"That Dawn Indeed" by Sahir Ludhianvi (1921-1980).

We are Manfred Spencer Alverston & Associates because of Steve Jobs (1955-2011).

Sahir Ludhianvi (1921-1980). Translated from 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 from the Hindi-Urdu by Alverston & Associates.

We are Manfred Spencer Alverston & Associates because of Steve Jobs (1955-2011).