You will have to forget all about infatuation
Try embarking upon on the journey of love!
This is the title of one of the most renowned Sufi poetry ever, which was presented as a Qawwali by the legend Nusrat Fateh Ali Khan. Since Urdu is one of the most poetic languages of the world, the deep lyrics of this Qawwali amaze audiences all around the world. The Qawwali begins with a few Raags. A Raag is a type of vocal exercise the performers do usually at the beginning and in the middle of the Qawwali. They have no meaning if you listen to them at a glance , but if you delve deep in its core, you will be amazed by the might of profoundness the meaning possesses.
After the melodious Raags, Nusrat starts by saying the first verse. The first verse as well as the entire Qawwali is actually differentiating between real love and infatuation. How difficult real love is and how easy infatuation is.
You will not mock my suffering then…
When you have tried giving your heart to someone
The next verse is basically a reply to the people who scoff at a lover’s pain. Only a true lover understands the pain of another true lover, hence to understand my pain, you have to experience it yourself as well.
Wound upon wound… inflicted
Sip after sip… of your own blood
Let out not a sigh, seal you lips
This is love, not infatuation!
This is an extension of the last verse and thus epitomizes the pain of the lover. The poet is implying that you have been wounded by your lover but still your suffering is not over until you sip the blood that is drawing out of these wounds and consequently let not a sigh out, this is love not mere lust.
Love is no child’s play
Think of it not as water, this is fire!
The poet now uses a metaphor ( which he has used multiple times during the poem ). He describes the difficulty of fulfilling a relationship like fire, not water.
This love is not easy
Think of it this way…
It is a river of fire…
And you must drown to cross!
This is my favorite verse out of all. This doesn’t make much sense when translated into English but in Urdu, this verse is a marvel. Another metaphor used by the poet to exemplify the difficulty of true love. Love is like fire, as he exclaimed in the previous verse, but this time it is like a river of fire. Just imagine a river of fire, and now think of going into its depth, so as if you are drowning. Did you imagine the pain? The anguish of the excruciating heat amalgamated with zero breath. Accompanying that pain, you have to get to the other side. The difficulty of this task is the same as the difficulty of fulfilling a relationship. Yes now you have understood love. Now you have forgotten infatuation.
Translation from:
Tumhein dillagi bhool jani pare gi (English Translation)
Enjoy the Qawwali in good sound quality (English subtitles available)
As you stated this is extremely deep. I noticed that you said the translation from Urdu to English (in the last stanza) did not make much sense. I wonder why that is. It makes you think about how many other concepts are lost in translation. Perhaps it is just the complexity of Urdu, or maybe it is simply the difference in language.
Urdu is considered as one of the most beautiful languages and also one of the most poetic languages, hence I have to spend ample time researching on the web to write these blogs. Moreover, this poetry and music is the only thing I want to actually be a part of so it definitely means a lot to me. It would be very difficult to explain my connection with this to you because of the depth it possesses.
This song seems like it would be really beautiful in Urdu! As you noted, it is a complicated translation into English but I like the meaning it seems to have when I read it! I like how you break down the songs and take it verse by verse to help your readers understand the true meaning of what’s going on.
The translation of this song appears to be quite complicated and I am impressed. Urdu must be a difficult language to know? I am just curious if you have a personal connection to this song or what you think about it. I learned a lot of what the song means, but what does it mean to you??