Wednesday, May 30, 2012

translating shiv kumar batalvi: loki pujaṅ rabb


 
longing

people worship god
and i, your longing
it’s a hajj to a hundred meccas
oh your longing!
people say i’ve become the sun
people say that i shine illustrious
what fire it is that it’s burnt me with
oh your longing!

behind me is my shadow
and before me lies my darkness
my arm it mustn’t let go
oh your longing!

no soil of the body in it
nor garbage of the mind
i sifted it on a winnow
oh your longing!

whenever times of sorrow arrived
bringing pain and loneliness in tow
i called for it to come sit by my side
oh your longing!

it gets me to dye words sometimes
and sometimes it makes me weave songs
a thousand manners it’s taught me
oh your longing!

when pain fell at my feet
and swore by my perseverance
the world turned up to see
oh your longing!

through my passion i gained some standing
the populace came to congratulate me
and embracing me freely wept
oh your longing!

i am a fool with no sign of sagacity
this the world told me
on a throne it’s put me today
oh your longing!
it’s a hajj to a hundred meccas
oh your longing!

4 comments:

Unknown said...

I hope someday I am able to read and interpret the original

But I like the lines-
"behind me is my shadow
and before me lies my darkness
my arm it mustn’t let go.."

Unknown said...

Learn punjabi ushma !
U will enjoy it more . English translation just ruined it. Punjabi is easy to learn if you know hindi..Surinder Kaur have sung this poem u can browse it on YouTube with keywords " loki pujan rabb"

himalaya kanwar said...

One of the most beautiful poems by the legend batalvi sahib

Tick On Mint said...

Thanks searching this for long