Following is one of Mirza Ghalib’s famous ghazals. We think it will be interesting if we let our readers try to translate it. You can choose a language and style of your own. You can translate it in English or salees (easy) Urdu, Sindhi, Punjabi etc. You can translate it funny, silly or melancholy. You can turn it into a ‘azad nazm’ or even make ‘nasr’ (prose) or a story out of it. Wanna take this challenge? Bring out your creativity. There is no wrong answer here.
Serious Ghalib lovers! Look at ATP’s related posts on Ghalib in the middle column of this page.
Thank you guys for appreciating my humble effort. I hope you do realize that this kind of praise can only encourage more of the same - breaking the legs of other classics, as the Urdu slang goes. Not a whole lot of good can come out of that :-)
Ignorant hear, what happened to you
After all, what could heal thy woe?
I am so eager and she so aloof,
God, what this whole story is about?
I too have a tongue in my mouth,
Alas, if you have known my wish,
If none else is besides you O God!
Why this world is so chaotic?
Of what these pretty faces are made?
What are their charms, graces and coquetry?
Why her fragranced tresses are in ringlets?
What is the secret of her dark black eyes?
Where the herbs and sherb have come from?
What are clouds and what is air?
We anticipate fidelity from those,
Who don’t know a damn about it,
I know that Ghalib is worthless,
What is the harm in accepting him?
@Translator
Awesome!!!
Ghalib, in my view,is not a poet but an ‘Aarif’. He us in fact Messenger of the Man (Not the Woman,Mind: They don’t need any messenger as they can give birth to one) to God.
His ‘Kalam’ is like a ‘Pakka Raag’. One can tune any song on it.
Regarding translations, I enjoyed all of them,especially, that of Allah Wasaya in Punjabi. This couplet of his tikled me much:
“saday vi moo vich zubaan haigi janaab
tusee kadi sula hi naeeN mari”
as I found Punjabi Maaya contained a lot of Ghalib’s mood. For instance the following ‘Tapah’:
‘Asi aeithe te maaeya Jasiaan
Naan toon puchhiyaan te naan asi dassiaan’
and so on I can quote without end if there is no fear of ‘unscheduled’ load-shedding. It is pity that Ghalib did not say any ’shehr’ about it.
Translator, awesome translation, very creative.
Dear translator
wow and wow. Great work. You are a pro poet :) I enjoyed reading your piece.
Translator, kia baat hai! Loved it!
Oh the crazy global economy, why are you going down the drain?
Why are trillions of dollars not enough to ease your pain?
Why are they so apathetic, to all our enticement?
Please God, an explanation, some enlightenment?
I have my own problems as you might imagine, you dunce
Couldn’t you just ask me about them, for once?
God, since You are the only Omnipresent deity
What is all this tumult, bedlam and anarchy?
What kind of people are the beautiful, you think?
Whazzup with the eyelash batting, hip swinging, the wink?
Why are there blonde curls, generator of sighs?
What are these for, the dark brooding eyes?
Where did we get the prairie, the patch of wildflowers?
What do these mean, the gentle breeze, the cool showers?
Why are we looking for integrity in people who we know?
Won’t even know the word, in reality or for show
I know there is no reality, ain’t that kind of sad
But getting something for nothing is not that bad