Here are two quatrains by two famous Urdu poets – Faiz Ahmad Faiz and Sahir Ludhianvi – who have opposing views of a beloved’s memory. They were contemporaries, though Faiz was about ten years older. Faiz lived and wrote in Pakistan and was a member of the Progressive Writers’ Movement. He was a Communist and was thrown in prison for that reason. Sahir lived and wrote mostly in India, though for a brief period he was in Lahore and fled that place for India when, he too, was accused of being a communist. He was also a member of the Progressive Writers’ Movement. Both wrote eloquently and passionately. There the similarities end. Faiz wrote of love with optimism and hope – he was going to be successful in love. Sahir wrote in gloomy terms and with a sense of self-pity – love was not all roses for him.
In these two, very famous quatrains of theirs, one can see the difference between them. Faiz sees the lost memory of a beloved as a soothing breeze, as an onset of growth, as a balm to his fevered brow; Sahir saw love as happiness quickly leading to grief, as a flower whose thorns would beset him, soon. —Translator’s Note
___________________________________
Faiz Ahmed Faiz:
Last Night Your Lost Memory
Last night your lost memory crept into my heart
As in a wasteland, spring blossoms quietly
As in a desert, the zephyr sways gently
As to a dying man, relief comes, unexpectedly.
………………………… §§§
Raat yun dil mein teri, khoyi hui yaad aayi
Raat yun dil mein teri, khoyi hui yaad aayi
Jaise viraane mein chupke se bahaar aa jaye
Jaise sahraon mein haule se chale baad-ae-naseem
Jaise bimaar ko be-wajaah quraar aa jaaye
………………………… §§§
Sahir Ludhianvi
I picked a few flowers of happiness
I picked a few flowers of happiness
And for ages I was sunk in grief
Meeting you brings me happiness, yet
After meeting you, I remain in grief
………………………… §§§
Chand kaliyāñ nashāt kī chun kar
chand kaliyāñ nashāt kī chun kar
muddatoñ mahv-e-yās rahtā huuñ
terā milnā ḳhushī kī baat sahī
tujh se mil kar udaas rahtā huuñ
………………………… §§§
Translations by Ajit Dutta