Translations from Punjabi/Urdu into English
I love my mothertongue-it's the language Bulleh Shah penned his verse in and legends such as Nusrat Fateh Ali Khan and Abida Parvin sang/sing in. I've two humble offerings for you.
Song 1. The soundtrack of the movie Queen featured the lovely song 'Ranjha' with lyrics by Raghu Nath and music and vocals by Rupesh Kumar Ram. The context: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Heer_Ranjha For all its inherent beauty, I need nitpick about Ram’s enunciation. Hence, this cover: https://soundcloud.com/studiounplugged/ranjha-folk-mix-jai-parthiv-ft and a simple translation thereof.
Daulat shauhrat da ki karna/Je mahi nahin ve kol?
Of what use are wealth and fame/when the Beloved be not near?
Pyar da sauda dil taun hunda/Dil taan hai anmol.
The transaction of love is between hearts alone/and the heart is invaluable.
Kinna sohna yaar Heere/Vekhdi nazaara
What a handsome Beloved is Heer’s/she gazes at the sight of him in bliss
Ranjha mera Ranjha/Majjhan chaarda vechara.
Ranjha, my Ranjha/the poor man’s been grazing buffaloes.
Main Heer haan teri/Main peedh haan teri
I am your Heer/I am your pain
Je tu baddal kaala/Main neer haan teri.
If thou art the black cloud/I’m the water (tears) within you.
Kar jaaniye Raanjhe/Ho darr jaaniyan, Raanjhe
I keep doing it/I keep getting scared, O Ranjhe
Upparon teriyaan sochaan/Marr jaaniyan Raanjhe.
To top it all is my worrying for you/I die (it kills me) O Ranjhe.
Mera Ranjha, main Raanjhe di/Ranjha hai chit-chor
Ranjha’s mine and I am his/Ranjha is a thief of hearts
Je karke o mil jaave taan/Ki chahida hai hor?
If by any endeavour I attain him/whatever more could I ask for?
Teri aan haan Ranjhe/Teri shaan haan Ranjhe
I am your pride and honour, O Beloved/I’m your grandeur
Dil vich maiyyon dadkaan/Teri jaan haan Ranjhe.
I beat in your heartbeat/I’m your life, O Ranjhe.
Kikkaran sukkhan lagiyaan/Umraan mukkan lagiyaan
The Kikar trees are drying up/our lives are winding down
Ho mainu mil gaya Ranjha/Nabzaan rukkan laggiyan..
I’ve found my Beloved Ranjha/and now pulses are slowing down (stopping.)
Mera Ranjha, main raanjhe di/Ranjha hai chit-chor
Ranjha’s mine and I am his/Ranjha is a thief of hearts
Hunn taan mainu mil gaya Ranjha/Ki chahinda hai hor?
Now that I've found Ranjha/whatever more could I ask for?
Song 2. Husn-E-Haqiqi, Arieb Azhar’s beautiful offering featured in Coke Studio Pakistan, Season 2 https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Lbp4GXmF0ZQ with the lilting lyrics a heady mix of Punjabi and Urdu. There's a translation right there amongst the comments of the video and here's mine:
Ae husn-e-haqiqi noor-e-azal
O beauty-in-truth, the eternal glow
Tenu waajib te imkaan kahoon
Shall I address thee as necessity or possibility?
Tenu khalik zaat qadeem kahoon
As age old divine incarnation,
Tenu haadis-e-khalq jahan kahoon
Of creation and the world?
Tenu mutlaq mehez wajood kahoon
Do I address thee as free and formless?
Tenu almiya ayaan kahoon
Mistress of all she surveys?
Arvaah nafoos-e-aqool kahoon
Are thee the product of ego and intellect?
Ashbaa iyaan nehaan kahoon
That which I see and see not?
Tenu arsh kahoon aflaak kahoon
Do I address thee as reality?
Tenu naaz naeem janaan kahoon
Shall I call you the spoken word, grace, dignity?
Tenu tat jamaad nabaat kahoon
Mineral or vegetable,
Haivaan kahoon insaan kahoon
Animal (base) or human?
Tenu masjid mandir dair kahoon
Are you the masjid, temple or monastery?
Tenu pothi te quran kahoon
Do I call thee the sacred scriptures, Quaran,
Tasbeeh kahoon zunnaar kahoon
The holy rosary (worry beads?)
Tenu kufr kahoon imaan kahoon
Faithlessness or piety?
Tenu baadal barkha gaaj kahoon
The clouds, the rains and thunderstorm,
Tenu bijli te baraan kahoon
Lightening or the deluge of rains?
Tenu aab kahoon tenu khaak kahoon
Water or the Earth,
Tenu baad kahoon neeraan kahoon
Cutting winds or fiery inferno/volcano?
Tenu dasrat lichman raam kahoon
Are you the deities Dasrath, Laxman and Ram,
Tenu sita ji janaan kahoon
Do I call thee the pious Sita,
Baldev jasuda nand kahoon
Baldeo or Yashoda’s beloved?
Tenu Kishan Kanahya Kaan kahoon
Krishna?
Tenu barhma bishan ganesh kahoon
Do I call thee Brahma, Vishnu or Ganesh,
Mahadev kahoon bhagvaan kahoon
Or Shiva the God?
Tenu geet granth te bed kahoon
Are you the sacred texts of Gita, GuruGranth Sahib, the Vedas,
Tenu gyaan kahoon agyaan kahoon
Wisdom of the known and unknown?
Tenu ibrahim hawa shees kahoon
Art thou Abraham, Eve or Seth?
Tenu nooh kahoon tufaan kahoon
Noah’s Ark and the Tempest,
Tenu ibrahim khaleel kahoon
Abraham,
Tenu musa bin imran kahoon
Or Moses the son of Imran?
Tenu har dil da dildaar kahoon
The Beloved of each heart,
Tenu ahmad aalishaan kahoon
Or glorious Ahmad?
Tenu shaahid malk hijaaz kahoon
Are you the witness, he who answers the call?
Tenu baais kaun makaan kahoon
Are you the one who awakens and exist
Tenu naaz kahoon andaaz kahoon
Are you grace and a beauty’s “ada?”
Tenu hoor pari ghilmaan kahoon
Are you a nymph, a Hoor or a young lad?
Tenu nouk kahoon tenu touk kahoon
Are you a sharp nib, a tip?
Tenu surkhi beerha paan kahoon
The red of a betel leaf,
Tenu tabla te tamboor kahoon
Tabla or tamboor,
Tenu dholak surr te taan kahoon
Dholak or melody?
Tenu husn te haar singhaar kahoon
Of beauty and beauty’s adornments,
Tenu ashwa ghamza-aan kahoon
Coy; she of the amorous glances?
Tenu ishq kahoon tenu ilm kahoon
Do I call thee love or education,
Tenu vehem yaqeen gumaan kahoon
Supersition, belief or conjecture?
Tenu husn kavi idraak kahoon
She of beauty, power and fertility
Tenu zauq kahoon wajdaan kahoon
Of aptitude and sheer exhuberance/ecstacy?
Tenu sakar kahoon sakraan kahoon
Sweet intoxication,
Tenu hairat te hairaan kahoon
Amazement and incredulity,
Tasleem kahoon talveen kahoon
Of quiet submission
Tamkeen kahoon irfaan kahoon
And sweet compliace?
Tenu sumbal sosan sarv kahoon
Are thee the water Hyacinth, Lily or the Cypress?
Tenu nargis na-farmaan kahoon
Or the fragrant, rebellious flower Nargis
Tenu laale daagh te baagh kahoon
The crying flower, a Rose garden,
Gulzaar kahoon bustaan kahoon
or bounteous orchard?
Tenu khanjar teer tufang kahoon
Are thee a dagger, arrow or fiery rifle?
Tenu barcha bank sanaan kahoon
Or hail, bullets and spears
Tenu teer khidang kamaan kahoon
Are thee an arrow for a bow
Soofaar kahoon peekaan kahoon
Made out of Poplars?
Be-rang kahoon be-misal kahoon
Are thee void of colour and beyond compare/peerless?
Be-soorat har har aan kahoon
Without the confines of form?
Subooh kahoon qudoos kahoon
Are thee glory and holiness?
Rehman kahoon subhaan kahoon
The glorious, the gracious
Kar taubaa tart Fareed sada
Thou should repent forever, O Farid
Har sheh nu par nuksaan kahoon
All eulogizing is less
Tenu paak alakh be-aib kahoon
Do I call thee pure, compassionate and beyond fault?
Tenu haq be-naam nishaan kahoon
Or truth beyond the realms of name, rhyme or reason.
I'll upload more translations. Do you have a song for me to translate?
Song 1. The soundtrack of the movie Queen featured the lovely song 'Ranjha' with lyrics by Raghu Nath and music and vocals by Rupesh Kumar Ram. The context: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Heer_Ranjha For all its inherent beauty, I need nitpick about Ram’s enunciation. Hence, this cover: https://soundcloud.com/studiounplugged/ranjha-folk-mix-jai-parthiv-ft and a simple translation thereof.
Daulat shauhrat da ki karna/Je mahi nahin ve kol?
Of what use are wealth and fame/when the Beloved be not near?
Pyar da sauda dil taun hunda/Dil taan hai anmol.
The transaction of love is between hearts alone/and the heart is invaluable.
Kinna sohna yaar Heere/Vekhdi nazaara
What a handsome Beloved is Heer’s/she gazes at the sight of him in bliss
Ranjha mera Ranjha/Majjhan chaarda vechara.
Ranjha, my Ranjha/the poor man’s been grazing buffaloes.
Main Heer haan teri/Main peedh haan teri
I am your Heer/I am your pain
Je tu baddal kaala/Main neer haan teri.
If thou art the black cloud/I’m the water (tears) within you.
Kar jaaniye Raanjhe/Ho darr jaaniyan, Raanjhe
I keep doing it/I keep getting scared, O Ranjhe
Upparon teriyaan sochaan/Marr jaaniyan Raanjhe.
To top it all is my worrying for you/I die (it kills me) O Ranjhe.
Mera Ranjha, main Raanjhe di/Ranjha hai chit-chor
Ranjha’s mine and I am his/Ranjha is a thief of hearts
Je karke o mil jaave taan/Ki chahida hai hor?
If by any endeavour I attain him/whatever more could I ask for?
Teri aan haan Ranjhe/Teri shaan haan Ranjhe
I am your pride and honour, O Beloved/I’m your grandeur
Dil vich maiyyon dadkaan/Teri jaan haan Ranjhe.
I beat in your heartbeat/I’m your life, O Ranjhe.
Kikkaran sukkhan lagiyaan/Umraan mukkan lagiyaan
The Kikar trees are drying up/our lives are winding down
Ho mainu mil gaya Ranjha/Nabzaan rukkan laggiyan..
I’ve found my Beloved Ranjha/and now pulses are slowing down (stopping.)
Mera Ranjha, main raanjhe di/Ranjha hai chit-chor
Ranjha’s mine and I am his/Ranjha is a thief of hearts
Hunn taan mainu mil gaya Ranjha/Ki chahinda hai hor?
Now that I've found Ranjha/whatever more could I ask for?
Song 2. Husn-E-Haqiqi, Arieb Azhar’s beautiful offering featured in Coke Studio Pakistan, Season 2 https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Lbp4GXmF0ZQ with the lilting lyrics a heady mix of Punjabi and Urdu. There's a translation right there amongst the comments of the video and here's mine:
Ae husn-e-haqiqi noor-e-azal
O beauty-in-truth, the eternal glow
Tenu waajib te imkaan kahoon
Shall I address thee as necessity or possibility?
Tenu khalik zaat qadeem kahoon
As age old divine incarnation,
Tenu haadis-e-khalq jahan kahoon
Of creation and the world?
Tenu mutlaq mehez wajood kahoon
Do I address thee as free and formless?
Tenu almiya ayaan kahoon
Mistress of all she surveys?
Arvaah nafoos-e-aqool kahoon
Are thee the product of ego and intellect?
Ashbaa iyaan nehaan kahoon
That which I see and see not?
Tenu arsh kahoon aflaak kahoon
Do I address thee as reality?
Tenu naaz naeem janaan kahoon
Shall I call you the spoken word, grace, dignity?
Tenu tat jamaad nabaat kahoon
Mineral or vegetable,
Haivaan kahoon insaan kahoon
Animal (base) or human?
Tenu masjid mandir dair kahoon
Are you the masjid, temple or monastery?
Tenu pothi te quran kahoon
Do I call thee the sacred scriptures, Quaran,
Tasbeeh kahoon zunnaar kahoon
The holy rosary (worry beads?)
Tenu kufr kahoon imaan kahoon
Faithlessness or piety?
Tenu baadal barkha gaaj kahoon
The clouds, the rains and thunderstorm,
Tenu bijli te baraan kahoon
Lightening or the deluge of rains?
Tenu aab kahoon tenu khaak kahoon
Water or the Earth,
Tenu baad kahoon neeraan kahoon
Cutting winds or fiery inferno/volcano?
Tenu dasrat lichman raam kahoon
Are you the deities Dasrath, Laxman and Ram,
Tenu sita ji janaan kahoon
Do I call thee the pious Sita,
Baldev jasuda nand kahoon
Baldeo or Yashoda’s beloved?
Tenu Kishan Kanahya Kaan kahoon
Krishna?
Tenu barhma bishan ganesh kahoon
Do I call thee Brahma, Vishnu or Ganesh,
Mahadev kahoon bhagvaan kahoon
Or Shiva the God?
Tenu geet granth te bed kahoon
Are you the sacred texts of Gita, GuruGranth Sahib, the Vedas,
Tenu gyaan kahoon agyaan kahoon
Wisdom of the known and unknown?
Tenu ibrahim hawa shees kahoon
Art thou Abraham, Eve or Seth?
Tenu nooh kahoon tufaan kahoon
Noah’s Ark and the Tempest,
Tenu ibrahim khaleel kahoon
Abraham,
Tenu musa bin imran kahoon
Or Moses the son of Imran?
Tenu har dil da dildaar kahoon
The Beloved of each heart,
Tenu ahmad aalishaan kahoon
Or glorious Ahmad?
Tenu shaahid malk hijaaz kahoon
Are you the witness, he who answers the call?
Tenu baais kaun makaan kahoon
Are you the one who awakens and exist
Tenu naaz kahoon andaaz kahoon
Are you grace and a beauty’s “ada?”
Tenu hoor pari ghilmaan kahoon
Are you a nymph, a Hoor or a young lad?
Tenu nouk kahoon tenu touk kahoon
Are you a sharp nib, a tip?
Tenu surkhi beerha paan kahoon
The red of a betel leaf,
Tenu tabla te tamboor kahoon
Tabla or tamboor,
Tenu dholak surr te taan kahoon
Dholak or melody?
Tenu husn te haar singhaar kahoon
Of beauty and beauty’s adornments,
Tenu ashwa ghamza-aan kahoon
Coy; she of the amorous glances?
Tenu ishq kahoon tenu ilm kahoon
Do I call thee love or education,
Tenu vehem yaqeen gumaan kahoon
Supersition, belief or conjecture?
Tenu husn kavi idraak kahoon
She of beauty, power and fertility
Tenu zauq kahoon wajdaan kahoon
Of aptitude and sheer exhuberance/ecstacy?
Tenu sakar kahoon sakraan kahoon
Sweet intoxication,
Tenu hairat te hairaan kahoon
Amazement and incredulity,
Tasleem kahoon talveen kahoon
Of quiet submission
Tamkeen kahoon irfaan kahoon
And sweet compliace?
Tenu sumbal sosan sarv kahoon
Are thee the water Hyacinth, Lily or the Cypress?
Tenu nargis na-farmaan kahoon
Or the fragrant, rebellious flower Nargis
Tenu laale daagh te baagh kahoon
The crying flower, a Rose garden,
Gulzaar kahoon bustaan kahoon
or bounteous orchard?
Tenu khanjar teer tufang kahoon
Are thee a dagger, arrow or fiery rifle?
Tenu barcha bank sanaan kahoon
Or hail, bullets and spears
Tenu teer khidang kamaan kahoon
Are thee an arrow for a bow
Soofaar kahoon peekaan kahoon
Made out of Poplars?
Be-rang kahoon be-misal kahoon
Are thee void of colour and beyond compare/peerless?
Be-soorat har har aan kahoon
Without the confines of form?
Subooh kahoon qudoos kahoon
Are thee glory and holiness?
Rehman kahoon subhaan kahoon
The glorious, the gracious
Kar taubaa tart Fareed sada
Thou should repent forever, O Farid
Har sheh nu par nuksaan kahoon
All eulogizing is less
Tenu paak alakh be-aib kahoon
Do I call thee pure, compassionate and beyond fault?
Tenu haq be-naam nishaan kahoon
Or truth beyond the realms of name, rhyme or reason.
I'll upload more translations. Do you have a song for me to translate?