Faiz Translated...

Translating Urdu poetry into English, much to the chagrin of my late father, has been a passion and a hobby with me for longer than I care to remember. Here's my attempt at translating `Soch' by the great Faiz Ahmed Faiz...

SOCH                                                     REFLECTIONS 

(Faiz Ahmed Faiz)                                                  (Translated by Harish Puri)

Kyon dil mera shaad nahin hai                                   Pray sir, why this melancholy?

Kyon khamosh raha karta hun                                    And why this silence of the tomb?

Chhodo meri Ram kahani                                          Let’s leave my sorry tale alone

Main jaisa bhi hun, acchha hun                                  I’ll be ok, no matter what..

Mera dil ghamgin hai to kya hai                                What though my heart be full of woe

Ghamgin yeh duniya hai sari                                     The world’s a sorry place to be

Yeh dukh tera hai na mera                                       This sorrow isn’t mine or yours

Yeh hum sab ki jaagir hai pyari                                 It is our common legacy, my love

Tu agar meri ho bhi jaye                                          Even if you were mine alone

Duniya ke gham yun hi rahenge                                These sorrows would still be in place

Paap ke phande, zulm ke bandhan                            These sins, these bonds of oppression

Apne kahe se kat na sakenge                                    Won’t disappear on our say so

Gham har halat mein mohlak hai                               Grief’s lethal in every form

Apna ho ya aur kisi ka                                              Yours, theirs or our own

Rona dhona, ji ko jalaana                                         This wall of tears, this numbing pain

Yun bhi hamara, yun bhi hamara..                             Is our own, our very own

 Kyon na jahan ka gham apna lein                              Why not embrace each other’s sorrow

Baad mein sab tadbeerein sochein                              And think of consequences later      

Baad mein sukh ke sapne dekhein                               Dream happy dreams some other day

Sapnon ki tadbeerein sochein..                                   And hope that one day they bear fruit

Befkire dhan daulat wale                                            These lesser mortals, carefree and rich

Yeh aakhir kyon khush rehte hain?                               Where do they toss their every pain

In ka sukh aapas mein baantein                                   Let’s grab their smiles, their happiness

Yeh bhi aakhir hum jaise hain..                                    Can we not be like them as well?

Hum ne mana jang kari                                               The battle’s fierce, we shall admit

Sar phatenge, khoon bahega                                       Heads will be bloodied, and unbowed

Khoon mein gham bhi beh jayenge                               Our sorrows will flow, in this blood bath

Hum na rahenge, gham na rahega..                             And all will pass on – we and our pain..