Click here for background and on any passage for word meanings and explanatory discussion. shahed (1944-living), new to urdu, maintains this website. This is one of a series of nazm related to African Americans and colonized Africans posted in observance of Black History Month. The original poem by David Evans was translated by ahmad faraz (1931-2008) as a part of a series of apartheid victims’ nazm. shahed draws heavily from that translation but felt the need to modify it. David Evans born in apartheid South Africa. Journalist. Five years in prison for anti-apartheid work. Exile in England. Taught Creative Arts at Liverpool University. Instead of my usual explanatory translation I have embedded David Evans verse.
1
vo
Khushnuma¹ shaa’eri chaahte haiN
apna zulm² taz’een³ se chhupaane ke liye
nazmeN, jo
dilgiir⁴ manaazir⁵ pe Khoobsoorti ka pardah Daal deN
KhooNchakaaN⁶ aaNtoN⁷ ko chamkeele pharere
Khoon ko baada⁸-e gulguuN⁹
maut ko aaraam ki neend
qaraar¹⁰ deN     1.beautiful, pleasing 2.torture, oppression 3.decoration, art work 4.heart wrenching 5.scenes 6.blood dripping 7.entrails 8.wine 9.rose-coloured, red 10.declare
They
ask for graceful poetry
to decorate their tyranny
poems
to make the hideous picturesque
entrails look like streamers
blood like wine
death like sleep
2
vo
phooloN ke haar maaNgte haiN
shahiidoN¹ ki qabroN² pe bichhaane
alfaaz³ ke mo’attar⁴ guldaste⁵
ta’affun⁶ dhone   1.martyrs 2.graves 3.words 4.fragrant 5.bouquets 6.stench
They
ask for wreaths
to strew murdered men’s graves
poesies of sweet scented words
to drench away the stench
3
vo
chaahte haiN Ghaiz¹ o Ghussa² dafn³ ho jaaye
ash’aar⁴ ke munaqqash⁵ gunbad⁶ tale
logoN ko ash’aar⁴ ka tarannum⁷ mile
ke dardnaak chiiKhon ka naGhma
kaleesa⁸ ke saaz⁹ se hum-aahaNg¹⁰ ho kar
qatl¹¹ o Ghaaratgari¹² ki karaaheN¹³ daba de 1.rage, fury 2.anger 3.buried 4.verse 5.decorated, carved 6.dome 7.musical recitation 8.church 9.organ, piano 10.in harmony 11.murder 12.mayhem 13.moan, sigh
They
want anger to be buried
in the carved tomb of verse
the people to have music
to fugue human cries of pain
the organ of high mass
to drown out the sounds of massacre
4
vo
chaahte haiN keh shaa’er, laachaar¹ bulbul
qafas² basta³
munaajaat⁴-e kaleesa⁵ ka Khwaaja-sara⁶
hudood⁷-e fun⁸ meN us ka junooN⁹ paaband¹⁰
paa-ba-jaulaaN¹¹
naqraii¹² zanjiiroN meN 1.helpless 2.cage 3.closed, imprisoned 4.prayer songs, psalms 5.church 6.eunuch 7.limits 8.art 9.passion 10.bound 11.manacled feet 12.silver
They
ask the poet to be a songbird
in a cage
a eunuch in a choir
a slave of art
manacling his anguish
in tinkling silver chains
5
hum
inkaar¹ karte haiN
dushnaam² gavaara³, aazaadi talab⁴
dafnaaye⁵ murde⁶ ukhaaRte
ta’affun⁷ phailaate
badooKh se chhalni dareedah⁸ badan dikhaate 1.refuse 2.invective, abuse 3.tolerable 4.demand 5.buried 6.corpses 7.stench 8.broken, torn
We refuse.
We’ll go ugly and free
exhuming the corpses
releasing the rot
revealing the holes
ripped by the shot.
6
hum
shahiidoN¹ ke aaz’a² parcham meN lapeTe
jo parcham lahraana hi hai
to phir un ke Khoon se raNga, aaz’a² se muzayyan³
sirf⁴ yahi ho sakta hai
shaa’er ka parcham   1.martyrs 2.body parts 3.decorated 4.only
We’ll wrap around our banners
the guts of the dead
If we must have flags
let them always be red.