Tuesday, October 28, 2014

Humsafar- Translation

Whether you are a fan of the Pakistani drama Humsafar or not, here is its title song, a ghazal worth listening to. It describes a love-hate relationship beautifully- resonates in parts with my experiences in life. Here is my attempt to translate it with the help of another translation I found online. My contribution is in softening the original translated text. Sometimes that took changing only a single word, and sometimes I rewrote the entire text. 


Tar'k-e- taalukaat pe na roya tu, na mae
Lekin ye kya ki chaain sae soya na tu, na mae
When our relationship ended, there were no tears in our eyes
But how is it that afterwards, neither you could sleep soundly, nor I?

Jab tak bikaa na tha tau koi poochta na tha,
Tu nay mujhay kahreed kay anmol kardiya!
Until I was sold off, no one valued me
You bought me and I became invaluable instantly!

Suna hai gair ki mehfil main tum na jaaogay
Kaho to sajaluu aaj ghareeb khanay ko
I hear you’ve decided against going to my rival’s party,
Should I decorate my humble home, in case you might visit me? 

Woh humsafar tha, magar us sae humnawayee na thii
Ke dhoop chavun ka aalam raha, judaii na thi
Though he was my life partner, yet with him I felt no harmony, no camaraderie 
We blew hot and cold all the time, yet did not once part company.

Na apna ranj, na auurun ka dukh, na tera malal
Shab- e -firaq kabhii hum nae yun gunwaayi na thii
I did not grieve for myself that night, nor for others, and certainly not for you darling
Never had a night of parting been frittered away in such bizarre gaiety!

Mohabatuun ka safar is tarha bhi guzra tha
Shikastaa dil thae musafir, shikast payee na thii
The journey of our love was strange, to say the least
The travelers were both heartbroken, yet neither conceded defeat.

Aadawatein thee, taghaful tha,  ranjishaen thii magar
Bicharnay walay mae sab kuch tha, bewafii na thii
There was negligence, unpleasantness and often bitter animosity,
The beloved who forsook me indeed harbored all of these, but not infidelity!

Bichadtay waqt un aankhun mae thi hamari ghazal
Ghazal bhi woh jo abhi kisi ko sunayee na thi
At the time of parting, those eyes sparkled with my melody,
Strangely, the melody that I had not yet sung to anybody!

Kabhi yeh haal kii donun mae yak- dilii thii bohatt
Kabhi ye marhala jaisay aashnayee na thii
There was a time when our hearts were joined in absolute unanimity,
Now is such a time that we deny even an iota of familiarity!

Kisay pukaar raha tha wo dubta huwa din
Sadaa tou aaii thi lekin, koi duhaaii na thii
Who was it calling – the day that sank into the horizon so rapidly?
I heard an echo for sure, but no, there was no wail of agony!

Ajeeb hoti hay rah`e sukHan bhi dekh Naseer
wahaN bhi aa gaye akHir jahaN rasayi na thi
Naseer look! The poet's path is lined with irony,
Even a wordsmith has been reduced to mumbling incoherently.

Borrowed heavily from:

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