleepless nights has inspired my attempts at translating some of my favourite poems. Tonight, however, I am sleepless because I slept away the late afternoon and evening of an unseasonally cold June day.
I realised that I had left these two poems in Return to The Land of Poems unassailed. So here goes.
jab teri samundar aankhon mein
ye dhoop kinara, sham dhale
milte hain dono waqt jahan,
jo raat na din, jo aaj na kal,
pal bhar ko amar,
pal bhar mein dhuan,
is dhoop kinare, pal do pal,
honton ki lapak,
baahon ki chanak,
ye mel hamara jhoot na sach,
kyon raaz karo, kyun dosh dharo,
kis kaaran jhooti baat karo,
jab teri samundar aankhon mein,
is shaam ka sooraj doobega,
sukh soenge ghar dar wale,
aur raahi apni raah lega
when, in your ocean eyes
this edge of sunlight at dusk
this twilight
neither night nor day
not tomorrow nor today
eternal for a moment
evanescent the next
at this sunlight’s edge
stolen moments
lips springing
limbs clinging
our union
neither true nor false
no need for secrecy
no need for blame
no need for lies
when the evening sun sets
in your ocean eyes
householders will sleep peacefully
and the wanderer shall take to the road
Original: jab teri samundar ankhon mein (faiz ahmed faiz)
farz karo
farz karo
hum ahl-e-wafaa ho
farz karo
deewane ho
farz karo
yeh dono baatein
jhooti ho afsane hon
farz karo
yeh ji ki bipta
ji se jor sunai ho
farz karo
abhi aur ho itni
aadhi humne chhupai ho
farz karo
tumhe khush karne ke
dhoonde humne bahaane ho
farz karo
yeh nain tumhare
sach-much ke maikhaane ho
farz karo
yeh rog hai jhoota,
jhooti preet hamari ho
farz karo
is preet ke rog mein
saans bhi hum pe bhaari ho
farz karo
yeh jog bijog ka
humne dhong rachaaya ho
farz karo
bas yahi haqeeqat
baqi sab kuch maaya ho
just suppose
just suppose
i may be faithful
just suppose
i may be crazy
just suppose
each assumption
may be a fallacy, a fable
just suppose
my heart’s torment
may have been coerced (from my heart)
just suppose
there may be more to reveal
i may have concealed one half
just suppose
to delight you
i may have invented excuses
just suppose
these eyes of yours
may be actual taverns
just suppose
this malady, this love for you
may be a fabrication
just suppose
in the affliction of this love
each breath may be an ordeal
just suppose
this destined union
may be an elaborate masquerade
but
just suppose
only our love exists
and all else is an illusion
Original: farz karo (ibn-e-insha)
Confession Time: Some sharp-eyed folks have pointed out that Momin Khan Momin’s couplet in the quoted post remains untranslated.
tum mere paas hote ho goya*
jab koi doosra nahi hota
My excuse/explanation is that this couplet defies translation (at least by myself – haath patthar se ho gaye manoos to shauq kooza-gari ka kya kiije).
The juxtaposition of ‘goya‘ in an already haiku-esque expression opens up a labyrinth of interpretations.
Ghalib’s exaltation of this couplet is not accidental. It is the perfect example of Urdu poetry’s ideal of ‘kooze mein samundar.’
*The word ‘Goya‘ has been explained thus – Goya is an Urdu word that refers to a momentary suspension of disbelief that occurs when fantasy is so realistic that it temporarily becomes reality, usually associated with a story very well told.
There is no exact translation for this word in English. ‘So to speak’ is an insipid approximation.
P.S : Comments and suggestions are welcome as usual.