Faiz Sahab's 'Ye Jafa e Gham Ka Chaara....' : A Translation

The Original (English Transliteration)

Ye jafa e gham ka chaara, wo nijaat e dil ka aalam,
Tera husn dast e eesa, teri yaad roo e maryam,

Dil o jaan fida e raahe, kabhi aake dekh humdum!
Sar e koo e dil figaaran, shab e aarzoo ka aalam,

Teri deed se siwa hai, tere shauq mein bahaaraan,
Wo chaman jahaan giri hai, tere gesuon ki shabnam,

Ye ajab qayamatein hain, tere rahguzar mein guzraan,
Na hua ke mar mitein hum, na hua ke jee uthein hum,

Lo suni gayi humaari, ke phirein hain din ke phir se,
Wohi gosha e qafas hai, wohi fasl e gul ka maatam.

English Translation

The solace of sorrows clutches, of heart's respite, this time, 
Healing hands of Christ thy form, the Virgin's face, thy thoughts, sublime!

Hearts and souls, the dust of, these lanes, my love, behold! How, 
Us broken-hearted, we hum, joyous and gay, desire's rhyme!

Even bereft of you, love! Verdant the heart in passion, 
Drenched by the dew that dripped from, thy curls, another time!

In your streets, beloved! What has become of me now!
Neither was I in full bloom, nor the funeral bells did chime!

Alas! Moves on, the day now, my cries unanswered still, sigh! 
Still same the cage, the corner, still same the captive rhyme! 

Poet Lament

Oh! How and when, did my workhorse pen,
A slumber did it sleep?
I came across a score, a dozen,
Verses, in a heap,
Of heartfelt notes, riddles and rhymes,
And clever limericks,
Sonnets, odes, most often times,
My cheapest, quickest fix!
Remember not I, what was that,
Which led me so astray,
Listless and distraught I sat,
Mourning every single day,
The ink had dried, the words did starve,
The verses now un-penned,
The song had died, and now I carve,
The stony silence, mend,
What remained of a heart bereft,
Of rhyme and reason, pray!
Bits and pieces, what was left,
And all I had to say,
I closed my eyes, my faithful pen,
The closest friend I had,
Rescued me from this mire, amen!
Spewed out a poem, sad!
Through my veins, the blood of yore,
Now pumped with all its might,
My words had formed a heart, and more,
I lived again to fight!

Wa-Yabqa-Wajh-o-Rabbik: A Faiz nazm in English translation

This nazm, one of my all time favourites, was written by Faiz Sahab against the policies of the hardline Islamist dictator of his country, Zia-ul-Haq. It was immortalised by the great Iqbal Bano, who defied orders from the regime and sang it in public, which then became the anthem of the people! Find the link below to a great performance by Iqbal Bano.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=VIDXUD1-8bo

In the present time of religious bigotry and fundamentalism, such poetry evokes a sense of humanist pride in the reader/listener. Being an anthem of the oppressed, it would always make sense till the ideals of egalitarianism and democracy are effectively realised. I've tried my best to translate in a manner so as to maintain the rhyming scheme and also ensure that the strong message is not diluted beyond a certain limit, which cannot be fully avoided in translating thoughts from one language to another. Let's see how I fare with this almost impossible task!

Original Urdu (English Transliteration)

Hum dekhenge,
Laazim hai ki hum bhi dekhenge,
Wo din ke jiska wa'ada hai,
Jo loh-e-azal mein likha hai,

Jab zulm-o-sitam ke koh-e-giraan,
Ruii ki tarah ud jaayenge,
Hum mahkoomoon ke paanv tale,
Dharti dhad dhad dhadkegi,
Aur ahl-e-hakam ke sar upar,
Jab bijli kad kad kadkegi,

Jab arz-e-Khuda ke ka'abe se,
Sab but uthwaaye jaayenge,
Hum ahl-e-safa, mardood-e-haram,
Masnad pe bithaaye jaayenge,
Sab taaj uchaale jaayenge,
Sab takht giraaye jaayenge,

Bas naam rahega Allah ka,
Jo gaayab bhi hai haazir bhi,
Jo manzar bhi hai naazir bhi,
Uthega anal-haq ka na'ara,
Jo mein bhi hoon aur tum bhi ho,

Aur raaj karegi khalq-e-Khuda,
Jo mein bhi hoon aur tum bhi ho!

English Translation

We'll see,
We're destined to see,
The day that has been promised, look!
The pages of the eternal book,

When the mountains of cruelty and pain,
Would fly away like cotton wool,
Mother Earth, beneath our shackled feet,
Would lub dub dub dub beat,
And on the heads of the oppressors would,
Rain showers of defeat,

And from the land of God would,
The idols soon be cast away,
We pure at heart, outcasts of now,
Would hold the sceptre, pray!
Tossed would be the crowns, no longer,
Shall the thrones hold sway!

And only would His name remain,
At once present and evanescent,
The observed, and so observant,
Vaporous, the cries of 'Truth Prevail',
Which means you and I!
Would rule the Earth, the lambs of God,
Which means you and I!

Layers

A poem is an onion,
Each read, another layer peeled,
And as we delve deeper,
And deeper still,
Layer after layer,
Lonely tear after tear,
Its flavour hangs vaporous,
Stronger and stronger till,
We reach it's solid core,
And then,
The levee breaks and,
Voila! Come the waterworks,
Unabated and real.

آمد دوم

An (amateur) Urdu translation of WB Yeats' famous modernist poem, 'The Second Coming', which was written highlighting the condition of post World War I Europe. The poem alludes to a lot of Christian lore, a lot of which, some modified accordingly, are also part of Islamic beliefs, of which I am entirely ignorant. Hence, the evident use of more secular imagery in my translation.

Original Poem:

The Second Coming

Turning and turning in the widening gyre
The falcon cannot hear the falconer;
Things fall apart; the centre cannot hold;
Mere anarchy is loosed upon the world,
The blood-dimmed tide is loosed, and everywhere
The ceremony of innocence is drowned;
The best lack all conviction, while the worst
Are full of passionate intensity.

Surely some revelation is at hand;

Surely the Second Coming is at hand.
The Second Coming! Hardly are those words out
When a vast image out of Spiritus Mundi
Troubles my sight: somewhere in sands of the desert
A shape with lion body and the head of a man,
A gaze blank and pitiless as the sun,
Is moving its slow thighs, while all about it
Reel shadows of the indignant desert birds.

The darkness drops again; but now I know
That twenty centuries of stony sleep
Were vexed to nightmare by a rocking cradle,
And what rough beast, its hour come round at last,
Slouches towards Bethlehem to be born?

Urdu Translation:

آمد دوم 

حلقہ در حلقہ بڑھ جاوے فاصلے

راہبری کا نہ سن پاوے راہی

مرکز ناتواں ، گرتا ہے سب کچھ

دنیا میں ہے چھایا غدر کا عالم

ہے غریق دریا ے خوناب

ہر جانب رسم دیار معصوم

سرد پڑے جنون اہل دل ، اور

 - سوزاں ہے جذبہ  اہل ہوس

کوئی راز کا کھلنا ہے ضرور

آمد دوم کا وقت ہے ضرور

آمد دوم! ذکر ہوتے ہی

تاریخ کون و مکاں پہ نمایاں

 تصویر زحمت، بحر ریگ صحرا

اٹھے جس سے شیر سا بدن، آدم سا چہرہ

بے رحم نگاہیاں، مثل شمس دوپہر

جانگھوں کو ہلاے ہولے، اور درمیاں

- اڑتے دشت کے برہمی پنچھیوں کے ساے

پھر چھائی ظلمت، کہ واقف ہوں اب

بیس صدیوں کی بے جاں نیند کو

برے خوابوں میں پریشاں کرتے ، لرزے ہے جھولا

آخر کیسا حیوان، کہ وقت اب ہے آئ

سمت بیت لحم رینگے، پیدا ہونے کے لئے؟

English Transliteration:

Aamad e Dom

Halqa dar halqa badh jaawe faasle,

Raahbari ka na sun paawe raahi,

Markaz e natawaan, girta hai sab kuch,

Duniya mein hai chaaya ghadar ka aalam,

Hai ghareeq e darya e khoonaab,

Har jaanib rasm e dayaar e ma'asoom,

Sard pade junoon e ahl e dil, aur,

Sozaan hai jazba e ahl e hawas.

Koi raaz ka khulna hai zaroor,

Aamad e dom ka waqt hai zaroor,

Aamad e dom! Zikr hote hi,

Tareekh e kon o makaan pe numaayaan,

Tasweer e zehmat, beher e reg e sehra,

Uthe jis se sher sa badan, aadam sa chehra,

Be rehem nigaahiyaan, misl e shams e dopahar,

Jaanghon ko hilaaye haule, aur darmiyaan,

Udte dasht ke barhami panchiyon ke saaye.

Phir chaai zulmat, ke waaqif hoon ab,

Bees sadiyon ki be jaan neend ko,

Bure khaabon mein pareshaan karte, larze hai jhola,

Aakhir kaisa haiwaan, ke waqt ab hai aayi,

Simt e Bethlehem renge, paida hone ke liye?

ग़ज़ल

रात की मृत देह से उठ आई है एक सुप्रभात​,
अन्धेर आँसू पोछने लो आई है यह सुप्रभात,

रुदालियों को कर बिदा, देखो गगन की ठाठ​,
मांग पर सिंदूर सुहागन भरने आई सुप्रभात,

पत्तियों पर गिरके उठता उसके किरणों का जो लय,
भरने बसंती रंग उपवन में लो आई सुप्रभात​,

बागों के गर्दन को सजाने आई है एक सोनपरी,
और ओस की बूंदों के मोती को पिरोने सुप्रभात​,

धरती के अधरों पे है आई एक हँसी यह जान के,
सूखे माटी पे कनक बरसाने आई सुप्रभात​,

विश्व के सागर में उठते हैं लहर वो नाम से,
कहते "हुई अब नींद जागो आ गई है सुप्रभात​",

क्या कहे पत्थर के मूरत सौंपता जब फूल में,
"रात अब भी है तेरी और है मेरी यह सुप्रभात​!",

देखो डगर में घूमते तुम "साँस​" को उलझा यदि,

जान लो सब बन्द हैं मधुशालाएं, हो सुप्रभात​!