Ishq da charkha

I am putting down verses by two great Sufi saints. I picked up these verses from song ‘Mera Yeh Charkha' by Ustad Nusrat Fateh Ali Khan. Ustad Nusrat has used these verses in two different renditions of same qawwali. In one of these he starts the qawwali by reciting Baba Farid and in another by Baba Bulle Shah. The poesy of Baba Farid is given below:

Gaflat na kar yaar Farid tu,
Chadd jangli rain basera,
Pancchi mud gharra nu aa gaye,
Kyun chit nahin karda tera.

Wal wal ishq mareda halle,
aate main teri tu mera,
yaar Farid karan jind Qurbaani,
je yaar paave ik phera

(
O Farid, Dont be insensitive,
Jettison this life of forest dweller.
The birds have come back to their abode,
Why don’t you feel the same?

Love is slowly killing me,
as I am for you and you for me,
Farid is willing to forgo his life
For the one sight of beloved
)

Here I would like to make a point that in most of the Sufi Kalams the nature of beloved is not clear. It can be human, saint or god. The kalam by Baba Bulle Shah goes as:

Makke gayan gal mukde nahi,
pawein so so jume parh aaye,
Ganga gayain gal mukde nahi,
pawein so so gaute khaye,
Gaya gayain gal mukde nahi,
pawein so so panh paraye,
bulle shah, gal tan yo mukde
jadoon mein nu diloon gavaye.
(
Going to Makka will do no good
Even if you recite Koran hundreds of time,
Going to Ganges will do no good
Even if you take hundreds of dip,
Going to Gaya will do no good,
Even if you read hundreds of scared texts.
O Bulle Shah, good will be when
you give your heart)

ishq da charkha, dukhaan diyaan puniyaan,
joon joon kate javaan hoon payaan duriyan.

(In the Charkha of Love where suffering is wool
it keeps increasing as you spool)

Kesariya

Maid to princess on seeing her distraught:

"मन्दिर माँ सुंदर खड़ी, खड़ी सुखावे केश,

जिनके आँगन केवडा , वो क्यूँ मैला भेष ?"

( Standing in the temple in scroching heat,O beautiful, just to dry your hairs,

for those having kewda in their backyard are not supposed to be slovenly.)

Princess replies nonchalantly:

"आग लगो इस केवडे को,अरे जलो बूझो यह केश

जिस माली का केवडा, वो माली परदेश "

" केसरिया बालम, आओ रे,पधारो म्हारे देश ।"

( Let the Kewda be on fire, and put the hairs to burn,
for the one to whom this Kewda (indicating herself) belongs is not here.

O beloved, come back, come back to me)

This verse is taken from Rajasthani folk song 'Kesariya Balam, Padharo mhaare desh'. The english translation is not word by word but just an attempt to capture the emotion.

एक धुन्धल्की शाम

एक धुँधल्की शाम,

मद्धम मद्धम साँस,

बोझिल सर, धुआं धुआं,
और दो मुन्तजिर आँख

ऐ मजहर-ए-ग़ज़ल,

आज तुम आओगी ,

अपने साथ मशर्रत लाओगी ,

और इस तीरगी में अपना जमाल फैलाओगी

पर तुम नहीं आई,

तुम्हारा पैगाम आया,
आज भी नही आओगी यह कहलाया,

कल का वादा कर के मुझ को बहलाया

आज फिर वही धुँधल्की शाम,

मद्धम मद्धम साँस,

बोझिल सर, धुआं धुआं,

और दो बुझी सी आँख

ऐ मजहर-ए-ग़ज़ल,
पर कल तुम आना ,
अपने साथ मशर्रत लाना,

और इस तीरगी में अपना जमाल फैलाना

प्रशांत

[मुन्तजिर = awaiting, मजहर-ए-ग़ज़ल = manifestation of Gazal, मशर्रत = happiness,

तीरगी = darkness, जमाल = Beauty]