Selection from Seemab Akbarabadi
SF786
_______________________________-
Sabu par, jaam par, sheeshay pay paimanay pay kia gujri
najanay maiN nay tauba ki to maikhaanay pay kia gujri
Vo kehta tha Khuda jaanay bahar aaye to kia gujray
Khuda jaanay bahar aai to dewanay pay kia gujri
MilaiN to faizaan-e-manzil-e-maqsood say poochooN
gujargah-e-muhabbat say gujarjanay pay kia gujri
Tu apnay hi ma'al-e-sauz-e-gum par gaur kar pehlay
tujhay is say nahiN kuch behs parwnay pay kia gujri
________________________________________________
What hearts were broken, what glasses were shatterred
what befell that beloved bar of mine,
when I decided no more!
never to touch the wine again
So he wondered what things will the spring bring
Only God knows what sufferings
what agonies will it bring
To the hearts of the lovers
If chance brings me across who found true love
will I ask what befell him, what he went through
to go past the signpost of love
Suffice it that you just look at your own
rewards of incessant burning
what if your flames
incinerate him that goes around you
_________________________________________
Saleem A Khanani
sf...@aol.com
>I would like to apologize and make a correction to the following gazal that I
posted yesterday. I misspelt "guzri" as "gujri".
I am reposting the corrected version.
A gazal from Seemab Akbarabadi
> _______________________________-
> najanay maiN nay tauba ki to maikhaanay pay kia guzri
>
> Vo kehta tha Khuda jaanay bahar aaye to kia guzray
> Khuda jaanay bahar aai to dewanay pay kia guzri
>
> MilaiN to faizaan-e-manzil-e-maqsood say poochooN
>
> Tu apnay hi ma'al-e-sauz-e-gum par gaur kar pehlay
> ________________________________________________
> What hearts were broken, what glasses were shatterred
> what befell that beloved bar of mine,
> when I decided no more!
> never to touch the wine again
>
> So he wondered what things will the spring bring
> Only God knows what sufferings
> what agonies will it bring
> To the hearts of the lovers
>
> If chance brings me across who found true love
> will I ask what befell him, what he went through
> to go past the signpost of love
>
> Suffice it that you just look at your own
> rewards of incessant burning
> what if your flames
> incinerate him that goes around you
> _________________________________________
> Saleem A Khanani
-----== Posted via Deja News, The Leader in Internet Discussion ==-----
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Raj Kumar Pathria
>
> A gazal from Seemab Akbarabadi
> _______________________________-
Shukriya, Saleem Sahib, for a beautiful ghazal by Ustad Seemab
Akbarabadi. This gives me the inspiration to present another of Seemab's
ghazals, which I feel many readers of this column will enjoy. I would
like Saleem Sahib and Nagesh Sahib, in particular, to read it, savour
it, and (hopefully) translate it into their (favourite!) language
English. But, please beware, this ghazal needs to be translated into
Urdu first!!!
kaun aa kar toor par phir jalwaa-saaman ho gaya
mere but-khaane ka har paththar faroozan ho gaya
ho gaya, raaz-e-gham-e-hasti ka irfaan ho gaya
main ne tadbeer-e-sakoon jab ki, preshaan ho gaya
chheen leen fikr-e-nasheiman ne miri aazaadiyaan
jazba-e-parvaaz mehdood-e-gulistaan ho gaya
wus'at-e-khaatir salaamat, jazb-e-aazadi b-khair
jab qafas ko main ne phailaya, gulistaan ho gaya
husn ka izhaar tha sa'ee-e-nazar par munhasar
main ne jab chaaha, jahaan chaaha, numaayaan ho gaya
ab kahaan seemab, woh parvarda-e-ulfat kahaan
woh to kab ka kushta-e-nairang-e-dauraan ho gaya
I'll love to have comments on this one, especially an attempt at
translation by one of our truly gifted mambers.
Khair-andesh, Raj Kumar 'Khalish'
Padmanabhan Srinagesh
>
> SF786 wrote:
> >
> > A gazal from Seemab Akbarabadi
> > _______________________________-
>
> Shukriya, Saleem Sahib, for a beautiful ghazal by Ustad Seemab
> Akbarabadi. This gives me the inspiration to present another of Seemab's
> ghazals, which I feel many readers of this column will enjoy. I would
> like Saleem Sahib and Nagesh Sahib, in particular, to read it, savour
> it, and (hopefully) translate it into their (favourite!) language
> English. But, please beware, this ghazal needs to be translated into
> Urdu first!!!
>
>
> Khair-andesh, Raj Kumar 'Khalish'
Thanks for the compliment, but let me say that Urdu is my favorite
language. I have greater command of English, but I view that as an
unfortunate accident of my life.
I'll try to translate this, but I must wait for inspiration. Hearing
ghazals sung does often provide the inspiration for my rather humble
efforts at translation. I know that KL Saighal has sung many
compositions of Seemab, but I have not heard this one. While I wait for
music and my favorite muse's return, I'll leave you with this thought:
"Aate hain ghaib se yeh mazameen khyaal mein
Ghalib sareer-e-khaamaa nava-e-sarosh hai"
From an unseen source a mystic force provides my inspiration
My scratching pen, Ghalib is then an angel's whispered song
Nagesh
SF786
translated into Urdu first. Like all other pieces of great art, pomes like this
have great depths and varieties of meanings.
Here is my free flowing translation/parapheresis based upon my understanding of
it. I am sure people would see different meanings in it and I expect to benefit
from other learned contributors to this growing forum.
Saleem A Khanani
___________________________________
Who it is that illuminated my inner world
like the mountain of Toor enlightened by the Divine light
every idol, every thought inside my dark self lit up
There dawned upon me the secrets
the mysteries unravelled
of the sorrows that are the life
the way to physical rest leads but
to more unrest for the soul
I lost my freedom engorssed
in my lowly concerns for this world
the flight of my ideas
but limited to my mundane surroundings
Expansion of self, freedom of thought
if preserved, crossing all borders
can make the prison cell
like a garden of bliss
"Beauty lies in the eyes of the beholder"
I can make my self apparent
in every time
in everyplace
Where lies Seemab now
he that was nurtured by love
nothing remains of him but
ashes smoldering
burnt by the vicissitudes of time
_________________________________
Saleem A Khanani
Raj Kumar Pathria
>
> Namaste Professor Saheb,
> Hum ALUP ki mehfil mei.n peechay ki taraf baithney walo.n mei.n se ek
> hai.n.
> (Similar to the struggling students in class)
> However, I have thoroughly enjoyed your entry as well as your 'laajawaab'
> informative and quality posts.
> For the benefit of us backbenchers please explain ' Kaun aa kar toor par
> phir....."
> I am confident there are many ALUPers that will appreciate it, as there are
> many students like me in this 'class'
> Ba.dee meherbaanee hogee.
>
> Regards,
> Hari
Namaskaar, Saahib:
Thank you very much for your comments on my humble contributions to
ALUP. I am very pleased to know that you and many others are finding
these postings of interest. As for me, regardless of whether it is
theoretical physics (which happens to be my strength) or Urdu poetry
(which happens to be my weekness), I try to make matters as clear as I
possibly can. Sometimes I feel afraid that I might appear as somewhat
imposing but, on closer scrutiny, I have always found the effort to be
mutually rewarding.
I couldn't figure out from your note whether you wanted me to explain
the whole ghazal or just the matla'; I presume, just the matla'. So here
we are!
kaun aa kar toor par phir jalwaa-saaman ho gaya
Toor refers to 'toor-e-seenaa',i.e., Mount Sinai, where Moses
(Hazrat-e-Moosa) is supposed to have challanged God, taunting Him to
come out (if He truly existed) and show him His Jalwa, His divine
splendour, etc. According to the story, God sprang His appearance on
Moses in the form of barq,i.e., bijli. Hazrat-e-Moosa us jalwe ki taab
na laa sake, aur ghash kha kar gir parhe. Jab hosh aaya, to bilkul badle
hue insaan the. Khudaa se girhgirhaa kar mu'aafi maangi aur tab un par
"ten commandments" ka nuzool hua. And so on.
Seemaab's matla' refers to that event but is now talking about an
'insaani jalwaagar'. He is referring to his own 'world' as 'Toor', and
is wondering aloud:
Kaun hai yeh, jo meri duniya mein jalwaagari ke saamaan le kar waarid
hua hai? The word 'phir' emphasizes the fact that an event like this has
happened before --- and is happening again!
mere but-khaane ka har paththar faroozan ho gaya
Seemaab ab us jalwaagari ka nateeja byaan karte hain. Farmaate hain ke
meri prastish-gaah (jahaan kisi ki pooja ki jaati hai) mein andhera hi
andhera tha, magar
is jalwe ne har tarf ujaala hi ujaala kar diya hai. In other words,
mujhe to yeh bhi khabar na thi ki main kis ki pooja kar raha hoon. Ab
choonke yahaan ka har paththar roshan ho gaya hai, mujhe mera maabood
(jis ki ibaadat ki jaati hai) saaf nazar aane laga hai.
I hope you now get the idea Seemaab is trying to convey in this (highly
loaded) matla'. I have a lot more to say in this regard, but my slow
rate of typing is somewhat of a handicap. Depending on the response, I
may.
I will, nevertheless, leave you with this beautiful couplet that mildly
taunts Moosa himself:
hamein bhi jalwaa-gaah-e-naaz tak lete chalo Moosa
tumhein ghash aa gaya to husn-e-jaanaan kaun dekhe
ga?
Khair-andesh, Raj Kumar 'Khalish'
Raj Kumar Pathria
>
> I absolutely agree with you that this beautiful gazal needs to be savoured and
> translated into Urdu first. Like all other pieces of great art, pomes like this
> have great depths and varieties of meanings.
> Here is my free flowing translation/parapheresis based upon my understanding of
> it. I am sure people would see different meanings in it and I expect to benefit
> from other learned contributors to this growing forum.
> Saleem A Khanani
My-o-my! I didn't expect that someone will undertake this task so fast
and will deliver himself so well. Real good, Saleem Sahib. Now, if you
permit, I'll make a couple of points.
________________________________
> Who it is that illuminated my inner world
> like the mountain of Toor enlightened by the Divine light
> every idol, every thought inside my dark self lit up
Well done.
> There dawned upon me the secrets
> the mysteries unravelled
> of the sorrows that are the life
> the way to physical rest leads but
> to more unrest for the soul
Well done, again. But will you consider changing 'leads but' to 'but
leads'? You will really sound like Romaine Rolland!
> I lost my freedom engorssed
> in my lowly concerns for this world
> the flight of my ideas
> but limited to my mundane surroundings
Well done, but how about changing 'but' to 'got but'?
> Expansion of self, freedom of thought
> if preserved, crossing all borders
> can make the prison cell
> like a garden of bliss
Well done.
> "Beauty lies in the eyes of the beholder"
> I can make my self apparent
> in every time
> in everyplace
Here, Seemaab goofed a bit. In the second line, when he said:
main ne jab chaaha, jahaan chaaha, numaayan ho gaya
he didn't mean 'main numaayan ho gaya'; he meant 'woh numaayan ho gaya'.
It is a regret that Seemaab couldn't fit the required pronoun here, and
has thus caused a lot of grief to so many people. I have no doubt that
you can set this part of your translation right without any serious
effort.
> Where lies Seemab now
> he that was nurtured by love
> nothing remains of him but
> ashes smoldering
> burnt by the vicissitudes of time
Well done.
Khair-andesh, Raj Kumar 'Khalish'
softne...@gmail.com
Mana hareem-e-naaz ke parde mein hai koyi
lekin hareem-enaaz ke parde uthaye kaun.