With the thought of tomorrow,
Be not niggardly today, O Saqi;
This would be disrespectful
To the Saqi of Paradise.
Why have we become so contemptible
Today, when till yesterday ,
Our honour did not tolerate
The impudence of the angel.
Listening to sweet music,
why does it seem
That one's life is draining away?
Is it because we hear His voice
In the notes of the lute and the rebeck?
The steed of age is galloping;
Let us see where it will stop;
The hand does not hold the rein
And the foot is not in the stirrup.
I am as far removed
From my own reality
As my twisting and turning
Stems from the thought of the other.
The reality of the sight of God,
The one who sees, and what is seen,
All in effect are one; I
am amazed Then, what is all this witnessing?
The sea's substance consists of
The shifting appearance of forms;
What then is in the drop,
And the bubble, and the wave?
Coyness, even with oneself
Is but a form of dalliance;
How many unveiled ones
Go about covered by a veil?
The adorning of her beauty
Leaves no time for ease;
Even beneath the veil, her mirror
Constantly confronts her.
Friday, 10 August 2007
ghalib once again..!
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5 comments:
Viv,I must say you've produced an excellent translation of the Ghalib's sher. Back then he was such a perfect Objectivist coz' he asked these fundamental questions like what is the nature of universe and man's place in it.He was not at all a mystical or god fearing Man.He questioned the existence of God and his paradise.
"Ham ko bhi maloom hain zannat ki haqueekat lekin,
Dil ko bahlaane ka yeh khyaal accha hain"
("We know what the reality of paradise is;/ but it is not too bad an idea to beguile the mind".)
But he did hear the Death at his doorstep,didn't he?
"In the notes of the lute and the rebeck?
The steed of age is galloping;
Let us see where it will stop;
The hand does not hold the rein,
We do not have our feet in the stirrups".
silly.. its not mine...:(....
just found it and put it up here...
as i said wish i knew urdu...
yes, and I particularly love his strong stance against the 'waaiz'or the preachers of Islam
"Kahan maikhane ka darwaza 'Ghalib'
Aur kahan waaiz
Par itna jaante hain
kal wo jata tha ki hum nikal!"
(It is impossible to think that a waiz can be associated with a bar/pub. But all I know is, yesterday I saw him go in as I was coming out!)
His views on God are indeed interesting...I think there is a hint of Lover becoming God in his works.
"Khuda ke waaste parda na Kabe se hata zaalim
Kahi aisa na ho, ya bhi wahi qafir sanam nikale"
(For god's sake, do not remove the sacred curtain [in Kaba]
For its possible that I see my faithless lover as God here, too)
There are some more lovely couplets of his which describe his views...wish I had the time to hunt through my ghalib collection to put them up here!!!!
His naughty play of words is just amazing.. few coud have got away with all that he said.. must have faced a lot of opposition from the orthodoxs...
god seems just like his irritating neighbour here...
Stems from the thought of the other.
The reality of the sight of God,
The one who sees, and what is seen,
All in effect are one; I
am amazed Then, what is all this witnessing?
Here he seems to be trying to find the reality.. beautifully menifests how it appears god and the universe is one.. creator is the creation.. objective is it..?? I think yes..
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