Life and Death
Posted on by Tejas Gupta
Category: poetry translation cwr305 hindi urdu hindustani
ज़िंदगी और मौत
ذوق
लाई हयात आये क़ज़ा ले चली चलेअपनी ख़ुशी न आये न अपनी ख़ुशी चले
दुनिया ने किसका राह-ए-फ़ना में दिया है साथ
तुम भी चले चलो यूं ही जब तक चली चले
Life and Death
written by Zauq | tr. by Tejas Gupta
Just as life began, death comes knockingWhether your happiness arrives, or your happiness goes walking
Who has the world given you to walk the journey of death with?
You too keep walking aimlessly until you can walk no more
Direct transliteration of Urdu
Laaee hayaat aaye qazaa ley chalee chaley
Apnee khushee na aaye na apnee khushi chaley
Duniya ney kiska rah-e-fanaa mein diya hai saath
Tum bhee chaley chalo yoon hee jab tak chalee chaley
Crude/Rough Direct Translation
Just as life/existence began, now death has come walking
My happiness does not come, nor does my happiness leave
Who
Who in this world walks the journey of death with you? /
Who in this world have you been given to walk the journey of death
together?
You too keep going aimlessly/like this/for no particular reason until
you no longer go
Brief Biography
Zauq was Ghalib’s contemporary and their rivalry was well known. The son of a common soldier in the Mughal army, Zauq was born in Delhi. He was stricken by small pox when he was a child and barely survived. Zauq was sent to a maktab (elementary religious school) run by Hafiz Ghulam Rasool (Shauq) who dabbled in poetry. Under his influence the young Mohammed Ibrahim began composing poetry and, as suggested by his mentor, adopted ?Zauq? (man of taste) as his pseudonym. Though he could not complete his course in the maktab, he was able to impress Shah Naseer, the most popular poet of Delhi at the time, who accepted him as a pupil. Gradually, Zauq began participating in mushairas and made a name for himself.
Emperor Bahadur Shah Zafar appointed him poet laureate of the Mughal court. Zauq died in 1854 and was buried in the grounds of Delhi College outside Ajmeri Gate.”
- Celebrating the Best of Urdu Poetry
Khushwant Singh
