Mohammed Ayub Betab’s poems are translated into English by Kalpna Singh-Chitnis from their Hindi translations by Agni Shekhar from the original Kashmiri.
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Mohammed Ayub Betab (June 1939 – December 2005 ) is a well known Kashmiri Poet. He was born in Shupyan, Kashmir, where his work is widely respected. He worked as a headmaster and retired from his job at the education department in 1997. His poetry has a unique style that sought admiration for him in literary circles. He is considered the best poet in Kashmir after Rasul Mir. Mohammed Ayub Betab shows his literary prowess in superb poetic expressions, especially in his short poems. Among his collections are “Gazal” (1996), “Lol” and “Maay.” However, many of his poems have remained unpublished. The turmoil in the Kashmir valley altogether had a severe impact on his sensibility, and he began to write smaller poems to vent to his anguish over the deaths and destruction of Kashmiri values, ethos, and culture. The collection of such poems was published in “Vetrawun Pyom” in 1998. Mohammed Ayub Betab was known as a noble and kind-hearted person. He passed away, suffering from a malignant disease at the age of sixty-seven.
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Living Corpse
If my soul had
not committed suicide
how would I had
been alive
today?
जीवित लाश
मेरी अंतरात्मा
नहीं करती
अगर आत्महत्या
कैसे मैं
ज़िन्दा होता आज
ज़िंदॅ लाश
म्योन ज़मीर
योदवय न करिहे ख्वोदकशी
अदॅ बु ज़िन्दॅ कति आसहा
~~~
Search
There is an unclaimed
corpse on the street
you must hurry as well
to find out if it’s yours.
तलाश
सड़क पर
एक लावारिस शव
तुम भी जल्दी से जाकर देखो
कहीं तुम्हारा ही तो नहीं
छ़ांडव
बे-शिनाख्त लाश वति प्यठ
नेर वल्य च़ति पानॅ
चाॅनी मा सना !!
~~~
Advise
Sir, this is the last stick,
in the matchbox,
keep it safe.
Who knows, there might be some home
still left to be set on fire.
सलाह
अंतिम है
यह दियासलाई
इसे सम्भाल कर रखें ,जिनाब !
क्या पता कोई घर
अभी हो जलाना बाकी
मशवरॅ
छव पत्रिम तुज
तुह्य रछिथ थविव जिनाब
क्या खबर मा आसि गरॅ काँह
ज़ालॅनय
~~~
Identity
Oh, Dove!
Why you shut your eyes.
The hunter bird has seen you.
पहचान
कबूतर रे ,
क्यों मीच लीं आंखें
देख लिया वारिल्य* पाखी ने तुझको
प्रज़नथ
कोतरो
अछ कथ वच्यथ
वाॅरिल्य वुछुख
~~~
Temperament
The winter is in
full blossom.
A saffron flower in hand
emits the fire of spring.
स्वभाव
प्रफुल्ल है
यह शरदकाल
हाथ में केसर का पुष्प
वसंत की लपट लिए
खसलथ
पो’त हरदॅकाल
क्वंगपोष यो’द
म्वछि मंज़ छु
रेह ह्यथ सोंतिच
~~~
Straightforward
Folks,
even if you pick diamonds
instead of stones
to throw at me
it would still hurt my body.
दो टूक
लोगो,
पत्थरों के बदले
यदि तुम हीरे भी मारो
तब भी
तन घायल होगा ही
पास
कनि बदल यो’द लाल तुह्य
लाॅयिव लुकव
तोति गछ़ि छोकदाॅव्य तन
~~~
Kungi
Poet Rasul *Mir
don’t tell
don’t ever tell
that his beloved *Kungi
is in the captivation of the foreigners.
कुंगी
कवि रसुल मीर* को
नहीं बताना
कभी न बताना
कि उसकी कुंगी*
गिरिफ्त में है परदेसियों के
स्व क्वंग
यिनॅ रसुल मीरस वनिव
‘ क्वंग’ तसिंज़
गॉमुच़ छै व्वन्य
परदेसॅ बुज़्य
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Agni Shekhar, born in 1955 in Srinagar, Kashmir, is an eminent contemporary Hindi poet, writer, translator, and folklorist. He is the author of six poetry collections and several widely acclaimed research papers on the sociological aspects of Kashmiri lore. His notable book – Kisi Bhi Samay (At Any Moment), is a collection of poetry published in 1992 has two sections: “Kram” (“Sequence”), and “Visthapit Kashmir” (Displaced Kashmir). He has translated the works of selected modern Kashmiri poetry into Hindi. Agni Shekhar is the recipient of various awards and honors and has lived in exile in his own country since 1990. He is also a human rights activist, fighting for the rights of his fellow Kashmiris living in exile. Contact: agnishekharinexile(at)gmail.com
Kalpna Singh-Chitnis (कल्पना सिंह) is an Indian American poet, writer, and Editor-in-Chief of Life and Legends. Her poems, essays, and translations have appeared in notable journals like World Literature Today, California Quarterly, Indian Literature, Pirene’s Fountain, etc. She has published four poetry collections in English and Hindi, and her work has been translated into many languages. Her full-length poetry collection Bare Soul (Partridge) was awarded the 2017 Naji Naaman Literary Prize for Creativity. Her poems and translations have been included in several anthologies. The most recent among them are 100 Great Indian Poems (Bloomsbury, India) Unseen (Skylark Publications, UK), Collateral Damage, and Carrying the Branch Poets in Search of Peace (Glass Lyre Press, USA). Kalpna Singh-Chitnis participated in the “Silk Routes” project of the International Writing Program at the University of Iowa from 2014-2016. She has read her work at Sahitya Akademi, India’s highest academy of letters, Poets & Writers, and AWP. A former lecturer of Political Science, Kalpna Singh-Chitnis holds a degree in Film Directing from the New York Film Academy and works as an independent filmmaker in Hollywood. Her awards and honors include – Rajiv Gandhi Global Excellence Award (2014), Bihar Shri (1988), and Bihar Rajbhasha Award (1987), given by the government of Bihar, India. Website: www.kalpnasinghchitnis.com
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