This poem was translated by Professor Carlo Coppola as part of the MULOSIGE Translations project. You can explore our collection of Urdu Poetry here.
Tilangānah / Telangana
Telangana, India’s guide,
Is creating a new dawn, calling people to a new direction;
Telangana, the messenger of revolutions,
The leader of thirsty ones, the guide to the Water of Life,
.
In the breasts of dark night, a bridal procession of torches,
My stability, my universe, my life;
Greetings to you, O sun of revolt! Greetings, O moon of salvation!
The dark night harbouring crime, carrying tyrannies,
.
In the dark night, evil-doers are drunk;
In the dark night the shrieks of murdered chastities soar;
In the dark night the rebellious masses
Carry lightning on their shoulders.
.
The sons of the mountains and plains, these darlings of the fields
Have risen, sword in hand, with utmost majesty.
The sickle shines; the pick-axe flies;
The foundation of the palace of greatness lies broken under foot.
.
The roofs of Capitalism trembled and fell;
The system of Hulagu and the tsar has been shattered;
A decisive stroke has fall upon the ‘Auspicious’ forehead for,
His Highness, Asaf VII, has passed out.
.
This world of distress and torture is changing;
The world of a new sun is emerging—
The world of new masses, of new brightness,
That assembly of colour and light, that world of youth.
.
O land of red martyrs, greetings to you.
Greetings to you, O high resolution and iron resolve.
Greetings to you, O bright forehead of warriors.
Greetings to you, O Chinese land, beloved of India.
.
1947
.
From: Bisāt̤-i raqṣ (Dance Carpet). Ḥaidarābād, Inḍiyā: Istiqbāliyah kameṭī jashn-i Mak̲h̲dūm, 1966. pp. 121 – 23
Telangana, India’s guide,
Is creating a new dawn, calling people to a new direction;
Telangana, the messenger of revolutions,
The leader of thirsty ones, the guide to the Water of Life,
.
In the breasts of dark night, a bridal procession of torches,
My stability, my universe, my life;
Greetings to you, O sun of revolt! Greetings, O moon of salvation!
The dark night harbouring crime, carrying tyrannies,
.
In the dark night, evil-doers are drunk;
In the dark night the shrieks of murdered chastities soar;
In the dark night the rebellious masses
Carry lightning on their shoulders.
.
The sons of the mountains and plains, these darlings of the fields
Have risen, sword in hand, with utmost majesty.
The sickle shines; the pick-axe flies;
The foundation of the palace of greatness lies broken under foot.
.
The roofs of Capitalism trembled and fell;
The system of Hulagu and the tsar has been shattered;
A decisive stroke has fall upon the ‘Auspicious’ forehead for,
His Highness, Asaf VII, has passed out.
.
This world of distress and torture is changing;
The world of a new sun is emerging—
The world of new masses, of new brightness,
That assembly of colour and light, that world of youth.
.
O land of red martyrs, greetings to you.
Greetings to you, O high resolution and iron resolve.
Greetings to you, O bright forehead of warriors.
Greetings to you, O Chinese land, beloved of India.
.
1947
.
From: Bisāt̤-i raqṣ (Dance Carpet). Ḥaidarābād, Inḍiyā: Istiqbāliyah kameṭī jashn-i Mak̲h̲dūm, 1966. pp. 121 – 23
Leave A Comment