Dareechah-e-Nigaarish
Toronto, ON
Canada
talat
Majeed Amjad
1914 Jhang, British India - 1974 Sahiwal (Montgomery), Pakistan
Socio-political poems of modern Urdu poet Majeed Amjad
Translated into English by Talat Afroze
The Dawn of Destined Duty
by Majeed Amjad (1914 – 1974)
Translation by Talat Afroze
Am off and away . . . to my office at dawn
Off and away . . . a fellow traveler among a caravan of hundreds
The Bazaar, crowded with humanity . . .
Some woman's hand hoarding henna-painted flowers in its palm
Holds the charmed reigns of Time itself
While someone's palm bears scratches from the thorns of Labor,
On the Road to Eternity, with eyes shut tight
Some are walking ahead and some behind . . .
The water in the open gutter at the road's bend
Goes writhing, tossing and turning, ever forward
Bearing blows from the sweeper's broom . . .
The same compulsion of this calamity of destined Purpose
That drives the angst of its movement
Also dwells within every uneven step I take . . .
Some silent bird flies on wards
Spinning a golden web of Hope
Looking to peck a grain or two . . .
In the blowing gales of Life's expanse
All must go forward with moist eyes
I must walk on and it must fly on . . .
Look, a blind beggar woman tottered
To grab on to the lamp post at the Square
And hold passers by with her lament
This outspread, soiled shirt tail she presents for alms
This begging bowl, this noisy sing-song plea she makes
Remind me of my office, my files, my work table . . .
What drives him, he is so young
That even his school bag is a burden too much for him,
This young boy who is going to school . . .
A member of the caravan of Life . . .
What chain is this, O Lord of Destiny's dungeons
That binds the feet of young and old alike ?
She has come down (this prostitute)
From her tiny flat above,
To forget the memories of the past night
And buy a betel leaf treat from the Paan shop . . .
As if to make a face at and defy the World at large . . .
The same thought worries her and haunts me as well:
How to brave the loneliness of the oncoming night . . .
A shiny car has just whizzed by . . .
The dust on the road turned over, awakened
Rose up and ran after it for a few paces
This continuity of blows from kicking feet, raining down
Gives us wings, is our predicament
And also our life's earnings:
For the dust on the road and for me alike!
Somewhere in the garden, a bee sipped
The nectar of flowers, intoxicating as wine
While elsewhere a crawling insect swallowed
The bitter, foul tasting waters of a rotting pond . . .
However, both had the same purpose: to live a moment or two
Here comes the river of blood-stained waters from Life's Dominion
Flowing forward from the light of dawn
A torrent of sweat and tears
In whose waves are floating away
The begging bowl of the beggar,
The gemstone lined wine goblet of the Persian Emperor Jamsheed,
The worker's axe and sickle
And the writer's pen . . .
Am off and away . . . to my office at dawn
Off and away . . . a fellow traveler among a caravan of hundreds
16th August, 1943, Sahiwal, Pakistan.
Page 148, Collected Works of Majeed Amjad, 1988, Edited by Dr. Khawaja Mohammad Zikriya, Mavara Publishers, The Mall Road, Lahore, Pakistan.
Dareechah-e-Nigaarish
Toronto, ON
Canada
talat