Hazaron Kwaishe Aisi

Couldn't resist trying this translation out. Was drawn in by the first line and hence this ludicrous attempt (No poison pens please!):

Desires flood my heart, each stealing my breath away...
And with each escaped wish, they grow more within...

Tales that abound of Eden scorning Adam
Fade when they face my forlorn separation from you

As if love distinguished between life and death!
I live every dying breath, unwavering eyes locked on your furtive glances

Heavens forbid that you disarrange your sacred veil!
Lest they too hide my beloved's face!

A world separates the preacher from drunken merriment;
Yet I (Ghalib) chanced upon him by the tavern

hazaaron Khvaahishen aisii ki har Khvaaish pe dam nikale
bahut nikale mere armaaN lekin phir bhii kam nikale

nikalanaa Khuld se aadam kaa sunate aaye hain lekin
bahut beaabaruu hokar tere kuuche se ham nikale

muhabbat men nahiin hai farq jiine aur marane kaa
usii ko dekh kar jiite hain jis kaafir pe dam nikale

Khudaa ke vaaste pardaa na kaabe se uThaa zaalim
Kahiin aisaa na ho yaaN bhii vahii kaafir sanam nikale

KahaaN maiKhaane ka daravaazaa 'Ghalib' aur kahaaN vaaiz
par itanaa jaanate hain kal vo jaataa thaa ke ham nikale

k (who is a great big fan of shayaris and ghazals and Jagjit Singh and stuff) and I brain-stormed this afternoon to figure out the meaning of the verses. But several of them could be interpreted in various ways. I still can't tie the last two lines to the song. What does he mean when he comments on the preacher at the bar? Is the preacher Ghalib himself? Perhaps he thought he was above such merriment but met himself (lured into) and walking out of it?

And the lines preceding that -- whom is he talking to? Who should not lift the veil? Some lady he meets? I assumed he met a woman with a veil on her face and requests that her veil not be lifted lest it hide the face of the woman he loves but cannot get...

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Dearest friend of mine...(Ennamma thozhi)

Oh! What shall I do, dearest friend of mine?
I am missing my little doll...

Sweet memories
of braiding her hair,
of adorning it with flowers,
of dressing her in satin frocks...

I found you, my dear doll,
the month of Ippasi, fresh from a dip in the Cauvery...

Won't you close your eyes, my dear doll,
when I sing sweet lullabies?
Forever in mind, even when you are gone...
I hear gentle music when you talk to your precious flowers...

Oh! How I wish for a life with no end;
If I had another life to live, how different it would be!
Her face, the enchanting moon; her body, a shimmering river;
Little fingers like soft blades of grass...

Waiting till the day fades,
along with the charm on her face
as her yearning eyes keep searching for those of her beloved's...

This song was hard to translate. L~ sent this song and I liked it the first time I heard it -- simple and melodious. I struggled to understand what the original lyrics meant though (even with mom's help) -- especially the part about another lifetime and a wish to never face death (Why the sudden wish? So she won't lose her doll the next lifetime? But, won't she have to die to face another life?). I sort of left the similes and metaphors intentionally vague so it might refer to the doll or to the little girl herself...

Here is the original (Song - Ennamma Thozhi, Singer - RJ Sulabha, Movie - Kalaipani):

Ennamma thozhi bommaya kaanom
Naa enna seiya poren

Thala vari pinni, pookkal vaithu
Pudhu chattai pottu vittu..

Ippasi masam kaveri snanam…
Bommaya vaangi vandhen

Thaalattu naan pada kanmooda mattayo
Maraindha podhum… manadhil ennum …
Malarodu pesum mazhalai geetham ..

Maranam ella varam kettu…
Maru jenman ondrirundhal maari vidum…
Mugam madhiyo udal nadhiyo…
Melliya kai viralgal pulveliyo….

Kaalai pozhudhellam kaathirukkum
Ival vizhi kaanamal kalai izhakkum…
Ennamma thozhi…

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Bharathidasan's poem...

கூடத்திலே மனப்பாடத்திலே - விழி
கூடி கிடந்திடும் ஆணழகை,
ஓடை குளிர் மலர் பார்வயினால் - அவள்
உண்ணதலைப்படும் நேரத்திலே,
பாடம் படித்து நிமிர்ந்தவனின் விழி - தனில்
பட்டுத் தெறித்தது மானின் விழி,
ஆடை திருத்தி நின்றாள் அவள்தான் - இவன்
ஆயிரம் ஏடுகள் புரட்டுகின்றான!

He sits in the court-yard
down-cast eyes engrossed in study;
She arrives, a flower in a cool stream,
casting her gaze upon the handsome vision,
overwhelmed by a desire to imbibe the moment;
Rising from his notes,
his glance falls upon doe-like eyes;
Startled, her bashful hands guard her slipping veil,
as a thousand pages flutter past!

Having a resident Tamil expert enables me to go crazy with my translations! My mom remembered the last four lines and the first line of this poem by Bharathidasan. She said her Tamil Professor's words still echo in her head :) And to make up for my lack of originality (w.r.t writing poems), I attempt to translate what I admire in the original...

Some of the allusions and charm in the original Tamil poem have been altered because of the translation. Apologies for the same.

Note: The Tamil font here is best viewed in Internet Explorer. Personally prefer Firefox but not sure how to get Quillpad and FF to join hands!

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