My Fatigue Goes Away

My Fatigue Goes Away

Persuaded by a dear friend, I recently translated a few Hindi poems in English and somewhere along the line started enjoying it. In keeping with that mood, here’s my translation of Ram Avtar Tyagi’s ‘मेरी थकन उतर जाती है‘ . Born in March 1925, in Moradabad district (tehsil Sambhal) of the state of Uttar Pradesh in India, he was a post graduate from Delhi University. Famous progressive Hindi poet Ramdhari Singh Dinkar believes that Tyagi’s poetry is a testimony of new experiments in the Hindi language in terms of idioms, phrases and the so-called new age lexicon of the time. First the original, followed by the translation.

मेरी थकन उतर जाती है

हारे थके मुसाफिर के चरणों को धोकर पी लेने से
मैंने अक्सर यह देखा है मेरी थकन उतर जाती है ।

कोई ठोकर लगी अचानक
जब-जब चला सावधानी से
पर बेहोशी में मंजिल तक
जा पहुँचा हूँ आसानी से
रोने वाले के अधरों पर अपनी मुरली धर देने से
मैंने अक्सर यह देखा है, मेरी तृष्णा मर जाती है ।

प्यासे अधरों के बिन परसे,
पुण्य नहीं मिलता पानी को
याचक का आशीष लिये बिन
स्वर्ग नहीं मिलता दानी को
खाली पात्र किसी का अपनी प्यास बुझा कर भर देने से
मैंने अक्सर यह देखा है मेरी गागर भर जाती है ।

लालच दिया मुक्ति का जिसने
वह ईश्वर पूजना नहीं है
बन कर वेदमंत्र-सा मुझको
मंदिर में गूँजना नहीं है
संकटग्रस्त किसी नाविक को निज पतवार थमा देने से
मैंने अक्सर यह देखा है मेरी नौका तर जाती है ।

– रामावतार त्यागी

My fatigue goes away

 

Drinking the feet-washed water of a down and tired traveler,

I have often seen, makes my fatigue go away.

 

I abruptly stumbled
each time I walked carefully

but in unconsciousness
reached destination effortlessly.

Placing a flute on the lips of a crier,

I have often seen, makes my desire perish away.

 

Water does not achieve holiness
until touched by thirsty lips,

Without the blessings of a beggar

the alms-giver finds no heavenly bliss

Quenching one’s own thirst and filling someone’s empty dish with water,

I have often seen, makes my pot brim away.

 

The one who tempts to offer freedom

such a God needs no praise

To be a Veda mantra

reverberating in temples, I do not crave.

Giving one’s oars to an endangered mariner,

I have often seen, makes my boat sail away.

4 thoughts on “My Fatigue Goes Away

  1. wonderful poem and translation…life itself and what we do has no meaning without being there for another so to speak and so well said.

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