Sunday, May 27, 2007

Saaye Mei.n Dhoop - III

Earlier posts on this collection of ghazals are here and here.
And now time for some more ...

*** *** ***

Gazab hai sach ko sach kahte nahi.n wo
Kuran-o-upnishad khole hue hai.n


Mazaaro.n se duaaei.n maangte ho

Akiide kis kadar pole hus hai.n


It is surprising that they do not speak the truth
T
hough they have Koran and Upnishads opened in front

You seek blessings from the tomb

How hollow has the faith become

Koran is the religious book of Muslim
Upnishads are Hindu's religious texts

*** *** ***

Bhookh hai to sabra kar, roTi nahi.n to kya hua
Aajkal Dilli mei.m hai zere-bahas ye mudd'aa

Is shahar mei.n woh koii baaraat ho ya vaardaat

Ab kisi bhi baat par khulti nahi.n hai.n khidkiiyaa.n


Bear your hunger, so what if you don't have any bread
The matter is under discussion these days in Delhi

In this city, whether a procession takes place or an incident

Nothing bothers people to open their windows and look out

Delhi - the national capital - represents the government

*** *** ***

Khade hus the alaavo.n ki aa.nch lene ko
Sab apni hatheli jala kar baith gaye


Yeh soch kar ki darakhto.n mei.n chaa.nv hoti hai

Yahaa.n babool ke saaye mei.n aake baith gaye

Everyone stood to get some heat from the bonfire
And burning their palms, they sat back down


Thinking that trees offer shade in the sun
I sat down under a Babool tree

Babool is thorny tree with few leaves, and doesn't really offer a shade [don't know it's name in english]

*** *** ***

Chale hawaa to kivaaDo.n ko band kar lena

Yeh garm raakh sharaaro.n mei.n dhal na jaaye kahii.n


Tamaam raat tere maikade mei.m mai pi hai

Tamaam umra nashe mei.n nikal na jaaye kahii.n


Yeh log hom-o-havan mei.n yaqiin rakhte hai.n

Chalo yahaa.n se chalei.n haath jal na jaaye kahii.n

Close the doors, if a breeze starts blowing
Else the warm ashes might turn into a spark

Entire night, I drank wine in your tavern

Now my entire life may pass in a drunken stupor

Here people believe in fire-worship
Lets us leave here, else we might burn our hands


I do not know the exact equivalent of hom-o-havan, so used fire-worship. Any better suggestion?

*** *** ***

Mai.n bhi to apni baat likhoo.n apne haath se
Mere safe par chod de thoda sa haashiyaa

Allow me to write my feelings in my own hand
On my page, leave a little margin

*** *** ***

Ab ri.nd bach rahe hai.n zara tej raks ho

Mehfil se uth liye hai.n namaazi to lijiye


Now the true admirers are left, let the pace of dance be faster
Those with religious beliefs are leaving the gathering


Namaazi - people who offer prayers five times a day, according to strict Islamic convention
Dance is considered as something evil by those with strict religious beliefs
Ri.nd - someone who truly appreciates dance [as an art]

*** *** ***

Tumhe bhi is bahaane yaad kar lenge
Idhar do-chaar pathhar phe.nk do tum bhi


I'll have an excuse of remembering you too

You also throw a few stones to my side


*** *** ***

10 comments:

Pijush said...

Nice one, well composed with perfect thoughts, keep writing.

L o r d R a j said...

Bhookh hai to sabr kar, roti nahin to kya hua

Aajkal Dilli mein hai zere-bahas ye mudd'aa


nice one!! hits the right spot. janaab do panktiyon mein hi poora haal bayaan kar diyaa. waah

Cuckoo said...

Sigma, I just dont know which one to choose as best. Each one of them beats the other. :)

Agree with lord, hits the right spot.

Bendtherulz said...

Loved all - and in particular - Is shahar mei.n woh koii baaraat ho ya vaardaat
Ab kisi bhi baat par khulti nahi.n hai.n khidkiiyaa.n
shows that nobody cares...enough...!!

How is your progress on the "Farewell song"

Sigma said...

@Pijush, Raj: There seems to be some confusion ... I think you missed my earlier posts in the series. I take no credit whatsoever for the poetry - the poet is Dushyant Kumar. My share of credit is admiring it, posting it, and translating it :-)

@Cuckoo: I agree with you and Raj that this is on of the most 'powerful' sher in the collection.
Will soon be posting my last post in the series, comprising of two (almost complete) ghazals.

@BTR: Yeah, those lines wonderfully describe the apathy of the common man in our country.
The farewell song was done last weekend itself ... and I have posted it already [the farewell happened yesterday.

Kalyan Panja said...

Ghazalein itni buri bhi nahin hain, ki pathharo se mara jaye, balki aapka soch ko kadar karna chahiye, jo apne itne ache ghazalein chune hain, aur sochne ko mazbur kar dete hain, aur hamare andar jo do sattaye hain, kaise falakta hain beyabru hoke...Nice collection!

delhidreams said...

"koi rehne ki jagah hai mere sapno ke liye/ woh gharonda sahi, mitti ka bhi ghar hota hai"

hmmm
u know what
i loved to see ppl coming here and commenting on the ghazals, this is the best we could do for a poet long gone... but what words he left us, what words...

love

Sigma said...

@Kalyan: Lol!! And thank you!

@Adi: What will we do for a great poet like him! It is he who has done a great deal for us by leaving such a legacy!!

delhidreams said...

what u can do is to leave a link on the post from where it all started ;)

Sigma said...

@Adi: Aye aye, sir!
:-)