Farukh Dhondy unravels Rumi’s Sufi verse

Farukh Dhondy unravels Rumi’s Sufi verse

Indo-British writer Farukh Dhondy hadn’t read Persion Sufi poet Rumi, until he was given a translated anthology of Rumi on a flight to Australia., “After reading the translation, I realized that this was all junk! It was just random writing by people – it was neither poetry nor Sufism.”

Rumi was one of the greatest Sufi mystic widely read across the world. He was recently named the “most popular poet in America”.

Quite disheartened by what he read, Dhondy took it on himself to present a more accurate transalation of his poetry. I went to an uncle who reads Sufism in Persian,  and asked him to interpret Rumi for me. I also picked up the devanagiri and urdu versions, during my search for the right meaning. Translating the verse into lyrical English was a learning curve for me because I learnt the history of Sufism, about Rumi in depth.”

While most people have heard about Sufi music, Kabir’s dohas, Meerabai’s bhajans, Dhondy feels that there’s a vague idea floating around about Sufism.

He illustrates further, “I have tried to bring out the philosophy of Sufism in the book. Though I have used a modern language, I haven’t tried to give it a modern context – I  have stuck with the philosophical idea of Sufism  that humans should be in the service of the higher  being who is actually inside you. In India, the same idea comes to me in the Bhagwad Gita –you’re a drop in the ocean and our consciousness has distorted  reality…if you lose this consciousness you can merge with the reality.”

The author, who is a staunch atheist, had an almost divine experience while translating the poems, “The first time I read the poems, I was stuck by their beauty and meaning. I have taken random bits from Rumi’s main works, Masnavi and Diwan-e Shams-e Tabrizi and translated them into English lyrical renditions. You can classify them as biblical and philosophical love poems – not the love of teenager but love of human beings for Gods, he says about his translation of Rumi’s poems.

After this divine rendezvous with poetry, does he see himself penning verses, “Hmmm… I have never written poetry as such, it’s even presumptuous to call your verse poetry, except love letters to girls in sonnet forms.  Though, I can see myself writing translations of other Indian poets.”

source: http://www.books.hindustantimes.com / by Sonakshi Babbar / November 28th, 2011

English Translations of Urdu Poetry - spanning 300 years upto 19th Century

Urdu Poetry : An Anthology upto 19th Century

Translated and romanised into English by Shah Abdus Salam 

and published by Shah Abdus Salam  Vedam Books, B R Paperback, 2002, x, 325 p

Selections of 20 Celebrated Poets with time periods ranging from 1565 upto 1862

spanning nearly 300 years.

Contents:
Preface.
1. Mohammad Quli Qutub Shah (1565-1611).
2. Valii Mohammad Valii Dakkini (1667-1707).
3. Sadruddin Mohammad Khan Faaiz (1690-1738).
4. Sirajuddin Siraj Aurangabadi (1715-1763).
 5. Shaikh Zahooruddin Haatim (1699-1782).
6. Mohammad Qayaamuddin Qaaim (1725-1793).
7. Mohammad Miir Soz Dihlavi (1720-1799).
8. Mirza Mohammad Rafi Sauda (1713-1781).
9. Khwaja Miir Dard Dihlavi (1720-1784).
10. Miir Mohammad Taqi Miir (1722-1810).
11. Inshaa-ullah Khan Insha (1752-1818).
12. Ghulaam Hamdaani Mus-hafi (1750-1824).
13. Shaikh Qalandar Bukhsh Jurat (1748-1810).
14. Saadat Yaar Khan Rangiin (1757-1835).
15. Shaikh Imaam Bukhsh Naasikh (1771-1838).
16. Khwaja Haider Ali Aatish (1777-1847).
17. Shaikh Mohammad Ibrahiim Zauq (1788-1855).
18. Mirza Asadullah Khan Ghaalib (1797-1869).
19. Hakiim Momin Khaan Momin (1801-1852).
20. Bahadur Shah Zafar (1775-1862).


"This book has been produced in pursuance of the idiomatically exact vocabulary translation of selected Urdu verses. It consists of selection of verses of 20 well known Urdu poets (from 16 century down to the middle of 19 century) representing the Deccan, Delhi and Lucknow School of Poetry. The selections have been made from Ghazals only excluding other forms of verses because Ghazal is the soul and essence of Urdu poetry. The Ghazals included in this volume are carefully selected and different levels of composition of a poet are adequately represented.

The care taken to maintain Verbal Tranlation
Versified translation has been avoided, instead a verbal translation in prose form is given to ensure that the thoughts and visions of the poet are conveyed to the reader to the fullest possible extent. Brief footnotes on the socio-cultural background of the verses and the idiomatic uses of words and phrases are also provided wherever necessary. A brief bio-graphical note is also given in the beginning of each section which will help the reader in relating the poet to his social and literary environment.
The book presents the couplets of Ghazals in Urdu script with its romanized pronunciation along with its English rendering and translation."