Tuesday 6 December 2011

Best ghazal ever?- Shakeel Badayuni's mere hum- nafas.

I''ve copied these lyrics from a lovely blog called Mausiki. Click on the link below.

Shakeel Badayuni - mere hum-nafas

mere hum-nafas, mere hum-navaa, mujhe dost banake daGaa na de
mai.n huu.N dard-e-ishq se jaa.N_valab, mujhe zindagii kii duaa na de

Nafas: Breath
Navaa: Sound, Voice
Ham-nafas, Ham-navaa: Friend
Jaan-Valab: Dead
Duaa: Blessing

mere daaG-e-dil se hai raushnii, usii raushnii se hai zindagii
mujhe Dar hai aye mere chaaraagar, ye charaaG tuu hii bujhaa na de

DaaGh: Blemish
Raushnii: Light, Brightness, Illumination
Chaaraagar: Doctor, physician

mujhe ae chho.D de mere haal par, teraa kyaa bharosaa hai chaaraagar
ye terii nawaazishe muKhtasar, meraa dard aur ba.Daa na de

Nawaazish: Kindness, Favor,
Mukhtasar: Abridged, Abbreviated,

meraa azm itanaa bala.nd hai ke paraaye sholo.n kaa Dar nahii.n
mujhe Khauf aatish-e-gul se hai, ye kahii.n chaman ko jalaa na de

Azm: Conviction, Resolve
Baland: Lofty, Strong
Aatish: Fire, Flame, Ember

wo uThe hai.n leke hom-o-subuu, arey o ‘Shakeel’ kahaa.N hai tuu
teraa jaam lene ko bazm me.n koii aur haath ba.Daa na de

Hom: An oblation with clarified butter, a burnt-offering, a sacrifice;
Subuu: Ewer, jar, pitcher, pot, cup, glass
Bazm: Meeting, Assembly



So slain by Love's pain,  do you who, for my longer life yet pray
Ah! Breath of my breath, befriend to but betray?!

My heart's wound,  my Life, my Light's flint-struck spark
Bind not, nor blow out, my sole candle 'gainst the dark!

Breath Control is Divine, Balsamic, broken breath, Death Orgasmic
How trust to your care- ragged breath'd, threadbare?

 Shakeel's steel, forged in a sighs' fires, fears no inferno of the forger Iyer's
For glows in the Garden, red rose arson, Fear's a poet, Ire a Parson

Thee, we study, understudy & e'en, in vain, understand
Thy wine of immortality yet pass hand to hand











3 comments:

Abdullah said...

The English translation is hilariously wrong!!

windwheel said...

I believe it is de rigueur to translate Urdu ghazals as senselessly as possible.

Unknown said...

Any translation from Urdu to English will seem hilarious to one who knows Urdu because English language lacks the nuanced flourish that Urdu has by which a mere word can translate into an expression or emotion. And since Urdu poetry is mostly about love it just cannot be translated into English. Just the clinical meaning of the words can be made in English.