Rhetorical

Rhetorical

an english translation attempt of  Kaifi Azmi's "Koi ye kaise kahe"

Copyright © SHRAVANI MUKHERJEE

koi ye kaise bataaye ke wo tanhaa kyon hai

wo jo apnaa thaa, wahi aur kisi kaa kyon hai

yahi duniyaan hain to fir, aysi ye duniyaan kyon hai

yahi hotaa hai to, aakhir yahi hotaa kyon hai?

Rhetoric quest rhymes in one’s emptiness

Haunts the past in not being your present tense

If its the ebb, why not run against the tide?

Why is it always a race against the time?

ik zaraa haath bada de to, pakad le daaman

us ke seene mein samaa jaaye, humaari dhadkan

itni kurbat hain to fir faaslaa itnaa kyon hai?

For someone who cares, dreamt to shower all love

In his arms lost away from the world

Yet the love-song is now a symphony without accord

dil-e-barabaad se nikalaa naheen abatak koee

ik loote ghar pe diyaa karataa hain dastak koee

aas jo toot gayee hain fir se bandhaataa kyon hai?

When a wrecked ship is lost in the tempestuous ocean of pain

The light house flickers inside you the optimist again

Despite the evident perceptions of being drowned in benthic depths

tum masarrat kaa kaho yaa ise gam kaa rishtaa

kahte hain pyaar kaa rishtaa hai janam kaa rishtaa

hai janam kaa jo ye rishtaa to badaltaa kyon hai?

A soulful charm or just bound by ache

‘Tis said of love, it transcends life and death

If such is true, why always changes in rule?