Aggrieved by the recent sinister, senseless violence and brutal murders in Karachi, this is my feeble attempt at poetic expression.
I have also trans-created this Urdu poem below titled Adrift.
Jal gaya – tha ik roshniyon ka shaher
Jal gaya – tha ik roshniyon ka shaher
Bujh gaye kitnay jaltay aur adh-jalay chiragh
Magar kotwaal-i-shaher ne mur kar na dekhaJism kis ka, khoon kahan aur maut kaisee?
Yeh qatl na tha dosto
Yeh qatl hai ik ehad ka
Yeh nohaa hai insaniyat kaInsaniyat ka khatma karnay walay jantay nahee
Insaan marta hai – bhujta naheeAhle-hawas aur ahle-dil
Huay sab ke sab, aseer-i-shab-i-siyahaur ham
roshniyon ke muntazir
bhujtey jugnoo-on ko dhoondtay
thakay haray
gharon ka rasta bhool gaye
And here is a version trans-created in English
Adrift
Once a city of lights, stands ruined
Lamps – lit and half-lit, all extinguished
And the guardians of the city, unmovedWhich body, what blood and whose death?
This was not a murder my friends
This was the murder of our times
A prolonged elegy of humanityThose hell-bent on erasing humanity, are, unaware
Man dies but cannot be lostThe bleeding hearts and the hearts with no remorse
All trapped in the darkness of the nightAnd we the forlorn
Wait for the light
Attempting to seek dying fireflies
Tired, exhausted
Lost on our way home!
Raza Rumi blogs at Jahane Rumi where this was first published.
please see this video- i tried my best to contribute something while away from home
http://youtube.com/watch?v=_c12MjLjPvA
Our lives begin to end the day we become silent about things that matter
Because of terrible load shedding this roshniyoun ka shehr has a new ironic meaning for karachi now
Let’s suppose CJP Iftikhar Chaudhry opted to visit Karachi a day later than scheduled on
13 May. Would it have spared Karachi from the tragic loss of life?
Did the authorities take appropriate measures to diffuse the situation or to flare it up?
Are there any signs that flexibility and accommodation was adequately exhausted as the foremost and prefereable option? Or was it puposeful, deliberate show of strength by a bunch of heavyhanded persons?
MQM is now on Guardian Unlimited Talk.
You should take part in it.
http://talk.guardian.co.uk/WebX?13@732.1eV4cbbHlML .28@.775e9989/9
Thanks to all the readers who commented on the poem.
I agree with SJH – despite the odds we must not give up the spirit of hoping for the best and doing all that we can to improve the conditions of our country.
Sounds naive, I know but I remain an optimist!