Tag: Pakistan Academy of Letters

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Poetry

Every Day

Poetry by Hafeez Rauf, translated by Fazal Baloch

Hafeez Rauf

Hafeez Rauf belongs to the generation of the poets who emerged on the literary landscape in the early 2000s. Homelessness, exile, uprootedness and related agony are the recurrent themes of his poetry.

How far will the last 
sigh of the smoke stretch,
Rising from the tires
Burning in the distance?

The road lies closed --
No longer offers a passage.
Women and children,
Youths and elders --
All surrounded by an 
ever-rising wall of helplessness.

How far can their hands,
their voices reach?

Meanwhile,
A crumbling wall,
In the wall, a decayed door,
And the door gazes at the occasional passerby,
Stretching its sight as far as it can see.

It watches the deserted roads
With the frantic eyes of a man
Who, after losing something, 
searches his pockets in despair.

Where will this caravan of smoke lead?
The door just gazes.
From Public Domain

Fazal Baloch is a Balochi writer and translator. He has translated many Balochi poems and short stories into English. His translations have been featured in Pakistani Literature published by Pakistan Academy of Letters and in the form of books and anthologies. Fazal Baloch has the translation rights.

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Categories
Poetry

Eight Short Poems by Munir Momin

Translated from Balochi by Fazal Baloch

                   A POEM
     Like a mat, we laid out the night,
 And birds adorned the jungle around their feet,
     Heart —- an ocean, and within the ocean,
   Each tide wore shackles around their feet.


A POEM

Everyday,
Time slips through my hands,
Like millet grains.
Would that you were a bird,
You'd be my guest!

A SCENE

Crystalline shards
Of shattered smiles,
Once they pierce the eyes,
The world, like a teardrop,
Seeks an escape
Towards the lap.


A POEM

Just an evening,
From the seasons of your eyes,
Let my heart
Soar for a moment,
With the birds of silence.


STARS
If one night,
Suddenly,
Stars scatter across my eyes,
I’ll cast my eyes at your lap,
And spread the sky,
Upon the earth.


WAITING 

With the same pace and rhythm,
They sail ahead --
Yet the moon reaches the shore,
Long before the boats.

MELODIES AT DAWN

“Is there someone, each night who comes,
Sprinkling on the city's somnolent birds,
The colourful melodies of her words?”

“What secrets do I hold? What sights I’ve seen?
In the ambiance, a beauty sifted through,
Casting a strange, enchanting sheen,
Painting hues on voices, wings and silence.”


WORLD

In a bottle,
Carved from your beauty
I’ve preserved for me
A lush green moment of spring --
A nest,
In the nest,
A sweet birdsong.
A window,
Every morning it opens 
To a melodious overture of sea-waves
And a cold, bright moment of solitude --
Like a tear drop,
The size of a tiny pearl,
Sustaining you, me and my God.

Munir Momin is a contemporary Balochi poet widely cherished for his sublime art of poetry. Meticulously crafted images, linguistic finesse and profound aesthetic sense have earned him a distinguished place in Balochi literature. His poetry speaks through images, more than words. Momin’s poetry flows far beyond the reach of any ideology or socio-political movement. Nevertheless, he is not ignorant of the stark realities of life. The immenseness of his imagination and his mastery over the language rescues his poetry from becoming the part of any mundane narrative. So far Munir has published seven collections of his poetry and an anthology of short stories. His poetry has been translated into Urdu, English and Persian.  He also edits a literary journal called Gidár.

Fazal Baloch is a Balochi writer and translator. He has translated many Balochi poems and short stories into English. His translations have been featured in Pakistani Literature published by Pakistan Academy of Letters and in the form of books and anthologies.

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PLEASE NOTE: ARTICLES CAN ONLY BE REPRODUCED IN OTHER SITES WITH DUE ACKNOWLEDGEMENT TO BORDERLESS JOURNAL

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Categories
Poetry

Human by Manzur Bismil

Translated from Balochi by Fazal Baloch 

In the city,
Those who know me,
Look at me through two different perspectives:

"You're peerless,
So pure,
We need souls like yours
To grace our world,
May your shadow endure forever."

"If more souls like yours,
Doomed and dark,
Taint our land,
Our trees will wither,
You're a stain, a blight
On the fabric of our world,
May you end up in shadows unseen."

Yet as I weigh my deeds
And ponder deeply,
A voice echoes deep within me,
Unfurling the truth:
“I am a human,
A fragment of my heart is housed by God
And the devil seeks to take over the rest.”

In this city,
Those who know me
Look at me through two different perspectives.
For if I am truly a human,
How can I be stripped of my share 
From either?

Manzur Bismil is a prominent Balochi poet. He emerged on the literary scene in the early 1990s and soon rose to fame, creating a niche for himself in the pantheon of the Balochi poets. He is widely known for his neo-classic style, especially in his verses. So far he has published eight anthologies of his poetry. This poem is taken from the second edition of “Hoshken Kaaneeg” published in 2017.

Fazal Baloch is a Balochi writer and translator. He has translated many Balochi poems and short stories into English. His translations have been featured in Pakistani Literature published by Pakistan Academy of Letters and in the form of books and anthologies. Fazal Baloch has the translation rights of of this poem from the poet. 

PLEASE NOTE: ARTICLES CAN ONLY BE REPRODUCED IN OTHER SITES WITH DUE ACKNOWLEDGEMENT TO BORDERLESS JOURNAL

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Categories
Poetry

The Fire-grinding Quern

Poetry by Manzur Bismil, translated from Balochi by Fazal Baloch

Manzur Bismil
In my head,
Bustles a world
With the sun, the moon, and the earth.
In this vast realm,
A stream of light gives voice to my thoughts.
Yet, amidst this brilliance,
A quern has ground fire.
From that fire, pours forth the light.

In my head,
Exists a world
With the sun, the moon, and the earth.
I am an ant, a worm,
Snuggled in a hole,
Somewhere in the corner of that vastness.
My 'sovereign head',
Unaware of the world's flux,
Mute and silent,
Brings no tidings,
Indifferent to all,
Ignorant of the spectrum of life.
I'm an ant, yearning for light,
A worm, a firefly in the dark!

Manzur Bismil is a prominent Balochi poet. He emerged on the literary scene in the early 1990s and soon rose to fame, creating a niche for himself in the pantheon of the Balochi poets. He is widely known for his neo-classic style, especially in his verses. So far he has published eight anthologies of his poetry. This poem is taken from the second edition of “Hoshken Kaaneeg” published in 2017.

Fazal Baloch is a Balochi writer and translator. He has translated many Balochi poems and short stories into English. His translations have been featured in Pakistani Literature published by Pakistan Academy of Letters and in the form of books and anthologies. Fazal Baloch has the translation rights of of this poem from the poet.

PLEASE NOTE: ARTICLES CAN ONLY BE REPRODUCED IN OTHER SITES WITH DUE ACKNOWLEDGEMENT TO BORDERLESS JOURNAL

Click here to access the Borderless anthology, Monalisa No Longer Smiles

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Categories
Stories

The Yellow Flower

By Haneef Sharif, translated from Balochi by Fazal Baloch

He had only two dreams in his life: first, to plant a yellow flower in the courtyard, and second, to die before the flower could bloom.

He wandered aimlessly through the streets. Just as he was about to turn the corner near the supermarket, he spotted a short-statured man with a bald head, wearing mismatched shoes, and carrying a briefcase. Memories of Mr. Hunchback flooded his mind, and he was nearly hit by a bus as he stood in the road absentmindedly. The driver slammed on the brakes abruptly, jolting all the passengers from their seats. Thus, he was saved. For weeks, he avoided going back, overwhelmed by fear. He dreaded the thought of venturing to the corner of the supermarket, fearing that he might meet with an accident and eventually die, unable to fulfill his desire of planting a yellow flower in the courtyard.

One day, however, he found himself wandering through those streets again. Whether it was a stroke of fate or a design of God, he spotted the same short-statured man who resembled Mr. Hunchback. The man was carrying the same briefcase he would take to the classroom. All the curious children wished that someone would open the briefcase so they could see its contents, but the fear of Mr. Hunchback kept them from getting close to him. Thus, nobody could ever discovered the secret hidden within the briefcase.

Out of the blue, he was startled by a loud honking horn. He faltered and almost fell down. A bus had stopped just before him. It seemed like divine intervention that he wasn’t run over. The driver looked at him with what appeared to be pity. He wondered why he wanted to die; what made him attempt suicide because the moment the bus took a turn he leapt in its path. If it was not for the bend in the road, causing the bus to slow down, he would have not narrowly escaped a second brush with death.

He moved away from the path of the bus, concealing his fear of death, holding his heartbeat, and resumed walking. As he distanced himself, his gaze fell upon a young girl standing on the balcony of her apartment. Her head was bowed, engrossed in something on her mobile screen. She wore blue jeans and a grey shirt, standing with one foot gracefully placed over the other.

He stood there for a while, captivated by the sight of the girl, who remained oblivious to his presence. Moments later, a young man of her age came in and wrapped his arm around her waist, startling her for a moment. Soon after, she leaned her head on his shoulder and their lips met for a fleeting moment him before they disappeared into the apartment.

He lingered there, waiting for someone to appear, but no one did. He remained fixated on the balcony, indifferent to the passing buses and pedestrians carrying briefcases. His attention was drawn to a vase on the balcony with a yellow flower. Yellow was a colour he associated with death. Whenever he spotted the colour, he would pressume someone must have died or was about to die somewhere. He avoided yellow taxis or buses and refrained from downloading anything of that hue. He was puzzled by those who chose to paint their houses yellow.

On that particular day, the balcony he had been observing was painted entirely in yellow, including the door and the entire building. He couldn’t explain why he hadn’t noticed this before, even the girl had worn yellow earrings. Despite regularly visiting the street after his initial encounter with the girl, she never appeared on the balcony again. He began to suspect that the girl had died, but he couldn’t fathom how it had happened. Then, that day, as he gazed at the balcony, contemplating death, the door suddenly swung open, revealing the very girl he had been musing about for several days. She stood there, surveying the street below.

“Did she see me or not?” He wondered without any reason.

As she glanced downward, a bus sped by, stirring in him a disdain for buses. He quickly redirected his attention to the girl, who then approached the yellow flower, gazing at it with sorrowful eyes. As she began to caress its petals, her eyes welled up with tears. And as she sobbed, her tears fell onto the yellow petals. In that moment, he thought someday, he would plant a yellow flower and before the flower could bloom, he would commit suicide.

(An Excerpt from Hanif Sharif’s recent novel “Afsanah” brought out be Adab Publisher in Balochi, translated by Fazal Baloch)

Dr. Haneef Shareef, a trained medical professional, is one of the most cherished contemporary Balochi fiction writers and film directors. So far, he has published two collections of short stories and one novel. His peculiar mode of narration has rendered him a distinguished place among the Balochi fiction writers. He has also directed four Balochi movies.

Fazal Baloch is a Balochi writer and translator. He has translated many Balochi poems and short stories into English. His translations have been featured in Pakistani Literature published by Pakistan Academy of Letters and in the form of books and anthologies. He has the translation rights to Haneef Shareef’s works. 

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Categories
Poetry

The White Lady by Atta Shad

Translated from Balochi by Fazal Baloch 

O, White Lady!

Your alluring figure,

With seductive gestures

And sway of your gentle gait,

Sets lamps aquiver

In shame and discomfiture.



O, White Lady!

Your flower-adorned hair,

At times, gleams red,

At times, shines black,

At times, turns grey.

The morning and evening breeze

Tousle them in shameful disarray.

Women, sneer at you

As with comely grace

Their exquisite clothes they array.

Atta Shad (1939-1997) is the most revered and cherished modern Balochi poet. He instilled a new spirit in the moribund body of modern Balochi poetry in the early 1950s when the latter was drastically paralysed by the influence of Persian and Urdu poetry. Atta Shad gave a new orientation to modern Balochi poetry by giving a formidable ground to the free verse, which also brought in its wake a chain of new themes and mode of expression hitherto untouched by Balochi poets. Apart from the popular motifs of love and romance, subjugation and suffering, freedom and liberty, life and its absurdities are a few recurrent themes which appear in Shad’s poetry. What sets Shad apart from the rest of Balochi poets is his subtle, metaphoric and symbolic approach while versifying socio-political themes. He seemed more concerned about the aesthetic sense of art than anything else.

Shad’s poetry anthologies include Roch Ger and Shap Sahaar Andem, which were later collected in a single anthology under the title Gulzameen, posthumously published by the Balochi Academy Quetta in 2015.

Fazal Baloch is a Balochi writer and translator. He has translated many Balochi poems and short stories into English. His translations have been featured in Pakistani Literature published by Pakistan Academy of Letters and in the form of books and anthologies. Fazal Baloch has the translation rights of Atta Shad from the publisher.

PLEASE NOTE: ARTICLES CAN ONLY BE REPRODUCED IN OTHER SITES WITH DUE ACKNOWLEDGEMENT TO BORDERLESS JOURNAL

Click here to access the Borderless anthology, Monalisa No Longer Smiles

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Categories
Poetry

Short poems by Mulla Fazul

Translated from Balochi by Fazal Baloch

Balochi poet Mulla Fazlul

Mulla Fazul (died around 1858) is considered one of the greatest poets of classical period. He is credited to have assigned new dimensions to classical Balochi poetry in terms of themes and diction. He also wielded equal command in Arabic and Persian languages which is evident in his poetry. The following poems have been taken from the anthology called, Drapshokin Sohail1, compiled and edited by Faqeer Shad.

MY BELOVED



Like the moon of the fourteenth night,

My beloved’s face glows bright.

She is the lightning on rainclouds,

Above the mountains that does strike,

Or a pomegranate 

That ripens in weeks

Its blooming buds. 

How desperately my ailing heart seeks!





WORLD



She seduces and ensnares a stranger

And her husband she cheats on and betrays.

The world is an unfaithful woman,

Each day she flirts in a new way.





HATRED TOWARDS BRETHREN



If a man harbours

Hatred towards his brother,

Off his sanity and wisdom will go.

The comforts of his abode

Away the scorching wind will blow

And soon the foemen

Subdue him with the sword.





DISUNITY


In disunity, what will you gain, after all?

The sun has gone past the horizons. 

Night has descended on the world.

It’s dark wherever I cast a glance.

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  1. Translation from Balochi: A Shining Star in Ursa Minor ↩︎

Fazal Baloch is a Balochi writer and translator. He has translated many Balochi poems and short stories into English. His translations have been featured in Pakistani Literature published by Pakistan Academy of Letters and in the form of books and anthologies.

PLEASE NOTE: ARTICLES CAN ONLY BE REPRODUCED IN OTHER SITES WITH DUE ACKNOWLEDGEMENT TO BORDERLESS JOURNAL

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Categories
Poetry

Moonlight

Balochi poem by Bashir Baidar, translated by Fazal Baloch

O kind and gentle moonlight!
In your embrace, hold me tight.
Like a mother, rock me with love
And chant to me the songs of delight.
 
Like the luminous rainbow
On lofty hills and mountains,
Shower pearls of light
On vast fields and arid plains.
 
Look at the downcast hamlets,
The mute and deserted pathways,
Where like a graveyard life stands
Perpetually silent and dismayed.
 
Fathom the pain of the blue sea,
Listen to the shrieks of the tides.
Night cried again the last night,
Look at the dewdrops far and wide.
 
I wonder at these canyons,
Barren caverns, and pastures --
These made wretched by time.
Will your bright scarf ever flutter?
 
If we do not reap the harvest of heads,
Of corpses, floods will not surge.
After all, how will a rainbow form
On earth, if the sky doesn’t rain blood?
 
How long will the night linger on
To kill all the stars one by one,
Smother the twilight over and over again!
Yet, I am sure, there will be a new dawn.

Bashir Baidar belongs to the generation of the Balochi poets that emerged on the horizons of Balochi literature in the 1960s. Drawing inspiration from Progressive Writers Movement, Baidar’s poetry is widely cherished for his political undertone. So far, he has published four anthologies of his poetry. This Poem originally featured in poet’s third collection of poetry “Mahikaan” (Moonlight), published by Gaam Publication Gwadar in 2011.

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Fazal Baloch is a Balochi writer and translator. He has translated many Balochi poems and short stories into English. His translations have been featured in Pakistani Literature published by Pakistan Academy of Letters and in the form of books and anthologies.

PLEASE NOTE: ARTICLES CAN ONLY BE REPRODUCED IN OTHER SITES WITH DUE ACKNOWLEDGEMENT TO BORDERLESS JOURNAL

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Categories
Poetry

Kiyya and Sadu

A part of a Balochi ballad translated by Fazal Baloch with a brief introduction by the translator

Courtesy: Creative Commons

The love story of Kiyya and Sadu is very famous among the Baloch. An anonymous poet has versified the whole story in the form of a romantic ballad in lucid yet captivating language, this story of Kiyya, a young man from western Balochistan, and Sadu, who hailed from Makkuran. When a devastating draught hit the region, Kiyya along with his herd migrated from his hometown and camped somewhere in coastal area of Balochistan. One day by the river, he ran into a fair maiden, Sadu. He was struck by her charm so much that he fell in love with her instantly. He approached Sadu’s father and asked for his daughter’s hand in marriage. Since Kiyya was the member of an illustrious tribe, Sadu’s father accepted his marriage proposal.

A few days later, Kiyya took leave from Sadu’s father asking him that he would come back just in a few days after making necessary preparation for the marriage. However, he did not return in the stipulated time. Time went by. Neither did Kiyya showed up nor did come any message from him. In the meantime, some other men approached Sadu’s father with the desire to tie the knot with Sadu. His father was caught in a dilemma. He had given his words to Kiyya who had almost forgotten his commitment. On the other hand, age was slowly creeping upon her daughter. While, Sadu was not in favour of tying the knot with another man. She wanted to wait for Kiyya. The following poem is the description of Sadu’s message to Kiyya through an emissary bird:

SADU SAYS TO THE BIRD --

O sweet singing lively bird! 
Red-eyed and pretty-winged, 

When you peck from harvested fields,
Bits of spring yields. 
But tiny grains of wild shrubs 
Wouldn’t ever feed ye. 

Come, alight onto the threshold of my hut, 
Away from rest of the flock -- 
I'll feed you with fragrant grains, 
With cardamoms and cloves.

I’ll spread them on my scarf 
And water I’ll give you in a silver cup. 
In the shade of my sable hair 
Perch on my shoulder and chirrup.

Nestle on my lap and sleep. 
Whenever you want to leave, 
Just coo and forewarn me. 
With civet-musk I’ll gild your beak, 
With rose-petals your wings,
I’ll dispatch the clouds of mist 
To sail you over.
 
Come and be my messenger 
From Belau*, all the way to Bahau*.
Of the lay of the land, I'll give you some clues. 
On the land that's called Bahau, 
A long river flows through.

Like Zamzam* its water sweet and scared,
Herds of camels and calves,
Roam and graze on the verdant meadows. 

A dome-shaped tree stands in grace and awe,
Like a camel’s foot appears its leaves,
Like a scorpion’s sting its spikes,
And branches like a tiger’s paw. 

Illustrious men have gathered by the royal court. 
In a row, sit the matchless warriors; 
In the next, the common folks; 
The blue-blooded Kalmatis*, in the third row.

Amongst them, there’s a man 
Dressed in exquisite robes.
Handsome of the most handsome fellows, 
Indeed, Kiyya is distinct 
In appearance and demeanour, 
His waist curved by the quiver,
By the glistening shield his shoulder.

Alight on his turban, chirping 
Ever so gently whisper in his ear, 
The message of Sadu I do bear 
Her message and good tidings.

Kiyya! O, you the unfaithful fellow 
You promised to return in ten days, 
But now it has already been 
Six months and a whole year.
You vowed to return but did not.


The lambs kept for the wedding feast
Have now all grown old.
Worms have devoured the flour.
Birds have pecked away the henna. 
Your bride has lost all her teeth.
The bridal incense has gathered dust.
Come if you must, 
Or henceforth someone else will replace you.

If you’ve fallen in love with someone else,
May death consume her! 
May a headache, a deadly cough 
And a slow fever claim her mother!
May no harm befall you ever!
It’s a loss alone I’m to suffer!

*Bahau: A place in Western Balochistan.
*Belau: A place in Eastern Balochistan
*Zamazam: A well located in Mecca, Saudi Arabia.
*Kalmati: Name of a Baloch tribe.

{Note from the translator: There are more than one version of this ballad with substantial difference in the text. This is an assortment of different sources primarily from Meeras, (The Heritage) (4th edition) compiled by Faquir Shad, and published by Fazul Adabi Caravan, Mand in 2016}

Fazal Baloch is a Balochi writer and translator. He has translated many Balochi poems and short stories into English. His translations have been featured in Pakistani Literature published by Pakistan Academy of Letters and in the form of books and anthologies.

.

PLEASE NOTE: ARTICLES CAN ONLY BE REPRODUCED IN OTHER SITES WITH DUE ACKNOWLEDGEMENT TO BORDERLESS JOURNAL

Click here to access the Borderless anthology, Monalisa No Longer Smiles

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Categories
Poetry

Balochi Poetry by Munir Momin

Translated by Fazal Baloch

Courtesy: Creative Commons
WAKEFUL STAYS THE DOOR  

Fear—a lustrous ring
gleams in a moment 
and fades in the next.
The wind sweeps through
the streets and alleys.
When silence clings to one’s feet,
voices echo into existence.

After all, how long,
how long can dogs bark?
The moment, the heart regresses,
eyes make a retreat.
Just a while before they withdraw,
a shred of cloud appears beside the moon 
and veils the ring.
Dreams hold the
whole world in a pledge. 
Wakeful just stays the door.

Night waits for the moment
when the maidservant drifts to sleep.
From collar to sleeves
down to the edge of the lap,
whispers of her robe float in the wind.
But who would hear that?
Mountains fly like birds,
but who would see them?

Lamps go down into the graves of eyes
and whispers entwine around the hands.
Onlookers who bear witness cease to exist.
Without any aim or purpose,
Wage or greed,
Words or vow,
wakeful stays the door.

Munir Momin is a contemporary Balochi poet widely cherished for his sublime art of poetry. Meticulously crafted images, linguistic finesse and profound aesthetic sense have earned him a distinguished place in Balochi literature. His poetry speaks through images, more than words. Momin’s poetry flows far beyond the reach of any ideology or socio-political movement. Nevertheless, he is not ignorant of the stark realities of life. The immenseness of his imagination and his mastery over the language rescues his poetry from becoming the part of any mundane narrative. So far Munir has published seven collections of his poetry and an anthology of short stories. His poetry has been translated into Urdu, English and Persian.  He also edits a literary journal called Gidár.

Fazal Baloch is a Balochi writer and translator. He has translated many Balochi poems and short stories into English. His translations have been featured in Pakistani Literature published by Pakistan Academy of Letters and in the form of books and anthologies.

.

PLEASE NOTE: ARTICLES CAN ONLY BE REPRODUCED IN OTHER SITES WITH DUE ACKNOWLEDGEMENT TO BORDERLESS JOURNAL

Click here to access the Borderless anthology, Monalisa No Longer Smiles

Click here to access Monalisa No Longer Smiles on Kindle Amazon International