English translation is given at the end.
Following ‘azad’ poem is by one of my favourite writers, Shafiq-ur-Rehman and it comes from his book ‘lehreN’. The poem is actually a satire on modern day poets who write ‘azad’ Urdu poem by using all the ‘azadi’ they can get. The poem describes a situation of fighting cats in a garden. I hope it brings a smile to you just like it has been bringing smiles to me for the past 20 years.
Here is my attempt at an approximate translation for our English readers:
Cats are fighting
Oh Cats
Caaaa…
…tsss
May be cats are fighting in garden now
There is the haze of dusk
It is time to rest
to work
to
get rewarded
And cats are fighting
May be they are 4 in number
or may be 3
But this little doubt has made house in my heart
that the cats are 5 in number
and definitely they cannot be 6
and the night is glowing in moonlight
and the moon is shining bright
and the moonlight is ubiquitous
and this moonlight will only last for a little while
and then there is a pitch dark night ahead
What was i saying?
Aah, it just slipped out of my mind
What happened to my memory?
Only God can fix it
Oh Yes, I just remembered!
the cats are fighting
Cats are probably finghting in the garden now!
Photo Credits: Flickr.com
Shafiqur Rehman is one of my all time favorites . His humorous writings, particularly relating to students of all ages, are the best that I have seen. My cousin and I used to double up laughing at some of his hilarious write-ups. This article brought to mind a couple of more verses, also related to “azad shA’eri” (could be from the same book that Owais is quoting from):
1) abr ha’e sabzA hae aur gulzAr hae
kahIN zukAm na ho jA’E
2) zEr’e dIvAr khaRE haeN tera kyA lEt-e haeN
hum koi chOr haeN?
Related to “cats” his description of the questioning of a child by an examiner remains etched in my memory:
Examiner: Could you tell me how many eyes a cat has?
Child: two
Examiner: and how many ears?
Child: two
Examiner: and how many legs
Child: four
Examiner: Very good. And how many tails?
Child: Uffoh! Have you really not seen a cat?
Owais, thanks for posting this regarding one of the greats of Urdu literature.
Dr. Shafiq-Ur- Rehman was an Icon of Urdu humor and his works remain evergreen. He created unforgettable characters in his writings such as Maqsood Ghora, Shaitaan and Hukumat Apa. During my college days, I picked up Himaqatain and just couldn’t let go until I had read through most of his works.
Not bad for a General….right?
@ Billi kay hathon cheenka toota = PML Q
Billi hamesha umnay punjon par girti hay = PPP
Chichron key pehray par billi ko bithadia = Mushy’s Govt.
Billi ko khuaab mein chichray nazar attay hein = JUI Faz
Billi nau-so chohay khakar Haj pay chaali = MQM
Billi thailay say baher aa gai
In the previous post on Ibn-e-Insha, I was disappointed to find no refernce to Shafiq-ur-Rehman’s writings. He was indeed a pioneer of clean humor in Urdu – while in school (and college) I used to read his set of books every year.
This beautiful post reminded me of the good old days. Thanks.
AOA to alls
It is a very good post and I really like it.It is afunny post.Cat is a very quete vet animal and I like cat.I have a cat in my house.