Mere Geet

April 2, 2007 · Filed under Politics and Society, University, Worth Quoting

Mere sarkash taraane sun ke duniya ye samajhti hai
Ke shaayad mere dil ko ishq ke naghmon se nafrat hai
Mujhe hungaama-e-jang-o-jadal se kaif milta hai
Meri fitrat ko khoon-rezi ke afsaanon se raghbat hai

Magar ai kaash dekhen voh meri pursoz raaton ko
Main jab taaron pe nazrein gaad kar aansoo bahaata hoon
Tasavvur ban ke bhooli vaardaatein yaad aati hain
To soz-o-dard ki shuddat se pahron tilmilaata hoon

Main shaayar hoon, mujhe fitrat ke nazaaron se ulfat hai
Mera dil dushman-e-naghma saraai ho nahin sakta
Javaan hoon main, javaani naazishon ka ek toofan hai
Meri baaton mein rang-e-paarsaai ho nahin sakta

Mere sarkash taraanon ki haqeeqat hai to itni hai
Ke jab main dekta hoon bhook ke maare kisaanon ko
Ghareebon ko, muflison ko, bekason ko, besahaaron ko
To dil taab-e-nishaat-e-bazm-e-ishrat nahin sakta
Main chaahon bhi to khwaabaavar taraane ga nahin sakta

– Sahir Ludhianvi

Sahir was one of the greats of modern Urdu poetry; a Leftist, he made his comfortable living writing songs for Hindi films (e.g., Pal do pal ka shaayar).

When the world hears my angry songs, it assumes
That perhaps my heart abhors songs of love
That I derive pleasure from the turmoil of war and conflict
That by nature, I get pleasure from stories of bloodshed

Would that they could witness those anguished nights
When I cast my eyes on the stars and weep
When forgotten encounters become remembered imaginations
When for hours, I tremble with the intensity of my grief

I am a poet, I have great love for the sights of nature
My heart can never be the enemy of song writing
I am young, youth is a storm of passion
My words can never be coloured by temperance

If there is a reason for my angry songs, it is this
That when I see the farmers dying of hunger
The poor, the oppressed, the helpless
My heart cannot bear the celebration of high culture
Even if I wish, I cannot give voice to dreamy songs

– Translated by Ali Husain Mir & Raza Mir*

* But I made some modifications.

  del.icio.us this!

6 Responses so far »

  1. 1

    Afreen said,

    April 8, 2007 @ 1:53 pm

    There’s a movie called “Baraka.” Its available at most retail video stores. Watch it.

  2. 2

    Basant Kumar Pandey said,

    April 13, 2007 @ 9:46 am

    “Gaata Jaye Bajaara “was /is a collection of his songs/poems . Any clue ,where it could be found at/read ?

  3. 3

    fathima said,

    April 19, 2007 @ 1:01 am

    right, i meant to say this when i first read this post on your blog, but i love this poem, especially the last stanza. thanks for putting it up. i’m going to copy paste it onto my blog (unless you object).

  4. 4

    run.like the wind » Mere Geet said,

    April 19, 2007 @ 9:55 pm

    […] – Original in Urdu on Noaman’s site. […]

  5. 5

    şeyma said,

    February 12, 2008 @ 10:38 am

    es selamu aleykum
    im turkish girl and i want improve my english so thats poem good for me.and it is good poem so translate best !

  6. 6

    run like the wind » Mere Geet said,

    November 14, 2008 @ 10:54 pm

    […] – Original in Urdu on Noaman’s site. […]

Comment RSS · TrackBack URI

Say your words