jahan-zad niche gali men tire dar ke aage
ye main sokhta-sar hasan-kuza-gar huun!
tujhe subh bazar men budhe attar yusuf
ki dukkan par main ne dekha
to teri nigahon men vo tabnaki
thi main jis ki hasrat men nau saal divana phirta raha huun
jahan-zad nau saal divana phirta raha huun!
ye vo daur tha jis men main ne
kabhi apne ranjur kuzon ki janib
palat kar na dekha
vo kuuze mere dast-e-chabuk ke putle
gil-o-rang-o-roghan ki makhluq-e-be-jan
vo sar-goshiyn men ye kahte
hasan kuza-gar ab kahan hai?
vo ham se khud apne amal se
khuda-vand ban kar khudaon ke manind hai ru-e-gardan!
jahan-zad nau saal ka daur yuun mujh pe guzra
ki jaise kisi shahr-e-madfun par vaqt guzre
tagharon men mitti
kabhi jis ki khushbu se varafta hota tha main
sang-basta padi thi
surahi-o-mina-o-jam-o-subu aur fanus o gul-dan
miri hech-maya maishat ke izhar-e-fan ke sahare
shikasta pade the
main khud main hasan kuza-gar pa-ba-gil khak-bar-sar barhana
sar-e-chak zholida-mu sar-ba-zanu
kisi gham-zada devta ki tarah vahima ke
gil-o-la se khvabon ke sayyal kuuze banata raha tha
jahan-zad nau saal pahle
tu nadan thi lekin tujhe ye khabar thi
ki main ne hasan kuza-gar ne
tiri qaaf ki si ufuq-tab ankhon
men dekhi hai vo tabnaki
ki jis se mere jism o jaan abr o mahtab ka
rah-guzar ban gae the
jahan-zad baghdad ki khvab-gun raat
vo rud-e-dajla ka sahil
vo kashti vo mallah ki band ankhen
kisi khasta-jan ranj-bar kuza-gar ke liye
ek hi raat vo kohrba thi
ki jis se abhi tak hai paivast us ka vajud
us ki jaan us ka paikar
magar ek hi raat ka zauq dariya ki vo lahr nikla
hasan kuza-gar jis men duuba to ubhra nahin hai!
Hasan the Potter
jahan-zad us daur men roz har roz
vo sakhta-bakht aa kar
mujhe dekhti chaak par pa-ba-gil sar-ba-zanu
to shanon se mujh ko hilati
(vahi chaak jo sal-ha-sal jiine ka tanha sahara raha thaa)
vo shanon se mujh ko hilati
hasan kuza-gar hosh men aa
hasan apne viran ghar par nazar kar
ye bachchon ke tannur kyunkar bharenge
hasan ai mohabbat ke maare
mohabbat amiron ki baazi
hasan apne divar-o-dar par nazar kar
mere kaan men ye nava-e-hazin yuun thi jaise
kisi dubte shakhs ko zer-e-girdab koi pukare!
vo ashkon ke ambar phulon ke ambar the haan
magar main hasan kuza-gar shahr-e-auham ke un
kharabon ka majzub tha jin
men koi sada koi jumbish
kisi murgh-e-parran ka saaya
kisi zindagi ka nishan tak nahin thaa!
jahanzad, below in the street, before your door
Here I stand, heart aflame, Hasan the potter!
this morning in the bazaar, at old man
Yousuf the perfumist’s shop, I saw you
And in your eyes was that fire
In whose longing I have wandered mad for nine years
Jahanzad, for nine years I have wandered mad!
Lost in that desire
I never turned toward my sad pots
those images of my restless hands
Lifeless creations of dust and colour and oil
Now they whisper:
‘Where is Hasan the potter?
Creating us, he’s become a god!’
Jahanzad, nine years passed over me
As time treads over some buried city
dust in flower-pots
Whose aroma I’d fondly breathe
Was now laden with stones
Goblet, enamel, cup, pitcher, lantern, flower-vase
All hope of an art to express
My worthless existence
Lay dead,
And I, Hasan the potter, dust on my head
dishevelled hair, prostrate on the potter’s wheel
Like some downcast god
Creating pots in a dream world of being and nothing
Saw in your bright eyes of Caucasus
that fire
through which my body and soul became wayfarers
Of cloud and moonlight
Jahanzad, that dreamy night in Baghdad
the bank of the river tigris
the ship, the closed eyes of that sailor
For some weary, disheartened potter
One night alone was alive
Which even now claims his
Spirit, his body
Only one night’s joy the river’s wave has granted
In which Hasan the potter sunk never to emerge
And now, Jahanzad, each day
that unlucky one comes to haunt me
Prostrated on the potter’s wheel
It shakes me by the shoulders
(that wheel which year to year was my only hope of livelihood)
‘Hasan the potter, come to your senses
Cast an eye on your ruined home
How shall the bellies of these children be filled?
Hasan, Love’s fool!
Leave that sport of the rich
And look to your own house.’
In my ear that sorry voice fell
Like one calling down a whirlpool to a drowning man
Yes, that lake of tears fed life to flowers
But I, Hasan the potter, was enchanted
By ruins of the city of illusions
With no sound, no motion
No shadow of a bird in flight
No trace of life
Jahanzad, in your street today
Against night’s chilling darkness
I stand restless before your door
through the window, those enchanting eyes
Peer at me again
the age, Jahanzad, is that potter’s wheel on which
Like enamel, cup, pitcher
Lantern and flower-vase
Humans are created and destroyed
I am human, yet
these nine years have passed in the shape of grief
Hasan the potter is today a heap of dust
Without sign of moisture.
Jahanzad, this morning in the bazaar at
Yousuf the perfumist’s shop, your eyes
Have spoken once again
Breathing moisture into dust
Perhaps dust will waken into clay.
jahan-zad men aaj teri gali men
yahan raat ki sard-gun tirgi men
tire dar ke aage khada huun
sar-o-mu pareshan
dariche se vo qaaf ki si tilismi nigahen
mujhe aaj phir jhankti hain
zamana, jahan-zad vo chaak hai jis pe mina-o-jam-o-subu
aur fanus-o-gul-dan
ke manind bante bigadte hain insan
main insan huun lekin
ye nau saal jo gham ke qalib men guzre!
hasan kuza-gar aaj ik toda-e-khak hai jism
men nam ka asar tak nahin hai
jahan-zad bazar men subh attar-yusuf
ki dukkan par teri ankhen
phir ik baar kuchh kah gai hain
un ankhon ki tabinda shokhi
se utthi hai phir toda-e-khak men nam ki halki si larzish
yahi shayad us khaak ko gil bana de!
Who knows the expanse of desire, Jahanzad, but
If you wish, I’ll become once more
the same potter whose pots
Were the pride of every palace and quarter, every city
and village
Adorning the dwellings of rich and poor
Who knows the expanse of desire, Jahanzad, but
If you wish, I’ll turn once more towards my sad pots
those dried pans of being and nothing
towards hope of an art to mirror my livelihood
From that being and nothing, from that colour and oil
to strike again the sparks by which
the ruins of hearts are illumined.
tamanna ki vusat ki kis ko khabar hai jahan-zad lekin
tu chahe to ban jaun main phir
vahi kuza-gar jis ke kuuze
the har kakh-o-ku aur har shahr-o-qariya ki nazish
the jin se amiir o gada ke masakin darakhshan
tamanna ki vusat ki kis ko khabar hai jahan-zad lekin
tu chahe to main phir palat jaun un apne mahjur kuzon ki janib
ghil-o-vala ke sukhe tagharon ki janib
maishat ke izhar-e-fan ke saharon ki janib
ki main is gil-o-la se is rang o roghan
se phir vo sharare nikalun ki jin se
dilon ke kharabe hon raushan!
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