Tuesday, September 22, 2015

Ya rab gham-e-hijraan


Chiragh Hasan Hasrat sung beautifully by Farida Khanum.  An attempt at a literal translation.

Yaa rab gham-e-*hijran mein itna to kiya hota,
Jo haath jigar par hai, wo dast-e-duaa hota

Oh God, you could've at least made me suffer the pain of separation with grace,
The hand I use to comfort my liver should have been used for praying
[i.e. instead of complaining and crying in pain, I should be gracefully praying]

Ummeed to bandh jaati, *taskeen to ho jaati,
Waada na wafa karte, waada to kiya hota

It would have given me some relief and hope,
Even if you had made a false promise

[And we're reminded of Ghalib's famous:
  Tere vaade pe jiye hum, to ye jaan jhooth jaana,
  Ke khushi se mar na jaate, gar aitbaar hota
  Translation, here

  Ta phir na intezaar mein neend aaye umra bhar,
  Aane ka ahad kar gaye, aaye jo khwaab mein
  Translation, here
] 
  
Gairon se kaha tumne, gairon se suna tumne,
Kuch hum se kaha hota, kuch humse suna hota
You discuss your problems with strangers, and expect sympathy
You should have spoken to me about them

Ek ishq ka gham aafat, aur uspe ye dil aafat,
Ya gham na diya hota, ya dil na diya hota
[This is written with an undertone of exasperation caused due to the travails of love]
The pain of love in itself is a big nuisance and added to the annoyances of the desirous heart,
God should have either not given me the pain or not given me the heart

---- Chiragh Hasan Hasrat
Rekhta Page

hijraan = separation 
taskeen = relief