Mujh Se Pehli Si Mohabbat, Mere Mehboob, Na Maang
Main Ne Samjha Tha Ke Tu Hai Tau Darakshaan Hai Hayaat
Tera Gham Hai Tau, Gham-e-Daher Ka Jhagda Kya Hai
Teri Surat Se Hai Aalam Mein Bahaaron Ko Basaa
Teri Ankhon Ke Siva Duniya Mein Rakha Kya Hai
Tu Jo Mil Jaaye Tau Taqdeer Nigun Ho Jaye
Yun Na Tha......... Maine Faqat Chaha Tha, Yun Ho Jaaye

An-Ginat Sadiyon Ke Tareek Bahimana Tilism
Resham-0-Atlas-O-Kamkhwaab Mein Bunvaaye Huye
Ja-Ba-Ja Bikhte Huye Kucha-O-Bazaar Mein Jism
Khaak Mein Lithade Huye, Khoon Mein Nahalaye Huye
Laut Jaati Hai Udhar Ko Bhi Nazar Kya Kijiye
Ab Bhi Dil-Kash Hai Tera Husn Magar Kya Kijiye
Aur Bhi Dukh Hai Zamaane Mein Mohabbat Ke Siva
Rahatein Aur Bhi Hai Vasl Ki Rahat Ke Siva


Faiz Ahmed Faiz

Thanx 4 sharing Deewani.

Noorie

Deewz, "Teri surat se hai alam mein baharon ko sabaat" ... (sabaat: permanence) ...and before you accuse me of nitpicking... allow me to thank you for giving me the opportunity to revisit this beauty all over again. Went back to the Noorjehan version to enjoy this classic for the nth time... apparently Faiz was so impressed by her rendition of it that he gifted his poem to her...

Here's an English translation of the poem by Agha Shahid Ali.

Don’t Ask Me for That Love Again
-Faiz Ahmad Faiz

That which then was ours, my love,
don’t ask me for that love again.
The world then was gold, burnished with light –
and only because of you. That’s what I had believed.
How could one weep for sorrows other than yours?
How could one have any sorrow but the one you gave?
So what were these protests, these rumors of injustice?
A glimpse of your face was evidence of springtime.
The sky, wherever I looked, was nothing but your eyes.
If You’d fall into my arms, Fate would be helpless.

All this I’d thought, all this I’d believed.
But there were other sorrows, comforts other than love.
The rich had cast their spell on history:
dark centuries had been embroidered on brocades and silks.
Bitter threads began to unravel before me
as I went into alleys and in open markets
saw bodies plastered with ash, bathed in blood.
I saw them sold and bought, again and again.
This too deserves attention. I can’t help but look back
when I return from those alleys –what should one do?
And you still are so ravishing –what should I do?
There are other sorrows in this world,
comforts other than love.
Don’t ask me, my love, for that love again.

Translation By Agha Shahid Ali
Copyright 1991, 1995 by Agha Shahid Ali

Hi Madhavi,
I was waiting for someone to bring that up, LOL, I'm am so glad it was you!! Your thoughts are always welcome and enlightening. Actually these lyrics that I've done were not written from that film version, but one by Debashish Dasgupta . I often listen to both his and NJ's back to back. So I've been wondering why the change? What were Faiz's original words? There are also several more lines as well that I have not heard in song to this day....perhaps because the imagery is too "violent". Also I was waiting for someone to bring up the occasion that forced this artistic and poetic masterpiece from Faiz's kalam...... I learned about it earlier this year and it has changed my entire view point on what I used to think was a love song in the romantic sense when I was a little girl. And now I think how could I have not seen it before?

That's a nice non-literal translation (ie sense translation) of it, thanks for posting it Noorie.

Deewz, if you mean these two lines...
"Jism nikale huye amraaz ke tannuron se
Pip Behti hui galte hue nasooron se"

I vaguely remember reading somewhere (and, as you suggest, too) that these two lines are often deleted from musical renditions as being too violent ...

The Noorjehan version is from the movie Quaidi that was made in 1962 (MD: Rashid Atre). I have not heard the Debashish Dasgupta version... when was it composed? Checked on www.urdupoetry.com it seems the commonly accepted version is the one that has "sabaat". What does "basaa" mean? If possible could you u/d the DD version?

From what I could gather, the poem is from Faiz's first collection " Naqsh-e-Faryadi" published in 1941. Faiz had completed his studies in 1934, and had joined as lecturer in M.A.O college Amritsar where he met Mahmuduz Zafar and Rashid Jehan who were the pioneers of the Progressive Writers Movement in India and who were major inspirations for Faiz. (The PWA was formally founded in 1936 in Lucknow and the names associated with this movement are awe-inspiring... Faiz, Kaifi Azmi, Krishan Chander, Ismat Chugtai, Majrooh, Makhdoom Mohiuddin, Munshi Premchand, Firaq Gorakhpuri, Majaz, Sahir...)

Inspired by the Communist revolution in Russia, the "common theme" amongst its proponents was the move from (and I am simplifying heavily) classical themes to issues of social awareness. So Faiz's first volume itself is divided into romantic poetry and poetry that dwells on social issues... In the poem he dramatizes his own literary shift from romantic poetry to socially committed poetry when he addresses his mistress with the wonderful lines "Ab bhi dilkash hai tera husn magar kya kijye/aur bhi dukh hain zamane mein mohabbat ke siva" ... I have always felt that Sahir echoes this same gesture in the "Tum mujhe bhool bhi jao to ye haq hai tumko" song where the man says to the woman "Bhook aur pyaas ki maari hui is duniya mein/ishq hi ek haqeeqat nahin kuch aur bhi hai" and gives it a further twist by allowing the woman to express her position vis a vis the man's...

To come back to Faiz, the poem was written before his stints in the jail and before his career in the Pakistani army where he saw the devastation of the Second World War at first hand, and furthermore, before the partition which was such a devastating experience to its witnesses... I feel that his later poetry is darker in vision... in this poem we see the poet at the beginning of his career. However, as I don't have much knowledge about Urdu literature, would love to get more inputs from experts and enthusiasts... You said that you recently learnt something about the impulse behind the composition of this poem, if you can, please share it with us.

Btw another one of my abs. Faiz favorites is Iqbal Bano's rendition of "Hum Dekhenge" that inspired such enthusiasm and outpourings of spontaneous protest against Gen Zia's oppressive regime...

U guys made my day, thanks for the beautiful translation.

Yes those are the lines. Not very apt to tarannum... I have replied to some of your other questions via PM, do have a listen and let me know your thoughts. HF is lucky to have members like you.

Here's the song from the film Qaidi, in the voice of Nurjehan. Music Rashid Attre.

Not going to stay for very long probably, so watch it now!



Noorie