Tuesday, January 15, 2008

Mango, mustard and beloved

I came across this beautiful piece by the sufi saint Amir Khusro. The poetry itself is ecstatic. Flowers, basant, yellow mustard, happiness, this poem describes the arrival of spring season. The composition by Sabri brothers was an extra treat.

Sakal bun phool rahi sarson
Umbva phutay, tesu phulay
Koyal bolay daar daar
Aur gori karat singhaar,
Malaniyan gadhwa lay aayin karson,
Sakal bun phool rahi sarson
Tarah tarah kay phool lagaaye,
Lay gadhwa haathan mein aaye.
Nijamudin kay darwazay par,
Aawan keh gaye aashaq rung,
Aur beet gaye barson.
Sakal bun phool rahi sarson.

Its difficult to convey the same meaning in any other language but Ive tried a rough translation. (Just the words sarson and mustard evoke different thoughts in mind)

The mustard flowers bloom in every field,
Mango buds sprout, and tesu yield;
The cuckoo chirps from branch to branch,
And the maiden puts her make-up and jewellery,
The gardener-girls have brought bouquets.
Planted flowers of all kinds,
Brought bouquets in our hands
To the door of Nizamudin
My beloved went away promising to come back,
But years have passed since that.
The mustard flowers bloom in every field.

1 comment:

iram tahir said...

Good translation, reflecting true essence of original poem