Soldier…

This is my translation, with help from friends, of another poem by Makhdoom Mohiuddin. As always, the translation is still a work in progress — so if you know Urdu and English, and have suggestions, let me know through the comments (same goes for transliteration).

The poem itself was collected in his 1944 anthology, Surkh Sawera, or Red Dawn. It was written to protest Indian troops fighting for Britain in the “imperialist phase” (samraaji daur) of the second world war.

سپاہی
مخدوم محی الدین

جانے والے سپاہی سے پوچھو
وہ کہاں جارہا ہے 

کون دُکھیا ہے جو گارہی ہے
بھوکے بچّوں کو بِہلارہی ہے
لاش جلنے کی بو آ رہی ہے
زِندگی ہے کہ چِلّا رہی ہے

جانے والے سپاہی سے پوچھو
وہ کہاں جارہا ہے

کتنے سہمے ہوے ہیں نظارے
کیسا ڈر ڈر کے چلتے ہیں تارے
کیا جوانی کا خوں ہورہا ہے
سرخ ہیں آنچلوں کے کِنارے

جانے والے سپاہی سے پوچھو
وہ کہاں جارہا ہے

گِر رہا ہے سِیاہی کا ڈیرا
ہو رہا ہے مِری جاں سویرا
او وطن چھوڑ کر جانے والے
کُھل گیا انقلابی پھریرا

جانے والے سپاہی سے پوچھو
وہ کہاں جارہا ہے

 

 

sipahi
makhdoom mohiuddin

jaane waale sipahi se poochho
voh kahaaN jaa raha hai

kaun dukhiya hai jo gaa rahi hai
bhooke bachchoN ko behla rahi hai

laash jalne ki boo aa rahi hai
zindagi hai ki chilla rahi hai

jaane waale sipahi se poochho
voh kahaaN jaa raha hai

kitne sehme hue haiN nazaare
kaisa Dar Dar ke chalte haiN taare
kya jawaani ka KhooN ho raha hai
surKh haiN aaNchaloN ke kinare

jaane waale sipahi se poochho
voh kahaaN jaa raha hai

gir raha hai siyahi ka Dera
ho raha hai meri jaaN savera
o vatan choRh kar jaane waale
khul gaya inquilaabi farera

jaane waale sipahi se poochho
voh kahaaN jaa raha hai

Soldier
Makhdoom Mohiuddin

Ask the departing soldier
Where he is going

Who is the sad woman singing
Consoling hungry children
It smells of burning bodies
It is life that screams out

Ask the departing soldier
Where he is going

The vistas themselves are afraid
How frightened the stars proceed
Such murder of youth
Red are the hems of veils

Ask the departing soldier
Where he is going

The tent of darkness is falling
My dear, the dawn is coming
O you who have left the nation!
The revolutionary flag is unfurled

Ask the departing soldier
Where he is going

 

The song was adapted for a Hindi film, in which the last verse is missing. A new verse begins the song:

Jagjit Singh also composed a version, for Ali Sardar Jafri’s documentary-series on Urdu poets. It is picturized on Irrfan Khan (2:51-6:04):

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