The HyperTexts
Gulzar: English Translations of Urdu Love Poetry
These are my modern English translations of poems by the Indian shayar (poet)
known as Gulzar. Sampooran Singh Kalra (1934-), known popularly by his pen
name Gulzar, is an Indian lyricist, poet, author, screenwriter, and film
director. Urdu poetry is notable for its highly romantic images, evocative metaphors, emotional content, depth of feeling,
transcendence, and sheer passion!
modern English translations by Michael R. Burch
If you like my translations you are welcome to share
them for noncommercial purposes, but please be sure to credit the original poet
and the translator.
Please note that I call my translations "loose translations" and
"interpretations" because they are not literal word-for-word
translations. I begin with my
personal interpretation of a poem and translate accordingly. To critics who
object to variations from the original texts, my response is that there are
often substantial disagreements among even the most accomplished translators.
Variations begin with the readings because different
people get different things from different poems. And a strict word-for-word
translation will seldom, if ever, result in poetry. In my opinion translation is
much closer to an art than a perfect science and I side with Rabindranath
Tagore, who said he needed some leeway in order to produce poetry in another
language when he translated his own poems into English.—MRB
My Apologies, Sona
by Gulzar
loose translation/interpretation by Michael R. Burch
My apologies, Sona,
if traversing my verse's terrain
in these torrential rains
inconvenienced you.
The monsoons are unseasonal here.
My poems' pitfalls are sometimes sodden.
Water often overflows these ditches.
If you stumble and fall here, you run the risk
of spraining an ankle.
My apologies, however,
if you were inconvenienced
because my dismal verse lacks light,
or because my threshold's stones
interfered as you passed.
I have often cracked toenails against them!
As for the streetlamp at the intersection,
it remains unlit ... endlessly indecisive.
If you were inconvenienced,
you have my heartfelt apologies!
Come!
by Gulzar
loose translation/interpretation by Michael R. Burch
Come, let us construct night
over the monumental edifice of silence.
Come, let us clothe ourselves in the winding sheets of darkness,
where we'll ignite our bodies' incandescent wax.
As the midnight dew dances its delicate ballet,
let us not disclose the slightest whispers of our breath!
Lost in night's mists,
let us lie immersed in love's fragrance,
absorbing our bodies' musky aromas!
Let us rise like rustling spirits ...
Old Habits Die Hard
by Gulzar
loose translation/interpretation by Michael R. Burch
The habit of breathing
is an odd tradition.
Why struggle so to keep on living?
The body shudders,
the eyes veil,
yet
the feet somehow keep moving.
Why this journey, this restless, relentless flowing?
For how many weeks, months, years, centuries
shall we struggle to keep on living, keep on living?
Habits are such strange things, such hard things to break!
Inconclusive
by Gulzar
loose translation/interpretation by Michael R. Burch
A body lies on a white bed—
dead, abandoned,
a forsaken corpse they forgot to bury.
They concluded its death was not their concern.
I hope they return and recognize me,
then bury me so I can breathe.
The following are links to other translations by Michael R. Burch:
Mirza Ghalib
Gulzar
Ahmad Faraz
Faiz Ahmed Faiz
Rahat Indori
Allama Iqbal
Nasir Kazmi
Rabindranath Tagore
The Love Song of Shu-Sin: The Earth's Oldest Love Poem?
Ancient Greek Epigrams and Epitaphs
Meleager
Sappho
Basho
Oriental Masters/Haiku
Ono no Komachi
Medieval Poetry Translations
The Seafarer
Wulf and Eadwacer
Adam Lay Ybounden
Sweet Rose of Virtue
How Long the Night
Caedmon's Hymn
Anglo-Saxon Riddles and Kennings
Bede's Death Song
The Wife's Lament
Deor's Lament
Lament for the Makaris
Geoffrey Chaucer
Charles d'Orleans
Tegner's Drapa
Alexander Pushkin's tender, touching poem "I Love You" has been translated into English by Michael R. Burch.
Charles Baudelaire
Whoso List to Hunt
Miklós Radnóti
Rainer Maria Rilke
Marina Tsvetaeva
Renée Vivien
Bertolt Brecht
Ber Horvitz
Paul Celan
Primo Levi
Sandor Marai
Wladyslaw Szlengel
Saul Tchernichovsky
Robert Burns: Original Poems and Translations
The Seventh Romantic: Robert Burns
Free Love Poems by Michael R. Burch
Related pages:
Mirza Ghalib,
Ahmad Faraz,
Allama Iqbāl,
Faiz Ahmed Faiz,
Rabindranath Tagore,
Whoso List to Hunt,
The Most Beautiful Sonnets in the English Language,
The Most Beautiful Lines in the English Language,
The Best Anglo-Saxon Riddles and Kennings,
Ancient Greek Epigrams and Epitaphs,
The Best Poems Ever Written,
The Best Love Poems,
The Best Erotic Poems,
The Best Love Songs Ever,
The Best Urdu Love Poetry,
The Best Poetry Translations,
The Best Poems for Kids,
The Best Nonsense Verse,
The Best Rondels and Roundels,
The Best American Poetry,
Caedmon's Hymn Modern English Translation,
The Seafarer,
Free Love Poems by Michael R. Burch
The HyperTexts