Existence : Life (Rumi Symphony project)

#Translation project

Ertyaas asked me yesterday if I know what they are saying in this song (link above). It was a song by Hafez Nazeri’s Rumi project. This invoked some old memories. I used to hear Shahram Nazeri (Hafez’s father) a lot few years back during my Africa days. The father and son duo are coming from Kurdish Persian diaspora and infuse Sufi poetry from all the sufi poets in their singing (link to old blog with his song and translation)

I also recalled, back in school days, how our urdu language teacher used to teach us, to understand poetry in its essence. It was a process of peeling layers after layers of meanings from the same words. The first layer was the easy literal word by word translation. The second layer(called “Majazi”), seeing it as if it is written for your worldly love, the physical tangible love that you can see and hear and who is within reach. The third layer (called “Haqeeqi”) was feeling, as if, the verses are for your eternal and real beloved, sublime, spiritual, out-worldly, the one who is creating you in every sense. There is also a fourth layer, which is more difficult one to imagine. It is when your eternal beloved (the one who is creating you) changes role and becomes in-turn your perfect lover and in those verses showing His/Her longing for you. Urdu and Persian lyrical poetry(specially the form called Ghazals) is usually all about longing for the beloved. There are more layers which i leave it to your imaginations 😉

Coming back to this translation, it is actually a poem from a contemporary Persian poet Ebtehaj who died some years back. My language (Urdu) is largely influenced by Persian, and I did a bit of googling to help with translating the remaining. My apologies in advance to native Persian speakers if I went beyond the lines. Just a humble attempt to translate and peel the layers of meanings within these verses, floating and hinging on somewhere in-between the 2nd and 4th layers:) . Enjoy!

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نامدگان و رفتگان ازدو کرانه ی زمان، x 2

Namadgan wo Raftagan , Az do kranah e Zaman

Those who have not yet arrived (not born), and those who are long gone (dead), 

From both corners of time x2 

سوی تو می دوند هان

Soyee tu me dont han

ای تو همیشه درمیان،

e tu hameesha Darmiyan

Are all moving towards you,

as you are always the center (of everything) x 2

آی

Oh you!

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پیش وجودت از عدم، زنده و مرده را چه غم x 2

Pesh wajoodet az adum zinda o murda rachay ghum x 2

In your (graceful) presence, 

why should the living or dead be worried of non-existence x2

کز نفس تو دم به دم، 

می شنویم بوی جان

Kuz nafs tu dam ba dam 

me shnowyem boo-e-jaan x 2 

As breathing from your every breath*

I am smelling the fragrance of life (in every moment)

بوی جان، بوی جان

Boo-e-jaan, Boo-e-jaan

The fragrance of life, the fragrance of life 

آی

Oh you!

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پیش تو جامه در برم،

نعره زند که بر درم

Pesh tu, jaama dr baram

nara-e-zind leh ber daram

When I am in your presence, I am wearing my clothes**

But my clothes scream at me to tear them off (in madness)

آمدمت که بنگرم، گریه نمی دهد امان

Aamedmet ky bengram

Gerya namee dhed Aman 

When I come to see you 

my tears(of joy & longing) won’t allow me(to see you) x3

وای

Oh you!

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آه که میزند برون از سر و سینه موج خون

Aah!  keh me zind bron, az sir or seenah, moj khoon 

Aah!(in pain), from head to chest, my blood is everywhere, surging blood

موج خون, موج خون ,موج خون

moj khoon, moj khoon, moj khoon

Surging Blood, surging blood, surging blood

من چه کنم  که از درون 

Mun cheh kanem, k az durun

But what can I do , as this is all coming from within me

دست تو می کشد کمان 

Dast tu me kachd kaman

Your hand (from within me) is pulling (arrows) from the bow x 2

آه که می زند برون از سر و سینه موج خون

It is everywhere, from head to toe, surging blood

آه که می زند برون

It is everywhere

از سر و سینه موج خون

az sir or seenah, moj khoon 

From head to toe, surging blood x 2

من چه کنم

Mun cheh kanem

But what can I do

من چه کنم که از درون

Mun cheh kanem, k az durun

What can I do, as this is all coming from within me 

من چه کنم که از درون

Mun cheh kanem, k az durun

What can I do, as this is all coming from within me 

دست تو می کشد کمان کمان کمان

Dast tu me kashd kaman, kaman, kaman

Your hands (from within me), pulling the bow, the bow ,the bow 

من چه کنم

Mun cheh kanem

What can I do 

من چه کنم که از درون

Mun cheh kanem

What can I do, as this is all coming from within me

من چه کنم که از درون

Mun cheh kanem

What can I do, as this is coming from within me

دست تو می کشد کمان

Your hands (from within me ) pulling the bow

دست تو می کشد کمان کمان کمان

Dast tu me kashd kaman kaman kaman 

Your hands (from within me ), pulling the bow

وای

Wayee

Oh you!

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Notes:

*Breath : A metaphor of what keeps us alive.

** Clothes in peotic sence can also mean basic norms of living

(link to old blog with Shahram Nazeri song and translation)