Monday, September 30, 2013
Sahir
Ludhianvi (1921-1980). Translated by the Hindi-Urdu by Alverston &
Associates.
Pages 342-343
“That
Dawn Will Soon Be Here”
That dawn will be arriving soon
When the veil will be lifted finally,
Loosened from the tenebrous folds of centuries-long oppression
When the clouds of suffering will dissolve
And the ocean of happiness will pour forth generously
When the sky shall gather up the clouds of solace and start
dancing
And the earth shall too be singing songs
That dawn will be arriving soon
For which we live to die for gallantly
For that ambrosial dawn we persevere to quaff,
Even if mere cups of poison to antidote afterwards
Bestow your graciousness over these hungry, thirsty souls
someday
That dawn will be coming soon
I do believe that until then, it is of no value
To you whatsoever to long for our desires, which are worth
their weight in gold
Despite that even dirt contains some priceless valuation,
whilst humanity’s value is zilch.
That dawn will be arriving soon
When the dignity of human beings will not be weighed by
counterfeit money.
When in exchange for money, a female’s chastity or honor will
not be advertised or grounds for aversion!
When this world becomes ashamed for these misdeeds, that
dawn will have arrived.
These days of hunger and unemployment ultimately shall pass.
These idols of reigning wealth will shatter in the end.
When the foundations of an extraordinary world are raised, then
that dawn will have arrived
When the helplessness of old age does not have to heave dust
upon the desolate pathway
When the innocence of childhood does not have to beg upon
the filthy streets
That day when the ones asking for their rights won’t be
condemned to death
That dawn will be arriving soon
That day when humanity will no longer burn over the pyre of
starvation
When in the hellish pit of the palpitating heart, yearning
cannot be burnt
When these obscenities of the world, worse than hell, halt
Heaven shall return to earth
That dawn will soon be here!
Part Two:
That
dawn indeed! That dawn will come about by our efforts!
Indeed, we will bring upon that dawn
When these lands will adopt a new course
When the captive will be discharged from captivity
When houses of evil come into view and break open
When bondage of oppression has collapsed
Indeed, we will make that dawn a universal reality by our
efforts!
When through an abominably skeletal congress, society
manages to maneuver support
When that oppression is no longer nourished
When hands cannot be bound
When dignity cannot be tossed about
When governments all over the world will be able to serve
without the imprisonment of societies
Indeed, that dawn will come by measurable outcomes!
When the world’s entire hardworking labor force shall be
granted collective bargaining before they set off to work the mills and fields
Homeless people shall be no longer without means for food
and shelter and efficacy
Helpless people will emerge from out of their burrowed
boroughs
World will be adorned in peace and prosperity
Indeed, that dawn shall become reality by our undivided efforts!
Sahir
Ludhianvi (1921-1980). Translated by the Hindi-Urdu by Alverston &
Associates.
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