maae nii maae
maiN ik shikraa yaar banaaiyaa
ohde sir te kalgii
te odhi pairii jhaanjhar
te o chog chugindaa aaiyaa
nii maiN vaarii jaaNvaa! (1)
mother o mother
i made a falcon my friend
he had a crest on his head
and jingly anklets on his feet
and pecking for food he came
o ‘i devote myself for thee’! (1)
ik ohde ruup dii
dhup tikherii
dujaa mahkaaN daa tirhaaiyaa (2)
teejaa odhaa rang gulaabii
kise gorii maaN daa jaayaa
nii maiN vaarii jaaNvaa!
for one, the radiance of his beauty
was as the sun at noon,
second, he pined for perfumes (2)
third, he had a rosy bloom
born to a fair mother
o ‘i devote myself for thee’!
nainii odhe
chet dii aakhan
at’e zulfii saavan chhaiyaa
hoThaaN de vich kat’e daa
koii dihu chaRne te aaiyaa
nii maiN vaarii jaaNvaa!
his eyes
were as the evening in spring,
his hair as the monsoon is spread,
and on his lips for a long time
a new day about to be born
o ‘i devote myself for thee’!
savaaN de vich
phul soyiaaN de
kisse baagh chanan daa laaiyaa
dehii de vich kheDe chetar
itraaN naal nuhaaiyaa
nii maiN vaarii jaaNvaa!
in his breath
the flowers of jasmine;
(as if)someone had laid out a garden of sandalwood
spring danced in his body (3)
which was bathed in perfumes
o ‘i devote myself for thee’!
bolaaN de vich
paen pur’e dii
nii oh koilaaN daa hamsaaiyaa
chiTTe dund jiyuN dhaanoN baglaa
taaRii maar udaayiaa
nii maiN vaarii jaaNvaa!
in his speech,
falls the easterly wind,
oh he was just as a cuckoo bird;
his teeth white as a crane in a paddy field
that flies off startled by clapping
o ‘i devote myself for thee’!
ishq’e daa
ik palang nawaarii
ve asaaaN chananiyaaN vich Dahiyaa
tan dii chadar ho gayii mailii
us paer jaaN palaNgheN payaa
nii maiN vaarii jaaNvaa!
of love
one canvas bed
we spread under the moonlight
the sheet of (my) body became soiled
when he put his feet on the bed
o ‘i devote myself for thee’!
dukhan mere
nainaa de koe
vich haR hanjhuaaN daa aaiyaa
saarii raat gayii vich sochaaN
uss eh kii zulam kamaaiyaa
nii maiN vaarii jaaNvaa!
my eyelids hurt
and a flood of tears
came between
all night i lost spent in thought
oh what is this punishment i have earned
o ‘i devote myself for thee’!
subah savere
lau nii vaTnaa
asaaN mal mal os nuhvaayaa
dehiiN de vichoN niklan chiNgaaN
te saaDaa hath gayaa kumlaaiaa
nii maiN vaarii jaaNvaa!
early morning
kneading washing clay
i scrubbed and bathed it [the body]
from within my body flew sparks
and my hand became weak
o ‘i devote myself for thee’!
chuurii kuTaaN
te o khaundaa naahii
ohnuu dil daa maas khvayaa
ik uDaarii aisii maarii
uh muD vatnii naa aayaa
nii maiN vaarii jaaNvaa!
bread crumbs i crushed
but he wouldn’t eat them
i fed him the flesh of my heart
he took off for such a flight
that he’s never returned
o ‘i devote myself for thee’!
maae nii maae
maiN ik shikraa yaar banaaiyaa
ohde sir te kalgii
te odhi pairii jhaanjhar
te o chog chugindaa aaiyaa
nii maiN vaarii jaaNvaa!
mother o mother
i made a falcon my lover
he’d got a crest on his head
and anklets on his feet
and pecking for food he came
o ‘i devote myself for thee’!
The Falcon
mother o mother
i made a falcon my friend
he’d got a crest on his head
and anklets on his feet
and pecking for food he came
o ‘i devote myself for thee’! (1)
for one, the radiance of his beauty
was as the sun at noon,
second, he pined for perfumes (2)
third, he had a rosy bloom
born to a fair mother
o ‘i devote myself for thee’!
his eyes
were as the evening in spring,
his hair as the monsoon is spread,
and on his lips for a long time
a new day about to be born
o ‘i devote myself for thee’!
in his breath
the flowers of jasmine;
(as if)someone’d laid out a garden of sandalwood
in his body played chetar (3)
bathed in perfumes
o ‘i devote myself for thee’!
in his speech,
falls the easterly wind,
oh he was just as a cuckoo bird;
his teeth white as a crane in a paddy field
that flies off startled by clapping
o ‘i devote myself for thee’!
of love
one canvas bed
we spread under the moonlight
the sheet of (my) body became soiled
when he put his feet on the bed
o ‘i devote myself for thee’!
my eyelids hurt
and a flood of tears
came between
all night i lost spent in thought
oh what is this punishment i have earned
o ‘i devote myself for thee’!
early morning
kneading washing clay
i scrubbed and bathed it [the body]
from within my body flew sparks
and my hand became weak
o ‘i devote myself for thee’!
bread crumbs i crushed
but he wouldn’t eat them
i fed him the flesh of my heart
he took off for such a flight
that he’s never returned
o ‘i devote myself for thee’!
mother o mother
i made a falcon my lover
he’d got a crest on his head
and anklets on his feet
and pecking for food he came
o ‘i devote myself for thee’!
1. “nii maiN vaarii jaaNvaa!” “o ‘i devote myself for thee’!”
Platts does give ‘sacrifice’ as an option too, but translated this phrase in English in quotes.
2. The meaning of mahkaaN daa “tirhaaiyaa” .A friend’s father, who happens to have known Batalvi, that perhaps it is something like a craving, from punjabi “treh” and might be an allusion to the falcons’ olfactory senses and how they home in on their prey.
3. “Chetr” or “Chetra” in Punjabi corresponds to “chetra” in Hindi/Urdu – the first month in the Hindu calendar, generally March.
Juvenilia 