urdu

tum bilkul ham jaise nikale

 

tum bilkul hum jaisey nikley
ab tak kahaN chhupe the bhai
voh moorkhta, voh ghaamarpan
jis mein hum ne sadi ganwai
aakhir pahunchi dwaar tumhaarey
arre badhai bohot badhai

 

preyt dharam ka naach rahaa hai
qayam Hindu raaj karoge?
saarey ultey kaaj karogay
apna chaman daraaj karogey
tum bhee baithey karogey sochaa
poori hai waisi tayyari
kaun hai Hindu, kaun naheeN hai
tum bhi karogay fatwe jaari

hoga kathin yahaN bhi jeena
raatoN aa jayega paseena
jaisi taisi kata karegi
yahan bhi sabki saans ghutegi
kal dukh se socha karti thi
soch ke bohot hansi aaj aee,
tum bilkul hum jaise nikle

 

Hum do qaum nahin the bhai!

 

bhaar mein jaaye shiksha viksha
ab jaahilpan  ke  gun gaana.
aage gadha hai yeh mat dekho
wapas laao gaya zamana
bhasht karo tum aajayega
ulte paaon chalte jaana
dhyaan na mann mein dooja aaye
bas peeche hi nazar jamana

 

ek jaap saa kartey jao
varam var yahi dohrao
kitna veer mahaan tha Bharat
kaisa alishaan tha bharat
phir tum log pohonch jaogay
bas parlok pohonch jaaogay
hum toh hain pehle se wahan par
tum bhi samay nikalte rehna
ab jis nark mein jaao wahan se
chitthi vitthi daalte rehna

 

Translation by Shabana Mir:

Turned out you were just like us.

So it turned out you were just like us!
Where were you hiding all this time, buddy?

That stupidity, that ignorance
we wallowed in for a century –
look, it arrived at your shores too!
Many congratulations to you!

Raising the flag of religion,
I guess now you’ll be setting up Hindu Raj?
You too will commence to muddle everything up
You, too, will ravage your beautiful garden.

…..

—

Fahmida Riaz is a well known Progressive Urdu writer, poet, and feminist of Pakistan

Courtesy Sana

Earthquake

vekho gazab khuda da, ye earthquake sarhad ka adab nahi karte
thehro bhai ji, maaf karna mainu khulli gall punjabi karni paini ai

passport vakhende nai
na visa mangde

pairaN hethoN nikal ke sirr te aa jaande ne
nai mazhab kumazahbon jaat kujaaton sangde

application dende koi nayi
daskhat order vehnde koi nayi

kar kurbanian peerhio peerhi thok usaari saadi hasti
modha maar ke dha jaande ne
vekho gazab khuda da

Mohammed Hanif reciting the poem at Jaipur Literature Festival 2012

—

Najam Hussain Syed  has written poetry , criticism and plays in Punjabi. He is considered pioneer of the modern Punjabi literature.

Tobha Tek Singh
Saadat Hasan Manto

Saadat Hasan Manto

Tobha Tek Singh is famous shorty story by Saadat Hasan Manto. He has been called the greatest short story writer of the Indian subcontinent. He was born in 1912 in Punjab and went on to become a radio and film scriptwriter, journalist and short story writer. His stories were highly controversial and he was tried for obscenity six times during his career. After Partition, Manto moved to Lahore with his wife and three daughters. He died there in 1955.

Rendition by Zia Mohyeddin (YouTube)

Rendition by Zia Mohyeddin (SoundCloud)

Hindi Text, Courtesy Frances W. Pritchett Columbia.edu

Urdu Text, Courtesy Frances W. Pritchett Columbia.edu

English translation by Aatish Taseer, Courtesy Random House Blog

ਸਿਤਾਰੋਂ ਸੇ ਆਗੇ ਜਹਾਂ ਔਰ ਭੀ ਹੈਂ

ਤੂ ਸ਼ਾਹੀਂ ਹੈ ਪਰਵਾਜ਼ ਹੈ ਕਾਮ ਤੇਰਾ
ਤੇਰੇ ਸਾਮਨੇ ਆਸਮਾਂ ਔਰ ਭੀ ਹੈਂ
ਇਸ ਰੋਜ਼-ਓ-ਸ਼ਬ ਮੇਂ ਉਲਝਕਰ ਨ ਰਿਹ ਜਾ
ਕਿ ਤੇਰੇ ਜ਼ਮੀਨ-ਓ-ਮਕਾਂ ਔਰ ਭੀ ਹੈਂ
ਸਿਤਾਰੋਂ ਸੇ ਆਗੇ ਜਹਾਂ ਔਰ ਭੀ ਹੈਂ
ਅਭੀ ਇਸ਼ਕ ਕੇ ਇਮਤਹਾਂ ਔਰ ਭੀ ਹੈਂ

ਸ਼ਾਹੀਂ — ਬਾਜ਼, ਰੋਜ਼-ਓ-ਸ਼ਬ –ਦਿਨ-ਰਾਤ

You are a falcon, it is your nature to fly
For you there are other skies beyond this sky
Don’t let the web of dawns and dusks enmesh you
For you have other lives,other goal to pursue
Beyond these starts are worlds yet to unearth
There are more trials of love to test your worth.
[ English translation by Khushwant Singh ]

This Urdu Poem is written by Muhammad Iqbal, A great Urdu poet of 20’th century , He was a staunch Islamist and supporter of separate muslim state ( Pakistan ) during Indian independence struggle from the British Empire . He is considered Shayar-e-Mashriq (Poet of the East ) in <a Literary world .