RaaNjha RaaNjha Kardi Ni MaeN
RaaNjha RaaNjha Kardi Ni MaeN RaaNjha raaNjha kardi ni maeN Aape raaNjha hoi, Sado ni menu dhido raaNjha, Heer na aakho koi. RaaNjha maeN…
Let go of all distractions
My heart, sit only with those who know and understand you. Sit only under a tree, that is full of blossoms. In the bazaar…
Faiz translated by Vikram Seth
Came across this beautiful translation of Faiz’s touching verse by Vikram Seth. It is a great translation as it ventures to capture the melody…
‘You turned out to be just like us’ –
By Pakistani poet Fahmida Riaz. The inimitable Fahmida Riaz, who is a favourite of mine, was disappointed during her stay in India (during the…
“Man-Bitten” Ghalib: introducing himself
Ghalib’s immortal and complex poetry transcends time and sometimes even the boundaries of human thought. The translation of this ghazal was found in Mirza…
Petal to Petal..More of Parveen Shakir
Nirmal has been visiting this blog and requesting for more translations of Parveen Shakir. I have found some on the Internet and here they…
Sonargaon – A poem by HUR
HUR left this poem on my blog in response to my post on Bangladesh and Bengali art. This is a moving poem with tender…
The Faustus In Us (translation by Temporal)
Temporal read a translation of Parveen Shakir’s poem on this blog and created another translation. In many ways, this is a more modern version,…
love orphan and ish’q yateem – poems by Temporal
Temporal is a fine trancreative (a term invented by Temporal himself) poet. The ability to write and translate in multiple languages is a unique…
We Are All Dr Faustus – Parveen Shakir
Last month, in the freezing climes of Islamabad, we talked about Parveen Shakir, Pakistan’s popular poet who died at a young age. One of…
Turned by the Waves of Love
Know that the wheeling heavens are turned by waves of Love: were it not for Love, the world would be frozen, stiff. How would…
Unending thirst – Rumi
I don’t get tired of You. Don’t grow weary of being compassionate toward me! All this thirst-equipment must surely be tired of me, the…
The subject tonight is love – hafiz
Carrying God No one can keep us from carrying God Wherever we go. No one can rob His Name From our heart as we…
Body Loom – by Pakistan’s notable poet
Body Loom by M. Athar Tahir Published in the Daily Dawn (reviewer- Muneeza Shamsie) There have been so few notable English language poetry collections…
“I am free, my mind is free..”- Bulleh Shah
Bulleh Shah’s original thought and courage has always inspired me. A few days ago, I was struck by these verses of Bulleh Shah. I…
Rites of Sense – a poem
Meena Alexander’s poem Rites of Sense’ concerns the fundamental question of freedom . The poem was published in Meena Alexander’s book, Illiterate Heart (TriQuarterly…
…in the Crevices of My Dreams
I had written about Ayesha Salman and her poetry earlier. I just read this poem by her that she had written for her beloved…
He set the world aflame – Rumi
He set the world aflame, And laid me on the same; A hundred tongues of fire Lapped round my pyre. And when the blazing…
Thou art the sky and the deep sea (Rumi)
When you fall asleep, you go from the presence of yourself into your own true presence. You hear something and surmise that someone else…
Don’t grieve. Anything you lose comes round in another form.
By Jalal-Uddin Rumi Don’t grieve. Anything you lose comes round in another form. Friends are enemies sometimes, and enemies friends. I was a tiny…