She likes
tarboozaa and kharbooza.
But not
Melons and water-melons.
No sentimental expression.
They are foreign.
http://www.anothersubcontinent.com/forums/index.php?showtopic=7484
Note: Oops! I posted it in Intikhaab. But the poem in question is that of Faiz Ahmad Faiz.
Re: On Urdu Poetry in English Translations
^^ jawab mujhe bhi dena Amal, agar mil jaaye!!
Re: On Urdu Poetry in English Translations
Re: On Urdu Poetry in English Translations
Please click on the link given, and read the translation along with comments. Some people think that Urdu or any poetry is impossible to translate. All sentiments are lost in translations, they think. And yet human emotions are same in any culture, in any language, in any country across the world. And there have been hundreds of books on translated poetry in various languages. Translations of poetry enrich us, make us understand other people, other cultures.
I posted a poem of Faiz Ahmad Faiz in English translation and gave reference to the translations of five other well known poets. I was surprised to read a comment there that inspired me to write this poem.
Please read the title with the poem.
Still puzzled?
Re: On Urdu Poetry in English Translations
have u heard of the adage: LOST IN TRANSLATION.
im all for translation- in fact my most fave novel -ALI N NINO- was a translated novel, however, i think translation of poetry can seldom justify the origional. there r certain words that convey a feeling, a sentiment and in translation it tends to lose lustre.
anyway, good luck with ur.....projects :)
Re: On Urdu Poetry in English Translations
have u heard of the adage: LOST IN TRANSLATION. im all for translation- in fact my most fave novel -ALI N NINO- was a translated novel, however, i think translation of poetry can seldom justify the origional. there r certain words that convey a feeling, a sentiment and in translation it tends to lose lustre. anyway, good luck with ur.....projects :)
Lustre like tarbooza and kharbooza! They taste better in Urdu when you've a bite of them. The sounds of the words got imprinted with the taste of the fruit, in the mind of a child whose mother asked:
"bitiyaa, tarbooza khaana hai? meetha hai na?"
And the bitiyaa says, "haan, haan, mommy jaan."
Thanks for your comment, though it's a common complaint about any translated poetry. Rarely will you find the translated poems better than the original ones. Poetry in one's native language is always the sweetest.
How would anyone who does not know Urdu but English appreciate Urdu poetry?
