18 August 2009.
(Opening lines of Amrita Pritam’s famous poem on the tragedy of partition)
aj aakhan waaris shah noo kiton qabran vichon bol!
te aj kitab-e-ishq da koi agla varka phol!
ik roi si dhii punjab dii tuu likh-likh mare vain
aj lakkhan dheeyan rondian tainuun waaris shah noon kahan
Utth dard-mandaan dey dardiyaa tak apna Punjab
Beyley laashaan vichhiyaan Teh lahoo da bharya Chenab
अज आखां वारिस शाह नू कितों कब्राँ विचों बोल!
ते अज किताब-ए-इश्क़ दा कोई अगला वर्का फोल!
इक रोइ सी धी पंजाब दी तू लिख-लिख मारे वैन
अज लक्खां धीयां रोंदिआं तैनूं वारिस शाह नूं कैन
उठ दर्द-मन्दां दे दरदिया तक अपना पंजाब
बेले लाशॉ विछियां तेह लहू दा भरया चेनाब
English Translation:
I ask Waaris Shah to somehow speak from his coffin!
that today he must look for another page in the book of love!
a daughter of panjab had cried and you’d written for ages
today a thousand daughters are crying and that’s why i ask of him
get up, pain of pained-hearts get up, and look towards your Punjab
corpses are strewn all over the fields and blood flows in chenab (the river)
This was the first time i read Amrita Pritam’s lines. These were powerful words, and immediately they struck me into responding. Here’s the response:
मोई चिराग़ाँ दी ना राख फ़रोल
उठ निकम्मिये अपने बीबे नूं बोल
हुन तां वेखे के इशक दे पाठ आलावा
कदे ना सीगा कोई हरफ़ अनमोल
moii chiragaan dii naa raakh phrol
utth nikammiye apne beebey nu bol
hun tan vekhey key ishak dey paath alava
kade na siga koi haraf anmol
English Translation:
One with the curse of death, do not disturb the ashes of the lamps
get up you unworthy, and ask your son
at least now he should see that besides the lesson of love
there was not a single word that had any worth
(These lines came to me on the sight of the wave than emerged in my heart on seeing the Amrita Pritam lines, and posted just before the feelings went back under the surface)
unfortunately in my sleep just preceding the lines reformed and resurfaced at 4 am, forcing me to wake up and register them.. these lines didn’t let me sleep today… so here they are:
वारिस दी कब्राँ दी राख फ्रोलन वालिये
हुन तां कब्राँ दे वारसां नूं चेत
क़ौमी-इशक दे वरसे च की खट्ट्या
इक वार तां इश्कि-क़ौम नूं सद्द
waaris di kabraan di raakh phrolan waaliye
hun taan kabraan dey warsaan nu chet
qaumi-ishak de warseych kii khattaya
ik waar taan ishki-qaum nuu sadd
English Translation:
you, the one who’s scouring the ashes in coffins of Waaris Shah
at least now check out the descendents of these coffins
What did you gain in the era of the love of communities
Try giving one chance to the communities that believe in love
Try giving one chance to communities that believe in love