This poem was translated by Professor Carlo Coppola as part of the MULOSIGE Translations project. You can explore our collection of Urdu Poetry here.
Kuch tujh ko k̲h̲abar ham kyā / O turmoil of the age
O turmoil of the age! Are you aware of those things we’ve forgotten?
We’ve forgotten those dishevelled looks; we’ve forgotten those weeping eyes.
.
O fondness of looking! What should we say? Not even a memory of the beloved in our eyes.
O taste of imagination! What should we do? We’ve even forgotten the beloved’s face.
.
Now our eyes don’t meet the flower; now the heart buds don’t even bloom;
O season of spring, depart! We’ve forgotten the pleasure of spring.
.
We cure everyone else’s problems; we can’t cure our own;
We stitched everyone’s collar; only we forgot how to mend our own.
.
Such is the state of our fidelity. Now what should we say about her cruelty?
Having put a poisoned dagger to our jugular, she’s forgotten.
1934
.
From: Āhang (Melody; 1938). Dihlī: Āzād Kitāb Ghar. 1956. p. 51
O turmoil of the age! Are you aware of those things we’ve forgotten?
We’ve forgotten those dishevelled looks; we’ve forgotten those weeping eyes.
.
O fondness of looking! What should we say? Not even a memory of the beloved in our eyes.
O taste of imagination! What should we do? We’ve even forgotten the beloved’s face.
.
Now our eyes don’t meet the flower; now the heart buds don’t even bloom;
O season of spring, depart! We’ve forgotten the pleasure of spring.
.
We cure everyone else’s problems; we can’t cure our own;
We stitched everyone’s collar; only we forgot how to mend our own.
.
Such is the state of our fidelity. Now what should we say about her cruelty?
Having put a poisoned dagger to our jugular, she’s forgotten.
1934
.
From: Āhang (Melody; 1938). Dihlī: Āzād Kitāb Ghar. 1956. p. 51
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