Transliteration of the original text
Hamari Aankhein, Dil o Nigah Tu
Khudi ka Khud Hi Hai Raasta Tu
Huwa Hun Tab Se Maen Laapata Sa
Pata Chal Jab Mera Pata Tu
Sujood tujh ko, ae dil ke malik
Tu Kaa’ba Mera Sanam Khuda Tu
Laga Ke Daaman Pe Daagh e Ulfat
Kahan Chala Hai ae Paarsa Tu
Nahin hoon maen kuch siwae tere
Faqeer e Gham Ka Hai Aasra Tu
Hamara Kya hai Naeem, Hum Mein
Na jaane Nadaan, Na Samjha Kya Tu
Translation in English
My eyes, the heart and vision is You.
The path to selfdom by itself is You.
I have become lost, since the time,
When revealed, that my domicile is You.
Prostrations before you, O! The Owner of Heart,
O! My beloved, you are my Kaa’ba, my God is You.
Disheveling the taint of love on the hem,
Where have you gone, O! the pious, you?
Nothing I am, without You,
The shelter of this beggar of grief is You.
What is mine, in me, Naeem?
Don’t know, don’t understand, O! the ignorant you.
When I was an infant,
Unmindful and unobservant,
My brain was captured by you, a flashing invader.
I didn't know who you were but definitely an outsider.
I came to know about you at eight.
And asked my parents to illuminate.
You are a chronic brain disorder,
Which cause me recurring seizure.
You crawled inside and took control over me.
Flooded my emotions abruptly and unsettled my thoughts.
Jerked the body and distorted my vision.
Was this your mission?
Rapid heart rate and sweating,
Ah! The muscles tightening.
Insensible words and dizziness.
Why this kind of craziness?
Involuntary movement and loss of bladder.
Hallucinations and flushed face.
Blackouts and Numbness.
People call it all as madness.
I was unconscious yet conscious
With no warning at all, I felt myself fall.
The feeling of despair, thinking...
Why it happened to me at this age? It's not fair.
You gave me butterflies.
Yup! But in stomach.
It felt like a Déjà vu.
Do you know how this world sees me through?
Your trauma was not limited.
It further exceeded.
You took my moments away.
It affected my studies and schooling days.
I was being mistreated
and constantly ridiculed.
I tried to have a helping hand
But no one did their best to be my friend.
Why should I drop my head in shame?
People... It’s not a bad deed or a game.
In the shadows of day and night.
I'll be a looser if I wouldn't fight.
You attacked me again and again
After experiencing the pain.
But I observed, you low-down my stress.
Weird, isn't it? Its true, nevertheless!
I tried to understand the Almighty's plan,
To surrender me in the safe hand.
You are complex, you are partial
But sometimes beneficial.
You bewildered and belittled me.
But I understood your vulnerability.
Calmly and cleverly, I attacked you without any army.
Eventually, I got my victory.
I overpowered you, Yay!
Now, I will use you as a tool to pave my way.
I'm strong enough to control myself.
Learning and knowing my inner-self.
Thank you for depressing me.
You're the aid to my anxiety.
I'm happy for what I have been through.
What I'm now, it’s because of you.
But now, you're receiving rigorous depressant.
I can observe your obsolescent.
I'm in agony and suffering, not because of you.
But thinking that you'll not be with me anymore.
My heart, is now blind,
It fails to see anything kind.
I'm not cowering from strife,
I wish to only fast-forward life.
Relentless currents have been pulling me down,
Every time I've been trying not to drown.
All I desire is a moment of release,
Only a second and nothing more to seize.
With every strife I steadily grow weary,
There's nothing in sight save misery.
If time is something I could forfeit,
I would forfeit all in a heartbeat.
My legacy is not a story,
Still strangers spin it callously.
No regret is worth any pain,
No one lasts forever in the rain.
When the dust settles in the evening,
To finally be nothing is liberating.
© Saad Inshrah
Serve the One in Distress
A free translation of 'kisi dardmand ke kaam aa'
The greatest contribution of Sufism to literature, however, is poetry. Sufi poetry is the hymn in praise of God or the seer, expressed in chains of repetitions. The mystics also contributed largely to the development of national and regional literatures, for they had to convey their message to the masses in their own languages: Turkish, Persian, Arabic, languages of Central Asian countries, Urdu, Sindhi, Punjabi and several other languages of South Asia. The first true religious poetry was written by the Sufis who blended classical Islamic motifs with inherited popular legends and used popular metres. Sufi poetry expressing divine love and mystical union through the metaphors of profane love and union often resembled ordinary worldly love poetry, and non-mystical poetry made use of the Sufi vocabulary, thus producing an ambiguity that is felt to be one of the most attractive and characteristic features of Persian, Turkish, and Urdu literatures. Sufi ideas thus permeated the hearts of all those who hearkened to poetry.
As my first attempt I am presenting here a free translation of a famous sufi song which has been sung on different sufi shrines of Indian subcontinent. Your critical remarks are welcome.
Transliteration of the original text:
kisi dardmand ke kaam aa
kisi doobte ko uchaal de
yeh nigaah-e- mast ki mastiyan
kisi badnaseeb pe daal de
mujhe masjidon ki khabar nahin
mujhe mandiron ka paata nahin
meri aajzi ko qubool kar
mujhe aur dard-o-malal de
mujhe zindagi ki talab nahin
mujhe sau baras ki hawas nahin
meri saa’aton ko mahv kar
wo fanaa jo hai la-zawaal de
yeh jo mae kashi ka ghuroor hai
yahi mere dil ka suroor hai
mere maekade ko dawaam ho
mere saaqiyon ko jamaal de
main tere wisaal ko kya karoon
meri wehshaton ki yeh maut hai
ho tera junoon mujhe phir ataa
mujhe jannaton se nikal de
(Unknown)
English Translation:
Serve the one in distress,
Lift the one who is drowning.
The Blissfulness of that inebriated look,
Exalt upon the one who is unfortunate.
I am unaware about mosques,
I don’t know about temples.
Accept my humility,
Burden me with more pain and sadness.
I don’t desire temporal existence,
I am not eager to live for hundred years.
Seize my moments,
Bless me with the annihilation which is imperishable.
This pride of drunkenness,
Is the exhilaration of my heart.
May the taverns live long,
Give elegance to my cup-bearers.
What should I do to your communion?
This is the death of my frenzies.
Bestow me with the obsession of yours once again,
And Throw me out of the heavens.
© Saad Inshrah
Since childhood we have been taught,
To be strong and not to burst out.
Respecting and not hurting girls,
Because they are weak pearls.
Aggressive, Decisive, why only we are?
Submissive, Passive, it's their avatar.
Where dominance is boy's rule,
Sensitivity is just for fool.
Steeping pain behind the smiles,
Pretending, we are emotionally stabilize.
In order to be a passionate lover,
It's not important to be muscular.
We aren't carefree and casual,
Incumbencies haunt, that's inevitable.
To be a gentleman,
I choose attributes of women too.
Cooking, Washing, Cleaning, Why only we will do?
Can drive any vehicle, like they do.
Rather than being a princess behind the doors,
Want to be a queen who deals with the world.
Don't do this, don't do that.
Why so many barriers Dad?
Think what people will say,
They must change their mentality, shouldn't they?
Wearing floral prints and pink shade,
Is not my type, Black and Blue is my taste.
Dolls are for the showcase,
I like cycling, volleyball and skates.
Self reliance, social boldness is all I seek,
Higher education is my need.
It might boil your insecurities,
Still I want equal responsibilities.
-Saad Inshrah©
After a long wintery night,
The sun shines - so beautiful, so bright.
Splashes promise into my eyes every morning,
And says it's a new beginning.
This glory is so new,
With the mountains in dazzling view.
Nature makes it special with her smile,
All the day and all the while.
Whispers, "Face the world with a charm,
A cheerful temper does no harm.
Feel the freshness of the air,
Lingering in your heart and everywhere."
The evening sun is a bright yellow,
Surroundings gently gleam and glow.
Beckoning the kids to play and run,
Making shadows the friend of everyone.
The sun in the horizon slowly sinks,
Leaving behind golden, sun-struck links.
Seeking rest beyond trees and mountains,
The world starts once again to darken,
So dark, so deep, until black.
The world is cast in sleep,
Till another dawn calls it back.
-Saad Inshrah©
SHAHEEN: The Literature Foundation is a non-profit organisation founded in memory of Syed Qutubuddin Ahmad (1930 - 2018) born at Hamzapur, Sherghati, District Gaya, Bihar.