by Max Babi
Member since:
May 4, 2006

Woman

April 22, 2007 07:26 AM UTC
views: 0 | comments: 21

Sahir Ludhianvi, ruled the Hindi/Urdu lyrics world of Cinema for decades. The vitriol and fire in his thinking, shaped by not only the injustice and sub-human existence of the poor but by a firy socialistic ideology, forced out some unforgettable lyrics such as this :

"Aurat ne janam diya, mardoN-ko...."

 


aurat ne janam diyaa mardoN ko, mardoN ne use baazaar diyaa
jab ji chaahaa maslaa kuchlaa, jab ji chaahaa dutkaar diyaa
aurat ne janam diyaa mardoN ko

tulti hai kahin deenaaroN mein, bikti hai kahin baazaaroN mein
nangi nachvaai jaati hai, aiyyaashoN ke darbaaroN mein
ye vo be-izzat cheez hai jo, baNT jaati hai izzatdaaroN mein
aurat ne janam diyaa mardoN ko

mardoN ke liye har zulm ravaaN, aurat ke liye ronaa bhi Khataa
mardoN ke liye laakhoN sejen, aurat ke liye bas ek chitaa
mardoN ke liye har aish kaa haq, aurat ke liye jeenaa bhi sazaa
aurat ne janam diyaa mardoN ko

jin hoThon ne inko pyaar kiyaa, un hoThon kaa vyopaar kiyaa
jis kokh mein inkaa jism Dhalaa, us kokh kaa kaarobaar kiyaa
jis tan se uge kopal ban kar, us tan ko zaleel-o-Khaar kiyaa
aurat ne janam diyaa mardoN ko

mardoN ne banaayee jo rasmen, unko haq kaa farmaan kahaa
aurat ke zindaa jalane ko, qurbaani aur balidaan kahaa
qismat ke badle roTi di, aur usko bhi ehsaan kahaa
aurat ne janam diyaa mardoN ko

sansaar ki har ik besharmi, Ghurbat ki god mein palti hai
chakloN hi mein aa ke rukti hai, faaqoN mein jo raah nikalti hai
mardoN ki havas hai jo aksar, aurat ke paap mein Dhalti hai
aurat ne janam diyaa mardoN ko

aurat sansaar ki qismat hai, phir bhi taqdeer ki heTi hai
avtaar payambar janti hai, phir bhi shaitaan ki beTi hai
ye vo badqismat maaN hai jo, beToN ki sej pe leTi hai
aurat ne janam diyaa mardoN ko...

(c) Sahir Ludhianvi.

 

Here's my attempt at transcreation from Urdu into English

Woman bore men,  men gifted her the bazaar-
kneaded her, crushed her whenever he felt like
throwing her out whenever he felt like... 

at times, she gets weighed in gold coins,
she gets sold in seedy bazaars,
she's forced to dance naked,
in the courts of the lecherous philistines,
she is that honorless object who gets
shared by the honorable gentry,
woman bore men... 

For men every atrocity is insignificant,
For woman even weeping is a crime.
For men every debauchery is a right,
For woman  existence is a punishment
Woman bore men...
 
The lips that caressed and loved them
They traded away those very lips
The body that moulded their own flesh,
They traded away that very uterus
From the body that gave them growth
That very body they insulted and rendered unholy
woman bore men...

The traditions that men etched in stone,
calling  them  righteous declarations-
Woman  chose to call this slow burning death
a sacrifice and an offering.
Snatching away destiny, they gave her sustenance
And called it compassion.
woman bore men...

Every shameless act in our world,
spreads from the lap of poverty.
The path that begins from unwanted fasting
Strays on to stop at cross-roads.
Lust of men it is usually,
that gets labelled as woman's sin,
woman bore men...

Woman is the destiny of our universe,
though she's neglected by fate,
she gives birth to seers and prophets
just to be called a daughter of the Devil.
This is that unfortunate mother
who has to sleep on her own son's bed
woman bore men...

(c) Max Babi  042207

 

Comments: 21

donna h. Apr 22, 2007, 10:02am UTC
....so true.
Marinela Kotsina Apr 22, 2007, 12:19pm UTC
Sahir spoke out loud and he spoke the truth. Thank you Max for taking the time to translate and share with us. I needed to read twice and still wonder at the majesty of Sahir's understanding of the female energy role in the Universe.
Love and light to you my dear friend
Carol Lloyd Apr 23, 2007, 4:38am UTC
oh max do we bore you or confuse you........
Max Babi Apr 23, 2007, 2:15pm UTC
Audrey, Donna and Marinela, thanks a lot.
Carol, I have just paraphrased what Sahir conceived and wrote. Women do not bore me ever, and as for confusion in men's minds about women, this confusion is older than Confucius!
Cheerz!
Ludie Gee Apr 24, 2007, 12:33pm UTC
Ashamed that Ed had to point me in this ditrection - but glad he did. wonderful work indeed.
Laura M. Apr 24, 2007, 1:57pm UTC
The courage and claimed honor of women beyond the proscribed societal roles is a beginning of impassioned spiritual reclamation.....I read women "bore" men as a birthing process not boredom and still prefer that relationship. I would love to see him write a succession of these, to follow a personal process of readjusting inner truths that guide action by truly reworking the inherited definitions and histories of woman to come to laud her for her many, many gifts beyond the sexual role. But that is just me of course and this poet's purpose is his own. The poem is raw and you have beautifully "recreated" his voice and I thank you for the powerful insights it gives to "poverty" and its extended meaning and consequence to limiiting awareness and valuable possibilities, ascribing blindly to falsities. This is incredible, Max, thank you so, so much.
John W. Apr 24, 2007, 2:25pm UTC
It always disturbs me to hear this attitude from men. I grew up in a culture that had respect for women. The thought that there are so many abusive men on the planet that revere words scrawled onto stones, that have no credence other that marking hatred and disdain for those considered subservient, have not been dashed to the ground and broken, forgotten, put to better use like paving a path. Why honor the likes of barbarians from the past, just because they wrote down their self righteousness. One of the great reasons that poverty distills these violent tendencies is the lack of consul with women. There is a voice of reason that stems from a nurturing spirit. Mankind has always been on the defensive, everyone is an enemy. Be strong and hate. Balderdash – it simply doesn't have to be.
Cindy L. Apr 24, 2007, 2:39pm UTC
John, will you marry me?? You are a rarity among men. Bless you. I found this very disturbing to read and it did put me on the defensive I admit.

Unfortunetly, this attitude is still alive and well throughout the world. Women are still set on fire, beaten, raped, sold, beheaded, etc. It must stop.
Granny Janny Apr 24, 2007, 7:09pm UTC
We women do bear men
Some men I can barely bear
But our gender fair
I will always swear
Is the better half of the pair
As lineage is in our genes
And only from mothers is traced
Look up michondrial DNA on which this truth is based
Thank you Max for pointing out a man
Whose words show he can understand.
Granny Janny Apr 24, 2007, 7:12pm UTC
I meant to say
Mitochondrial DNA
julian three Apr 24, 2007, 7:47pm UTC
I, too, read the word 'bore' as the past tense of 'to bear' as in giving birth, which placed a mantle of irony over the meaning overall. The song by 80s rocker Alice Cooper, called 'Only Women Bleed" was also misunderstood by those who did not understand the viewpoint of the narrator / singer. Perhaps a study of the original etymology would shed light on it, but either way, this was a most enjoyable and thought provoking exercise, skillfully rendered. Thank you.
Max Babi Apr 24, 2007, 11:36pm UTC
Thanks Ed, for the pointer which has brough around some of the best brains here at Gather dot com to comment on the piece. I really feel this poem deserved more attention. I see many of you do not agree with the poet's comments on a lifestyle that may sound alien to you... but this poem is written for a prostitute born in poverty and abandoned into a system that would suck out the last drop of blood and lifejuice from her. Sahir Ludhianvi was a fiery poet whose recitations on stage used to get audiences so worked up, the organisers would shirk him. Some day I will transcreate his other socialistic poems which whiplash cruelly the society where the downtrodden will remain crushed for centuries, and where injustice would form each cobbled stone in every imaginable street.... 'voh sub-ha kabhi toh ayegee... that morning will arrive some day, he wrote in a hopeful poem which derides the present unapologitically exploitive nature of society. That should shock our collectively numb conscience, I guess.
Keep reading and commenting, please.
Cheerz!
Susan Pattishall Apr 25, 2007, 12:16am UTC
Find some nice men? Great poem, Max. Ten and True, but pessimist.
Rahul Bhimjiani May 3, 2007, 11:01am UTC
as usual, exquisite work - in terms of both craftsmanship and spirit.
Much like the English translation of the Omar Khayyam's rubaiyat captured the spirit of the original
except the the cultural nuances which can never survive translation but require immersion in that society to feel.
the bouquet of comments was deeply touching too, showing our universalness - at least about such a sad thing, and hopefully for happy ones too.
John F Walter May 29, 2007, 2:50pm UTC
Just a superb transcreation of Sahir´s WOMAN, Max, that builds and builds with its images and examples until the reader is almost overwhelmed with the injustice and inequality of the arrangement between the sexes as it currently stands in so much of the world. Your work here in English pours out his torrents of anger and despair in a fluid, eloquent and concise poetic voice that utterly convinces.

Your service here on Gather of introducing us to great Indian poets who write in Urdu that we English speakers would otherwise never get a chance to read or put within a greater content of the Indian civilization (in Sahir´s case, Bollywood) is really magnanimous of you, and fits your generous personality and talents as a master poet. We are lucky to have you on this writer´s blog and in our pre Sim group, as well.

Welcome to John W. by the way. Looks like we have similiar outlooks, as well as a winning name combination in common! (LOL)
Miles E. May 29, 2007, 3:11pm UTC
Powerful. Amazing.
It's easy for those of us not living there to categorize all Indian men as worthy of this poet's contempt. Thank you for sharing the perspective of a resident voice that pationaltely cries out against its society's mishandling of the sexes. Where there is one, may there be many to follow.
Susan N. Jun 10, 2007, 1:50am UTC
Amazing poetry - double meanings and all - I did not really "get" it until I read various comments and reread it....Thanks so much for sharing this.

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