This poem was translated by Professor Carlo Coppola as part of the MULOSIGE Translations project. You can explore our collection of Urdu Poetry here.
Āj bāzār men̲ pā bah jaulān̲ calo / Today Go Fettered into the Bazaar
A tearful eye, a made soul are not enough,
Nor is the accusation of secret love.
Today go fettered in the bazaar.
.
Go flaying your hands, dancing, drunk
Dust upon your forehead, blood upon your hem;
Your beloved’s entire city awaits you:
.
The city ruler, the motley crowd,
The arrow of calumny, the stone of reproof
The sorrowful dawn, the day of failure—
Who is there to console them except us?
Who is now untainted in the beloved’s city?
Who is left there worthy of the executioner’s hand?
.
Pack our heart’s bag, O you whose hears are torn.
O friend, let us go once again to our own execution.
.
Lahore Jail ∙ 11 February 1959
.
From: Dast-i tah-yi sang (Hand Beneath the Stone). Dihlī: ʻAlīgaṛh: Ejūkeshanal Buk Hāʼūs, 1979. pp. 40 – 41
Āj bāzār men̲ pā bah jaulān̲ calo is quoted in full in Urdu Poetry, 1935-1970
A tearful eye, a made soul are not enough,
Nor is the accusation of secret love.
Today go fettered in the bazaar.
.
Go flaying your hands, dancing, drunk
Dust upon your forehead, blood upon your hem;
Your beloved’s entire city awaits you:
.
The city ruler, the motley crowd,
The arrow of calumny, the stone of reproof
The sorrowful dawn, the day of failure—
Who is there to console them except us?
Who is now untainted in the beloved’s city?
Who is left there worthy of the executioner’s hand?
.
Pack our heart’s bag, O you whose hears are torn.
O friend, let us go once again to our own execution.
.
Lahore Jail ∙ 11 February 1959
.
From: Dast-i tah-yi sang (Hand Beneath the Stone). Dihlī: ʻAlīgaṛh: Ejūkeshanal Buk Hāʼūs, 1979. pp. 40 – 41
Āj bāzār men̲ pā bah jaulān̲ calo is quoted in full in Urdu Poetry, 1935-1970
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