The following translated poems from various languages are unlike Urdu poetry (ghazals and nazams) that is almost invariably full of love -mohabbat - and nothing else. I would like here to present some world poetry, translated into Urdu to the readers of this forum to make them aware of the fact that poetry does not begin and end with mohabbat.
I would like your comments, good or bad. The poems are easy to understand, if not read with beaten down mohabbat in mind. I will post the original poems, whenever possible, and would appreciate if you could kindly improve upon the translations. Thanks.
1
hawaa, ek khullay din
ek khullay din
*chameli ki khushboo se bhara *
*hawaa ka ek jhonka *
meri ruuh ko kehnay laga:
"mujhay tum apni ghulab ki khusboo day do,
is k badlay main apni chameli ki kushboo day doon gi."
"meray pass gulab ke phool nahin hain.
meray bageechay k sub phool mar chukay hain."
"chalo theek hai, main murjaee pankhrion ko,
peelay patton ko aur fauwaaray k paani ko
hi lay loon gi."
hawaa chaali gayi. main ro para. aur khud ko
khenay laga:
*"kyaa kar dala hai tunay *
us bageechoo ko
jo tumaaray hawaalay thaa?"
-tr. Ravi Kopra
from Robert Bly’s English version of a Spanish poem
by Antonio Machado.
The Wind, One Brilliant Day
The wind, one brilliant day, called
to my soul with an odor of jasmine.
“in reurn for the odor of my jasmine,
I’d like all the odor of your roses.”
“I have no roses; all the flowers
in my garden are dead.”
“Well then, I’ll take the withered petals
and the yellow leaves and the waters of the fountain.”
The wind left. And I wept. And I said to myself:
“What have you done with the garden that was entrusted to you?”
