A Poem of Leeladhar Jagoodi (Translation)

Original : Hindi~
'Chullu kee Aatmakathaa'

main na jheel na taal na talaiyaa
na baadal na samudra
main yahaan phansaa hoon is gadhaiyaa men
chullu bhar aatmaa liye
sarak ke beenchon beech

mujhmen bhi jhalaktaa hai aasmaan
chamakte hain surya sitaare chaand
dikhte hain cheel kauvve tote aur teetar
mujhe bhi hilaa deti hai havaa

mujhmen bhi pad kar
sad sakti hai phool patton sahit
hariyaali kee aatmaa

roj kam hotaa
meri gandali aatmaa kaa paanee
badal rahaa hai shareer men
chupchaap
bhaap bankar
baahar nikal rahaa hoon main.

Translation (by Sunil Uniyal)~
'Puddle'

I'm neither a lake nor a pool nor a pond
nor a cloud nor a sea
I'm here trapped
in this pothole
in the middle of a road
with a handful of soul

In me also the sky is glimpsed
shine sun, moon and stars
eagles, crows, parrots and partridges are to be seen
I'm also shaken by the breeze

In me also falls
and rots
the soul of green
with its leaves and flowers

every day...
decreasing ...
the water of my impure soul
is transformed into a body
quietly
I'm coming out ...
vapourised !
______________________________________________________________
(This poem is from modern Hindi poet, Leeladhar Jagoodi's anthology Anubhav ke Aakaash men Chaand, for which he has won the Sahitya Akademi Award for poetry.)
............

Poem of Surdas-3 (Translation)

(Jo sukh hot Gopaalahin gaaye)

The joy one gets singing Gopal's glory doesn't come
through fast or meditation or bathing oneself in the sacred water.

The devotee doesn't need the four purusarthas,
once to His lotus feet he surrenders himself.

The splendour of the three worlds seems a straw,
when he enters the heart of Nanda's son.

He doesn't want to give up Brindaban on the Yamuna
for an abode even in the heaven.

Surdas says that to Hari who truly prays
won't come back to this world again.
...

Poem of Surdas-2 (Translation)

(Jan ke upjat dukh kin kaatat?)

O Lord, why don't You end people's distress
as soon it is born- like the farmer who removes
the weeds before rains, as soon as these are visible.

As the fish who fears the gull,
O my Lord, keep me in check.

Remove my sins when these are small like pits;
if they turn into an ocean,
bridging them up would be difficult.
...

A Hindi Ghazal

Original~

Lahar thi tat par bikhar gayi

zindagi yoonhi guzar gayi

unhi raaston par kataa safar

guzre the log jinse kayi

chehraa jo bhi hamko milaa

usi par dikhe mukhaute kayi

kis but se karen shikwaa ham

sochate rahe din-raat yahi

sayaano ne bahut samjhaayaa

par rahe ham vahi ke vahi

shabd-jaal hee hamne bune

hamse hui na koi baat nayi.

Translation:

Dissipating itself like a wave on the shore,

This life has been just that, nothing more.

Same roads I've travelled again and again,

Through which have so many passed in vain.

Every face that I met on the way

Had masks manifold, I must say.

Which idol I should my plaint address,

Day and night I'm under this stress.

The wise have advised me times umpteen

But I've remained what I've been.

I just wove webs with many a word,

Nothing was new in what I uttered.

...

A Haiku

kids having left
paper-boats float upturned
in the pond
...

Poem of Surdas-1 (Translation)

(Nainaa ghunghat main naa samaat.)

My eyes are not confined within the veil.

They are not satiated even by gazing steadily

at the charming body of the son of Nanda.

Steeped in the love of Sri Krishna, my eyes just wander after its nectar,

unconcerned with anything else.

What's there to say? Ever mad after the sight of Hari,

my eyes are distraught when the veil hides them.

Repeatedly I've tried to deter my eyes but failed,

as they have refused to abandon their habit.

Surdas says, every moment to the Gopi appears like an age,

when her eyes don't see Lord Giridhar.

...

Old Diary (A Haiku)

old diary -
a silverfish crawls
on her autograph

....