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Subtle Complexities and Myriad Simplicities by Ashok Subramanian P is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial-NoDerivs 3.0 Unported License.

Monday, May 07, 2012

A Translation: Nahin Nigaah Mein Manzil......... Faiz Sahab's Ghazal

My first attempt at translating a ghazal, a form of poetry that is usually very language specific to Farsi and Urdu, I've tried to retain the rhyme and the meter of the original form, again, it's not a literal translation.

The Original Urdu (English Transliteration)

Nahin nigaah mein manzil toh justjoo hi sahi,
Nahin wisaal mayassar toh aarzoo hi sahi,

Na tan mein khoon faraaham, na ashk aankhon mein,
Namaaz-e-shauq toh waajib hai, be-wuzoo hi sahi,

Kisi tarah toh jame bazm maikade waalo,
Nahin jo baada-o-saagar toh haa-o-hoo hi sahi,

Gar intezaar kathin hai toh jab talak ai dil!
Kisi ke waada-e-fardaa ki guftgoo hi sahi,

Dayaar-e-ghair me mehram agar nahin koi,
To 'Faiz', Zikr-e-watan apne roobaroo hi sahi.........

English Translation

If the goal is not in sight, For mere desire I'd settle,
If a glimpse is too much to ask, For mere longing I'd settle,

Even with no blood to spare and no tears to shed,
Dutiful is my prayer of passion, Pure or impure I'd settle,

My fellow taverners! Let the revelry begin now,
Empty goblets, No flowing wine, For mere banter I'd settle,

If painful is the wait, till then Oh Love!
Her future promises, For mere reminiscing I'd settle,

If no friend amongst unknown faces I find, Face to face,
My country's praises 'Faiz', For a mere mention I'd settle.......

6 comments:

AAlys said...

Thank you very much for the translation!
I'm trying to learn hindi / urdu and your post has been very helpful to me
:)

Ashok Subramanian P said...

You're welcome!

Ashok Subramanian P said...

You're welcome!

Wall-E said...

Very profound. Very beautiful!

Anonymous said...

आए कुछ अब्र, कुछ शराब आए
उसके बाद आए जो अज़ाब आए

बाम-ए-मीना से माहताब उतरे
दस्त-ए-साकी में आफ़ताब आए

हर रग-ए-खूँ में फिर चरागां हो
सामने फिर वो बेनक़ाब आए

कर रहा था गम-ए-जहाँ का हिसाब
आज तुम याद बेहिसाब आए

ना गई तेरे गम की सरदारी
दिल में यूँ रोज़ इंकलाब आए

‘फैज़’ थी राह सर बसर मंजिल
हम जहाँ पहुँचे कामयाब आए

Shadaab said...

Very good attempt. I'll send you my Ghazal which I sang for Bazm e Adab Benoni. Please try to translate it for me.Thanks.