Nayā safar hai purāne cirāg̲h̲ gul kar do /It’s a New Journey, Put out the Old Lamps
The snares of deceit of tomorrow’s paradise have broken;
Life is ashamed of its hopes;
The festival of spring’s arrival has long ended in the garden;
But the glance of the rose and tulip is still sad.
.
Hot whirlwinds continue to dance in space;
Wine-jar blood flows on the horizon;
What’s the use of the shining sun and light
When now every house glares darkness?
.
Space is thinking: What did Adam’s son
Get after throwing his reason away and putting his madness to the test?
The same failure of desire—the same sorrows of Time;
What did Life’s beloved get after squandering everything?
.
Glances strayed in the expanse of the void
And the houses of the charming beloved could not be found;
The long road ended, but
Still we cannot find the purpose of our journey.
.
O friends fated to travel onward, keep on marching.
The old guides will not turn and look at you;
The death of the stars comes with the rising dawn;
The darlings of the night will not look at us.
.
From: Talk̲h̲iyān̲ (Bitternesses). Dihlī: Panjābī Pustak Bhanḍār, 1963. pp. 167 – 69
Nayā safar hai purāne cirāg̲h̲ gul kar do is quoted in full in Urdu Poetry, 1935-1970
The snares of deceit of tomorrow’s paradise have broken;
Life is ashamed of its hopes;
The festival of spring’s arrival has long ended in the garden;
But the glance of the rose and tulip is still sad.
.
Hot whirlwinds continue to dance in space;
Wine-jar blood flows on the horizon;
What’s the use of the shining sun and light
When now every house glares darkness?
.
Space is thinking: What did Adam’s son
Get after throwing his reason away and putting his madness to the test?
The same failure of desire—the same sorrows of Time;
What did Life’s beloved get after squandering everything?
.
Glances strayed in the expanse of the void
And the houses of the charming beloved could not be found;
The long road ended, but
Still we cannot find the purpose of our journey.
.
O friends fated to travel onward, keep on marching.
The old guides will not turn and look at you;
The death of the stars comes with the rising dawn;
The darlings of the night will not look at us.
.
From: Talk̲h̲iyān̲ (Bitternesses). Dihlī: Panjābī Pustak Bhanḍār, 1963. pp. 167 – 69
Nayā safar hai purāne cirāg̲h̲ gul kar do is quoted in full in Urdu Poetry, 1935-1970
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