Gumraah

Khabar hai ki, jisko humne ek arsey se

Bade dhyan se dekha tha,

Woh jo galiyon se guzar kar,

Raat ke siyaah aasmaan ko

Shawl ki tarah odhkar,

Bade hi naazuk kadmon se,

Humaare muhalle ko aata tha,

Woh jo tanha aa kar,

Khwabon ko jagaa kar,

Humaare angon ko sulagata tha...

...Woh aaj, humse naraaz,

Kahiin chhupkar baitha hai,

Humaari adhoori kahaani ko

Bin muqammal chhod,

Humaara woh chaaNd aaj

Gumrah ban baitha hai.

************************************************

ख़बर है की, जिसको हमने एक अर्से से 

बड़े ध्यान से देखा था,

वह जो गलियों से गुज़र कर,

रात के सियाह आसमान को

शॉल की तरह ओढ़ कर,

बड़े ही नाज़ुक क़दमों से 

हमारे मोहल्ले को आता था,

वह जो तनहा आ कर,

ख्वाबों को जगा कर,

हमारे अंगों को सुलगाता था... 

...वह आज, हमसे नाराज़,

कहीं छुप कर बैठा है, 

हमारी अधूरी कहानी को

बिन-मुक़म्मल छोड़,

हमारा वह चाँद आज गुमराह बन बैठा है ॥ 

Ainvayi

The long due Bangla translation of Ainvayi Ainvayi. This was created a long back, but never posted. So, I post it now. 'Co I am bored. Ainvayi. This one actually fits the original tune. Try to sing along.

Chokhe’r du dhaare,
Shurma mekhe re,
Chhokra gulo chaay hote
Hi-fi.

Hridoye koraat i,
Amaar chole jaayei,
AaNtke uthey mon bole
Why why?

Chaaye bheja biskut hoye gelam.
Aami toh emni emni
Emni emni lut-ey gelam...

Shore daraa re, kaora,
Jeno neem er i pakoda.
Pichhu korish keno
Kokhono dainey, baaye?

Toke shudhrobo naki?
Juto petabo naki?
Mathaay marbo naaki aaj i
Dhaay dhaay?

Romeo holi keno permit chhara?
Tui toh emni emni
Emni emni lut-ey geli...

Chul set korlam gel-tel diye re,
Buk phuliye, don boithok kori re,
Shundori haraali tui
Nijer chaal ta chele
Kotha’r pithe kotha’r
Basketball ta khele.

Gel dekhe meyera khushi hoy na moteyi,
Don boithok kore jibon kaate na moteyi,
Bhaloi jaani tor mone aache theek ki
Uddeshyo chhokrader bodlaay na moteyi.
Gur dekha macchi’r moto
Aatke geli.
Tui toh…
Keno amaar goli te opekkha korish,bol?
Achoron down-market korish, bol?
Dekhi jodi shoriye janla’r porda ta, pagol,
Sheesh baajiye khali birokto korish bol?

Chhar attitude, kokhono maan shundori
Bank-cheque chaash naaki praan shundori?
EeNter ei mon ta norom kor na ektu
Dekh, aami taagda jowan, shundori,
Chhoy foot theke dedh foot hoye gelam
Aami toh…

Here's to the most adorable Bollywood song EVER.

Amaake amaar moto thaaktey daao.

Continuing with my habit of translating songs that manage to become my obsession, I have translated the song 'Amaake amaar moto thaakte daao' from the soundtrack of the Bangla-film 'Autograph', into English. I have hardly stayed true to the pace and rhythm of the original, and have interpreted the atypical and unpredictably refreshing lyrics in my own way, and have tweaked a few words here and there for the sake of rhyme. Tell me if you like it. OR NOT.

THE ORIGINAL:
Amaake amaar moto thaakte daao,
Aami nijeke nijer moto guchhiye niyechhi…
Jeta chhilona, chhilona, sheta na pawaii thaak,
Shob pele noshto jibon…

Tomar ei duniya’r jhapsha aalo,
Kichhu shondhe’r guro howa kaancher moto,
Jodi ude jete chaao tobe gaa bhashiye daao,
Doorbiney chokh rakhbo na na na na na na…

Ei jahaaj maastul chharkhaar,
Tobu golpo likhchhi panchbar,
Aami rakhte chaai na aar taar,
Kono raat dupoorer abdaar,
Tai cheshta korchhi Barbar,
Shaantrey paar khonjar…

Kokhono akash beye chup kore,
Jodi neme ashe bhalobasha khub bhore,
Chokh-bhanga ghumey tumi khunjona aamay,
Aashe paashe aami aar nei.

Amaar jonyo aalo jelo na keu,
Aami manusher shomudrey gunechhi dheu,
Ei station er chattorey hariye gechhi,
Shesh train e ghorey phirbo na na na…

Tomar roktey aachhe shopno joto,
Taara chhutchhey raatridin nijer moto,
Kokhono shomoy pele ektu bhebo,
Aanguler phankey aami koi?

Hisheber bhirey aami chaaina chhutey,
Joto shukno peyajkoli fridge er sheetey,
Aami obelar daal-bhaatey phuriye giyechhi,
Gelasher joley bhaashbo na na na…

The TRANSLATION :
Let me exist within my own,
I have reconciled myself with my reality.
That which has stayed unaccomplished,
Let it stay that way,
Excesses mar sanity.

This nebulous light of your numb world,
Feels like shattered-glass fragments of dusk.
Should desires of flight provoke you, fly,
But my binocular vision
Shall not follow you soar,
No, not even a chance…

This voyage of mine, and a mangled mast,
I pen my tale, in its fifth cast.
I shall give way no more,
To your requests, in their late-night rust.
So I try and repeat,
And swim through this distrust.

Whenever love seeps through your sky,
And its layers, in the hours of a violet dawn,
Even as soft-slumber nests on your lids,
Do not look around for me, I’m gone.

Do not bother to switch on the lights,
My vessel’s capsized among these waves of men.
I am lost forever within these station-walls.
I will not take the last train home, ever again.
No, not even a chance…

All your dreams housed in your veins,
They rush forth and back to your heart,
Should time permit, ask yourself sometime,
Why, from between your fingers, did I depart?

In this calculative, humdrum world I don’t
Sympathize with the beans shriveled up in the fridge.
I shall not float around any more in your water-glass.
(For)I begin and end with the lunch-porridge.
No, not even a chance…

Kokhono neem-tikto, Kokhono modhu-mishto...

Boiraagi mon tomar je shaahebjee,
Amaar bukete je aachhe koyed aaj obdhi,
Bhalobasha'r rokkhok,amaar ishwor tumii...

Chand-aar-taara
Dekha holo shaara.
Lojjay morey je amaar mon,
Hey bhogobaan,
Lojjay morey je amaar mon...

Uhm-Huma...

Dil Toh Bachcha Hai - English Lyrics.

Can’t take my dazed eyes off your burning charm;
Can’t bite off the silky threads of passion, so warm;
Old Age has left me dwelling only in blacks, whites and grays;
Wonder why then the chromatic clouds of youth loom large these days;
Oh God! The pulse is rising, steadily quite
The glow of the face succumbs to a sorry plight
Fear grips me, a forsaken bed causes dismay.
The child in me lives like a newly-conceived sun-ray.
A fresh twig, an unripe fruit, you may say.

Who would’ve ever known, this shielded heart
Would resort to mischief so cunning?
Some holiness of spirit, that instinct doth impart
Was what all expected from one so stunning.
It creates chaos and compels with pursuit.
It dwells on thoughts of no consequence, absolute.
There is none as mischievous as this very heart.
Let it be stopped, let it be cropped,
Deception would tear me down, with tears left to be mopped.
Love seems formidable; I fear it may do a giveaway.
The child in me lives like a newly-conceived sun-ray.
A fresh twig, an unripe fruit, you may say…

Pehli Baar Mohabbat Ki Hai - English Translation

I just translated the delectable 'Pehli Baar Mohabbat Ki Hai' from the movie 'Kaminey' into English. I have tried to stay as true to the original Hindi lyrics as possible, but there are some modifications, mostly additions, made to the content of the song, which can be interpreted as my creative liberty.

The original Hindi song:
Thode bheege bheege se thode nam hai hum,
Kal se soye voye bhi to kam hai hum.
Dil ne kaisi harkat ki hai,
Pehli baar mohabbat ki hai,
Aakhiri baar mohabbat ki hai.

Aankhein doobi doobi si surmayee madham,
Jheelen paani paani hai bass tum aur hum,
Hmmm baat badi hairat ki hai,
Pehli baar mohabbat ki hai,
Aakhiri baar mohabbat ki hai.

Khwab ke bojh se, kapkapati huyee,
Halki palkein teri, yaad aata hai sab,
Tujhe gudgudana, satana, yunhi sote hue,
Gaal pe teepna, meechna, bewajah besabab.

Yaad hai peepal ke jiske ghane saaye the,
Hum ne gilehri joothe matter khaaye the,
Yeh barqat unn hazrat ki hai.
Pehli baar mohabbat ki hai,
Aakhiri baar mohabbat ki hai


THE ENGLISH TRANSLATION:
A little misty, a little drenched are we
A placid sleep, we haven’t had of late, have we?
Our hearts are chanting a new rhyme
Love has thrust itself across us, this is the first time,
Love has entered our lives; hopefully the one and only time.

Eyes stay half-shut, smudged by an enigmatic kohl
The water in the lakes shine, reflect our forms, our souls.
These facts puzzle us, within us new tunes chime,
Love has thrust itself across us, this is the first time,
Love has entered our lives; hopefully the one and only time.

Dreams set the soft,
Lids of your eyes in a flutter.
Memories rush back,
In my senses, they mutter.
Those playful tickles, the allegations,
Teasing, and all the merry titillation,
Beside each other, while we lay.
Your cheeks that
Invite, and all the admiration
On the slightest hint, you say.

I remember, you may test,
Under the cool shade of the old peepal tree,
We indeed did taste,
Almonds from the squirrel, honey from the bee.
This song is, (no doubt, the best)
About the sweet afterglow of those moments of glee.

Jabberwocky/Jaborkhaaki

‘Jabberwocky’ from Lewis Carroll’s ‘Alice’s Adventures In Wonderland’ continues to remain my favorite nonsense verse of all times. It has been translated in many a language, and the Bengali translation, ‘Jaborkhaaki’ was done by Mr. Satyajit Ray, and was published in his children’s magazine ‘Sandesh’ quite many years back… The voracious reader I was as a child, I had come across both versions around the same time. It was my first brush with the Existence Of The Inexplicable, probably my first realization that Life can get quite scary at times, quite tumultuous, but one must retain the courage to charge forwards with the ‘vorpal blade’, the ability to swish it ‘snicker-snack’ and the determination to finish off all the Jabberwockies plaguing one’s life.

JABBERWOCKY:
'Twas brillig, and the slithy toves
Did gyre and gimble in the wabe;
All mimsy were the borogoves,
And the mome raths outgrabe.

"Beware the Jabberwock, my son!
The jaws that bite, the claws that catch!
Beware the Jubjub bird, and shun
The frumious Bandersnatch!"

He took his vorpal sword in hand:
Long time the manxome foe he sought—
So rested he by the Tumtum tree,
And stood awhile in thought.

And as in uffish thought he stood,
The Jabberwock, with eyes of flame,
Came whiffling through the tulgey wood,
And burbled as it came!

One, two! One, two! and through and through
The vorpal blade went snicker-snack!
He left it dead, and with its head
He went galumphing back.

"And hast thou slain the Jabberwock?
Come to my arms, my beamish boy!
O frabjous day! Callooh! Callay!"
He chortled in his joy.

'Twas brillig, and the slithy toves
Did gyre and gimble in the wabe;
All mimsy were the borogoves,
And the mome raths outgrabe.




AND THE BENGALI VERSION… JABORKHAAKI
[Well the Bangla version is not ubiquitous in its availability, and neither has it been included in any compilation of Ray’s work (another work of his that’s been similarly ignored is ‘Papaangul-the tale of a group of weirdly cute looking creatures that wanted to sail the Seven Seas on a sieve), so I’m quite glad that I remember it wholly, and have thus, been able to put it here…]


Billigir oi shithle joto tobe
Galumgiri korchhe bheu’er dhaare
Aar jotoshob mimshe borogobe
Momtarader gebgebiye mare

“Jashni bachha joborkhaaki’r kachhe,
Raamkhichuni, Raabonkaamor taar,
Jashni jetha jubju boshe gachhe,
Bandorchenchha mukhti kore bhaar”

Tao shey niye bhurpi talowar,
Khunjte gelo manxume dushmone
Onek khunje shondhe jokhon paar
Thaamlo giye Tumta gachher bone

Emon shomoy dekhte pelo cheye,
Ghupchi bone chulli chokher bhaata,
Joborkhaaki aaschhe bujhi dheye,
Hilphiliye mosto kore hanta

Shon-shon-shon chollo torobaari,
Shanik,shinik joborkhaki shesh
Skondhe niye mundokhaana taari
Galumphiye jaaye shey aapon desh.

“Tor haate tei Joborkhaaki gelo?”
Shudhaye baape chamuk hashi heshe
“Aaye bachhadhon aaye re amaar kelo,
Bimbi amaar, boshna koley eshe..”

Billigir oi shithle joto tobe
Galumgiri korchhe bheu’er dhaare
Aar jotoshob mimshe borogobe
Momtarader gebgebiye mare..