Wednesday, April 18, 2012

Wish I was a bird...

A Poem by Shri Shiv Kumar Batalvi - A Noted Punjabi Poet



 
PaNCHi Ho JaavaaN

PaNCHi Ho JaavaaN - To Be A Bird
Jee chaahe paNCHi ho jaavaaN

UhDda jaavaaN, gaaoNda jaavaaN

An-CHuh sikharaaN nu CHoo paavaaN

Is duniya diyaaN raaHvaaN bhul ke

Fer kade na vaapas aavaaN.
I wish that I could be a bird.

That I could fly, that I could sing,

That I could touch untouchable peaks,

That I could forget the roads of this earth

And never return.
Ja ashnaan karaaN vich zam-zam

La DeekaaN peeyaaN Daan da paani.

Maan-sarovar de beh kaNDe

TuTa jeia ik geet maeN gaavaaN.

Ja baeTHaaN vich khiRiyaaN rohiyaaN

PhakaaN pauna itar sajoeeyaaN.

Him-TeesiyaaN moeeyaaN moeeyaaN

YugaaN yugaaN toN kakar hoeeyaaN

GhuT kaleje maeN garmaavaaN.

Jee chaahe paNCHi ho jaavaaN






I would bathe in holy wells,

Swallowing great gulps of bountiful water.

I would sit on the shore of a great lake,

And sing a halting song.


I would go into a flowering wilderness

And inhale the perfume-laden air.

I would warm the mountain peaks,

Frozen by centuries of coldness,

In a close embrace.

I wish that I could be a bird.
Hoe aalhna vich shatootaaN
JaaN vich jaND, kareer, sarooTaaN,

Aaon pure de seet faraaTe,

Lachkaare eyuN laen DaaliyaaN

JyuN koi Doli kheDe jaRiyaaN.



My nest would be among mulberry trees

In the caper, the mesquite or the cypress.

When the cold east wind blew,

The boughs would sway

Like children playing on swings.
Ik din aesa jhakhaR jhule

UD puD jaavan sabhe teele,

Be-ghar be-dar maeN ho jaavaaN.

Saari umar piyaaN ras gham da,

Aese nashe vich jiNd haNDHaavaaN

Jee chaahe paNCHi ho jaavaaN.

One day there would be such a storm,

That all the twigs would scatter.

Homeless, nestless, I would become.

For the rest of my life I would drink the
nectar of sorrow,

And live my life in its intoxication.

I wish that I could be a bird.