What is !Love?

The correct way to read the title is, “What Is NOT Love? !!!”. The title is inspired by the third sher (couplet) below. It is mandatory for me to include a link to this post here for those who are reading posts like these for the first time. This ensures that they get used to the format incorporated in these ‘special’ posts dedicated to (translated) Sher(s) / Ghazal(s). (Who am I kidding? But at least such ramblings increase the word count of my posts! )

Here’s a Ghazal by none other than the greatest of them all (modulo the degeneracies!), the Great Dr. Waseem Barelvi:

जीते हैं किरदार नहीं है,

नाव तो है, पतवार नहीं है!

Jeete hain kirdaar nahin hai,

Naav to hai, patwaar nahin hai!

Alive with no character,

Boat’s here, but no oars!

I may have misunderstood the sher or in my attempt to keep the translation brief, I may have distorted the original meaning beyond recognition!

कोई नज़र पे भार नहीं है,

राह में अब दीवार नहीं है|

Koi nazar pe bhaar nahin hai,

Raah mein ab diwaar nahin hai|

Sight is no longer muddled,

Road has no more walls.

I’m not sure even of the original sher (actually the word ‘भार bhaar’ in the first line), forget the translation… though, the second line is accurate!

खोना पाना मैं क्या जानूँ?

प्यार है, कारोबार नहीं है!

Khona paana main kya jaanun?

Pyaar hai, kaarobaar nahin hai!

Why consider gain or loss?

It’s Love, not a Business!

This is the sher I love (and understand) the most in this Ghazal and I’m proud of its translation. However, I would like to insert ‘I’ in the translated version since the original one has ‘मैं main’!

सजदा वहाँ एक सर की वर्जिश,

सर पे जहां तलवार नहीं है|

Sajda wahaan ek sar ki warjish,

Sar pe jahaan talwaar nahin hai|

Exercising mind bows down,

Without swords over heads.

Ignore this translation… I am not even sure I can explain the meaning of this sher in one full paragraph! (If you understand Hindi, watch the video below and form your own opinion about its meaning!)

जहनों में दीवार ना हो तो,

मिलना कोई दूसवार नहीं है|

Jahanon mein diwaar na ho to,

Milna koi duswaar nahin hai|

If consciousness is not walled,

It’s not difficult to rendezvous.

मैं भी कुछ ऐसी दूर नहीं हूँ,

तू भी समंदर पार नहीं है!

Main bhi kuch aisi dur nahin hun,

Tu bhi samandar paar nahin hai!

Neither am I that distant,

Nor you across the seas!

These last two shers are to be read together since WB recited them together. I love these shers as much as the third one and am also somewhat proud of their translations!

-वसीम बरेलवी (Waseem Barelvi)

वसीम बरेलवी (Waseem Barelvi)

I also acknowledge some help in translating these shers from a friend who goes by the name DQ in our coterie. So now that you know what is NOT Love, make yourself ‘worldly wise’ by indulging in some of DQ’s

HYPERBOLE