(Bang-e-Dra-001) Hamala (The Himalayas)

Hamala

The Himalayas

(1)

ae hamala! ae faseel e kishwar e hindustan
choomta ha teri paishani ko jhuk ker aasman

O Himalah! O rampart of the realm of India!
Bowing down, the sky kisses your forehead

(2)

 tujh mein kuch paida nahin derina rozee ke nishan

tu jawan hai gardish e sham o saher ke darmiyan

Your condition does not show any signs of old age

You are young in the midst of day and night’s alternation

(3)

aik jalwa tha kaleem e toor e sina ke liye
tu tajali hai sarapa chasm e beena ke liye

The Kaleem of Tur Sina witnessed but one Effulgence
For the discerning eye you are an embodiment of Effulgence

(4)

imtihan e didah zahir mein kohistan hai tu

pasban apna hai tu, dewar e hindustan hai tu

To the outward eye you are a mere mountain range

In reality you are our sentinel, you are India’s rampart

(5)

matla e awwal falak jis ka ho vo diwan hai tu

suay khilwat gah e dil daman kash e insan hai tu

You are the divan whose opening verse is the sky

You lead Man to the solitudes of his heart’s retreat

(6)

barf ne bandhi hai dastar e fazilat tere sar

khanda zan hai kalah e meher e aalam taab par

Snow has endowed you with the turban of honor

Which scoffs at the crown of the world‐illuminating sun

(7)

teri umar e rafta ki ek aan hai ehad e kuhan

wadiyon mein hain teri kali ghataen khema zan

Antiquity is but a moment of your bygone age

Dark clouds are encamped in your valleys

(8)

chotiyan teri surayya se hain sargaram e sukhan

tu zameen per aur pehna e falak tera watan

Your peaks are matching with the Pleiades in elegance

Though you are standing on earth your abode is sky’s expanse

(9)

chasma e daman tera aaeena siyyal hai

daman e mouj e hawa jis ke liye rumal hai

The stream in your flank is a fast flowing mirror

For which the breeze is working like a kerchief

(10)

abar ke hathon mein rahwar e hawa ke waste

taziyana de diya barq e sar e kohsar ne

The mountain top’s lightning has given a whip

In the hands of cloud for the ambling horse

(11)

Ae hamala koi bazi gah hai tu bhi, jise

dast e qudrat ne banaya hai aanasir ke liye

O Himalah! Are you like a theatre stage

Which nature’s hand has made for its elements?

(12)

haye kya firat e tarab mein jhoomta jata hai abar

feel e be zanjeer ki surat ura jata hai abar

Ah! How the cloud is swaying in excessive joy

The cloud like an unchained elephant is speeding

(13)

junbish e mouj e naseem e subah gehwara bani

jhoomti hai nasha e husti mein har gul ki kali

Gentle movement of the morning zephyr is acting like a cradle

Every flower bud is swinging with intoxication of existence

(14)

yun zuban e berg se goya hai iss ke khamshi

dast e gulcheen ki jhatak mein ne nahin dekhi kabhi

The flower bud’s silence with the petal's tongue is saying

"I have never experienced the jerk of the florist’s hand

(15)

keh rahi hai meri khamoshi hi afsana mera

kunj e khalwat khana e qudrat hai kashana mera

Silence itself is relating the tale of mine

The corner of nature’s solitude is the abode of mine"

(16)

aati hai nadi faraz e koh se gati huwi

kausar o tasneem ki moujon ko sharmati huwi

The brook is melodiously descending from the high land

Putting the waves of Kawthar and Tasnim to embarrassment

(17)

aaeena sa shahid e qudrat ko dikhlati huwi

sang e reh se gah bachti gah takrati huwi

As if showing the mirror to Nature's beauty

Now evading now rowing against the rock in its way

(18)

chairti ja iss iraq e dil nasheen ke saaz ko

ae musafir dil samjhta hai teri awaz ko

Play in passing this orchestra of beautiful music

O wayfarer! The heart comprehends your music

(19)

laila e shab kholti hai aa ke jab zulf e rasa

daman e dil khenchti hai aabsharon ke sada

When the night's Layla unfurls her long hair

The sound of water‐falls allures the heart

(20)

vo khamoshi sham ki jis per takalum ho fida

vo darkhton per tafakkur ka saman chaya huwa

That silence of the night whose beauty surpasses speech

That state of silent meditation overshadowing the trees

(21)

kanpta phirta hai kya rang e shafaq kohsar per

khushnuma lagta hai ye ghazah tere rukhsar per

That dusk’s beauty which shivers along the mountain range

Very beautiful looks this rouge on your cheeks

(22)

ae hamala! dastan uss waqt ki koi suna

maskan e aabaay insan jab bana daman tera

O Himalah! Do relate to us some stories of the time

When your valleys became abode of Man’s ancestors

(23)

kuch bata uss seedhi sadi zindagi ka majra

dagh jis par ghaza rang e takalluf ka na tha

Relate something of the life without sophistication

Which had not been stained by the rouge of sophistication

(24)

Haan dikha de ae tasawwar phir woh subah o sham tu

dorh piche ki taraf ae ghardish e ayyam tu

O Imagination! Bring back that period

O Vicissitudes of Time speed backwards