Faiz Ahmad Faiz – Juvenilia

bahār aa.ī to jaise yak-bār
lauT aa.e haiñ phir adam se
vo ḳhvāb saare shabāb saare
jo tere hoñToñ pe mar-miTe the
jo miT ke har baar phir jiye the
nikhar ga.e haiñ gulāb saare
jo terī yādoñ se mushkbū haiñ
jo tere ushshāq kā lahū haiñ
ubal paḌe haiñ azaab saare
malāl-e-ahvāl-e-dostāñ bhī
ḳhumār-e-āġhosh-e-mah-vashāñ bhī
ġhubār-e-ḳhātir ke baab saare
tire hamāre
savāl saare javāb saare
bahār aa.ī to khul ga.e haiñ
na.e sire se hisāb saare

बहार आई तो जैसे यकबार
लौट आए हैं फिर अदम से
वो ख़्वाब सारे शबाब सारे
जो तेरे होंटों पे मर मिटे थे
जो मिट के हर बार फिर जिये थे
निखर गए हैं गुलाब सारे
जो तेरी यादों में मुश्कबू हैं
जो तेरे उश्शाक़ का लहू हैं
उबल पड़े हैं अज़ाब सारे
मलाल ए अहवाल दोस्तां भी
ख़ुमार ए आग़ोश ए महवशां भी
ग़ुबार ए ख़ातिर के बाब सारे
तेरे हमारे
सवाल सारे जवाब सारे
बहार आई तो खिल गए हैं
नए सिरे से हिसाब सारे

bahār aa.ī to jaise yak-bār

Spring is here as if suddenly

lauT aa.e haiñ phir adam se

back from nowhere are

vo ḳhvāb saare shabāb saare

all those dreams, all those beauties of youth

jo tere hoñToñ pe mar-miTe the

those who died longing for your lips

jo miT ke har baar phir jiye the

those who came alive every time after being destroyed

nikhar ga.e haiñ gulāb saare

all the roses glisten

jo terī yādoñ se mushkbū haiñ

those that are fragrant with the musk of your memory

jo tere ushshāq kā lahū haiñ
those that are the lifeblood of your lovers

ubal paḌe haiñ azaab saare
all the torments have boiled over

malāl-e-ahvāl-e-dostāñ bhī
the anguish and apprehensions about friends

ḳhumār-e-āġhosh-e-mah-vashāñ bhī
the intoxication of warm embraces
in the beauty of the moon

ġhubār-e-ḳhātir ke baab saare
in our dust of memories

tire hamāre

yours and mine

savāl saare javāb saare
all the questions, all the answers

bahār aa.ī to khul ga.e haiñ
have opened up again, with spring

na.e sire se hisāb saare
all the old accounts anew

So my literal, almost word-by-word clunky translation with words looked up in the dictionary goes something like this:

Spring is here as if suddenly

back from nowhere

are all those dreams, all those beauties of youth

those who died longing for your lips

those who came alive every time after being destroyed

all these roses glisten

fragrant with the musk of your memory
the lifeblood of your lovers
all the torments have boiled over
the anguish and apprehensions about friends
the intoxication of warm embraces
in the beauty of the moon
in this dust of memories

yours and mine
all the questions, all the answers
have opened up again, with spring
all the old accounts anew

(Hurried translation draft by SD)

Agha Shahid Ali takes liberties and transcreates this as follows:

It Is Spring, Again

It is spring, And the ledger is opened again.
From the abyss where they were frozen,
those days suddenly return, those days
that passed away from your lips, that died
with all our kisses, unaccounted.
The roses return: they are your fragrance;
they are the blood of your lovers.
Sorrow returns. I go through my pain
and the agony of friends still lost in the memory
of moon-silver arms, the caresses of vanished women.
I go through page after page. There are no answers,
and spring has come once again asking
the same questions, reopening account after account.

Tag: Faiz Ahmad Faiz

Bahaar Aayi