Billions
of stars
twisted in braids,
swirling in eternal dance,
Heavens!
Author’s note: Lantern is a Japanese form of poetry with 1, 2, 3, 4, 1 syllables set to share a single thought.
Category: Poetry
Darkness | Urdu poetry
Andhera tere dar pe nahi mere dil me tha;
Me dastak se darta raha; tu intezar karta raha.
Translation:
Standing in the darkness outside your door;
Willing it to open; fearing it would;
Craving the light escaping from the sides,
Steeling to face it; fearing I would;
Hoping to accept me; fearing I’m ruined;
Knowing you stand right beside the door,
Just waiting for me
to knock…
Dreams | Urdu Poetry
Neend hi toh nahi aati, bas khwab hi hain.
Jo neend bhi aa jati toh mar hi na jate?!
Translation:
Can’t sleep even if I tried,
Strangled by dreams awake wide;
Had I been able to get a wink,
Probably would have died!
Muddled | Poetry | Lantern
Pain,
not mine,
stays and muddles
what’s mine and what’s
borrowed.
Author’s note: Lantern is Japanese poetry form shaped visually like a lantern in 1,2,3,4,1 syllables.
Sleepless | Poetry | Lantern
Sleepless
eyes on
night-long vigil
guarding the precious angel
asleep
Bulbul | Sher | Poetry
Wo shaakh sooni hai jis par bulbul gaati thi.
Tanha musafir ka koi ab sahara nhi.
Translation:
The branch sits empty–the Nightingale now gone.
No saviour now for the traveller forlorn.
Shukran Allah | Urdu | Poetry
Tere ishq ki deewanagi
tari ho kuchh is tarah,
Wo deewaro me chunwa dein
aur hum kahein, “Shukran Allah!”
English Translation:
Lost in your love so,
When the world immures me
in the walls to kill me,
I wouldn’t know…
Umeed | Urdu | Nazm
Baad-e-naseem ki aashnai me
Naseeb ki hawa narm nhi chalti.
Kul jama zindagi ka ye nikla–
Umeed lagane se duniya nhi milti.
…
Wo tajir h jo chahta h mohabbat ka sila,
Ulfat k bazar me arzoo nhi chalti.
Mangane pe karde jo ishq me dakhil,
Mehboob k dil me wo qitab nhi milti.
Umeed lagane se duniya nhi milti.
…
Chand ki khwahish rakhne walo me
Sitaro ki auqat b nhi milti.
Jinke muntazir ho guzari thi umr humne,
Unke ishq me wo raahat ab nhi milti.
Umeed lagane se duniya nhi milti.
Love for zypher of the west,
Didn’t keep away the tempest.
The sum of my life came to be,
Hope didn’t win the world for me.
…
Love-for-love only traders aspire.
Alas! In the market of desire
Longing isn’t a currency.
You wouldn’t find the register
in one’s heart to enter
Your soul’s muted pleas.
…
Hope didn’t win the world for me.
…
Who ask for the moon in the night
Oft don’t deserve the starlight,
Quit at onset of the journey.
A life wasted pining a-quiet
For love that doesn’t give respite
As once happened to be.
…
Hope didn’t win the world for me.
Author’s note: Urdu Nazm has several Quartets (4 liners) stitched together to convey the same idea. While translating, I have converted it into a combination of a Quartet and a couple of Sestets (6 liners) with rhyme, which is a first for me since, in English, I usually write in free verse. I couldn’t match the scale without changing meaning though. :)
Khabar | Urdu | Poetry | Nazm
Teri khidkiyo se hawa takra k laut jati h,
Tu zulf dhoop me ab sukhaata nhi.
Andhero me doobi hui h duniya,
Tu khul k ab khilkhilaata nhi.
—
Mitti me ab wo khushboo nhi h,
Tu barisho me ab chhat pe aata nhi.
Meri kabr bohot maayus h, humdum,
Mausam ab teri khabar lata nhi.
______________________
Translation:
Breeze knocks on your windows and returns,
You stopped drying your hair in the sun.
The world is slowly drowning in dark,
Awaiting your laughter to bring the spark.
The ground does not hold its familiar fragrance.
Don’t you step on roof now when it the rains?
My grave is gloomy and desolate, love.
The seasons don’t bring your tidings now.
Authors Note: A Nazm is a piece of Urdu poetry that is made of several quartets, each carrying the same thought.
Qabiz | Urdu | Poetry
Ek kamzarf Lubna thi qabiz wajood-e-Kais pe,
Humko BaKhuda kar de, hume bhi ishq karna hai.
A powerless Lubna permeated Kais until he ceased to be.
Permeat me, my Lord—I, too, want to love.
Author’s note:
“BaKhuda” actually means, “I swear by Allah (Khuda)”.
But “Ba” in Urdu means “permeated with” and “Khud” means “self”. Hence, I have used the word differently to mean “fill with Yourself”.
The story of Lubna and Kais is one of the most famous love stories in Urdu poetry, as Kissa-e-Laila-Majnun.
A very handsome man called Kais fell in love with Lubna who was very plain and dark as night (Laila). People were surprised at the match. At that time, the Arab law was against love marriages. They were separated. But Kais lost himself completely and was called Majnun (mad). When he found that his Laila has died of long suffering, he searched for her grave and died next to her—not because of the heartbreak but because of the ecstasy of finally finding her. Thus, they became one.
It is said that on the day of judgement, Allah will present Majnun to the mankind as the epitome of love and ask everyone why no one loved Him as much as Kais loved Lubna.
A question every woman asks her man…Sigh!
Short Stories | Fish-eye Perspective 