When I look at his picture,
I feel profoundly amazed,
And glazed with a thought,
That youth is such a wonderful time!
He is a bit older than Pakistan,
But he is!
He is fighting Diabetes,
Now he has gone old,
Now he is weak,
He can’t handle physical works,
He needs a rest,
I love him so much,
I respect him so much,
He is even older than Pakistan,
After my father has gone old, people have started gossips
That he has to go soon!
To the eternal peace!
When a person gets old,
Then people start guessing about the remaining days,
I have observed,
I have heard,
Many of them guessed,
but they have gone before of my Dad,
Sometimes I think,
Is that really what it is?
As all our judgments go right,
No, I guess, not!
Eventually, he has to go,
Because he is even older than Pakistan,
I am his son,
I am young,
I have strength,
He loves me a lot,
He is like a shelter to me under the tropical sun’
He is the bank of River Indus’
He is my support’
Whenever, I flashback my memories,
Pertaining to the time when he would have carried me up on his lap,
He would have kissed me with love,
He would have felt joy,
As I was his produce of his semen,
How dear is the produce of semen?
One can understand the joy of who has children,
This is the affection,
This is want,
This is about feelings,
Whatever it may be,
The zest of it is sweeter than honey,
I am his produce,
He loves me,
That cannot be measured,
There is no limit for it,
No counting,
I am looking at my father’s picture,
And warm tears are dropping down the cheeks
Absorbing on the floor,
People’s judgmental scathes,
Becoming nightmare for me,
Shows me horrible images,
I think of him,
My father who is even older than Pakistan,
Spending his remaining days in loneliness,
He is in deep thinking too,
He is almost lost in thoughts,
He gets alerted on slight matters,
Because he has gone weak,
He recalls his youth certainly,
I still remember,
When I was a kid,
I asked him,
‘’How old are you’’
He laughed, and replied
‘’ I am older than Pakistan’’
In that little age,
I felt so proud,
That my father was even older than Pakistan,
A little more may be but he is.
I met him few months back,
On my visit back home,
I was caught by surprise when I looked at him,
He was not doing well at all,
His health had gone so down,
I asked him instantly to go with me,
And live with me now on,
He refused and gave excuses,
That he wants to die where was he born,
he said,
‘’Karachi is gone suffocated’’
‘’People have come intolerant’’
‘’pollution has gone up’’
‘’over crowded city’’
‘’too much traffic
‘’ and won’t be able to go out of your house’’
‘’ here at least I go outside’’
‘’Walk around in streets and roads’’
‘’ get my legs relaxed’’
‘’ in Karachi, that will not be possible’’
‘’climbing steps is a hard for me’’
He assured me that he will come to visit
I have been waiting till then,
But,
My father has not come yet,
I have been asking him to come,
But he always reply the same,
‘’ I will come, soon’’
In fact, I am worried about him.
The people’s gossips have echoed in my mind so deep,
My father who is even older than Pakistan,
He is so weak,
People are now looking forward for his pass away,
Sooner, or later he will pass away,
The old things get obsolete,
And for obsolete things people think the same way.
One day, Death has to knock our door,
Even though human being is a superior to other beings,
But human has to get caught by Angel of Death one day,
He breaks down and dies
Only Left over is the memories.
My father who is even older than Pakistan,
People make such judgments every day,
I wish I could impart,
And I would have given him good health,
And my youth,
That’s my crave,
But
All we think cannot be possible
Father has to go,
Sooner or later,
He is the even older than Pakistan,
I resemble,
If father had gone,
So is that one day,
Pakistan will go too!
Everything on earth is mortal,
Ibn-e-Khaldoon has described the same,
Some days are for growth,
Some days are for the peak time,
And some are for downfall,
And then everything has to end
Yes
My father,
Yes
Pakistan,
And I will have to reach to end!
Everything will reach to end!
After everything finished
Another new world will emerge
So every end has its beginning,
Eventually new world will reach to an end,
Everything is on winding road of end,
My father
Pakistan
Myself
And we all
On our own way to end,
The end is the reality
The end will remain
The truth is that
The end is only endless.
_____________________
Note for the translator:
Especial thanks to Zahoor Soomro,
who bleongs to Shikarpur
but lives in London, UK for some years
He is very sensetive person
because he is a poet as well,
he writes poetry not only in English but Urdu too.
I'm thankful dear Zahoor for this toilsome work,
you obliged,
gave me honor and you transalted my verse
from Sindhi to English.
It is really a toilsome work.
Hisam Memon
October 26, 2012
هو پاڪستان کان ڪجهه وڏو آهي
مان هن سان انتهائي پيار ڪندو آهيان
هو مون لاءِ انتهائي قابلِ احترام آهي
هو پاڪستان کان به وڏو آهي
جڏهن بابا ڪمزور ٿي ويو آهي ته
اڄ نه سڀان هو پنهنجا ڏينهن پورا ڪري
ماڻهو جڏهن پوڙهو ٿي وڃي ٿو
ته دنيا اهڙا انومان پالي ٿي
هو ضرور مٽيءَ ماءُ حوالي ٿيندو
ڇو ته هو پاڪستان کان به وڏو آهي
هو مونکي انتهائي گهڻو پيار ڪندو آهي
هو مون لاءِ ٿڌي ڇانو جهڙو آهي
ڪڏهن هن مونکي ڪڇ ۾ کنيو هوندو
ته مان هن جي نطفي جو ڦل آهيان
نطفي جو ڦل ڪيترو مٺو ٿئي ٿو
هر اولاد وارو شخص ڄاڻي ٿو
ان جو ذائقو ماکي کان وڌ آهي
مان پنهنجي بابا جي تصوير ڏسان ٿو
مون اڳيان ازدها بڻجي اچن ٿا
بابا جيڪو پاڪستان کان به وڏو آهي
هاڻي هو ننڍي ڳالهه تي به ڇرڪ ٿو ڀري
هن کي پنهنجي جواني ياد اچي ٿي
مان هن کان هڪ دفعي پڇيو هيو
بابا اوهان جي عمر ڪيتري آهي
مان پاڪستان کان به وڏو آهيان
ان ڳالهه تي فخر ڪندو آهيان
بابا پاڪستان کان به وڏو آهي
ڪجهه مهينا اڳ ملاقات ٿي هئي هن سان
هن کي ڏسي جهٻو اچي ويو هو
هن اهو چئي مون واري ڳالهه ٽاري
ڪراچيءَ ۾ هاڻي ساهه ٻوساٽبو آهي
ماڻهو ماڻهن کي ڪچو ٿا کائن اتي
۽ تو واري جاءِ کان ٻاهر نڪري نه سگهندس ڪاڏي
هتي وري به ٻاهر نڪندو آهيان
ڪجهه رستا ۽ گهٽيون گهمندو آهيان
ڪراچيءَ ۾ اهو سڀ مون لاءِ ممڪن ناهي
ڏاڪڻيون لهڻ چڙهن به مسئلو آهي
مان انتظار ڪندو رهيو آهيان
مان هن کي چوندو رهيو آهيان
هو هر دفعي ساڳيو ئي جواب ڏيندو آهي
سچ ته مان هن لاءِ پريشان آهيان
مونکي زماني جي انومانن جا پاليل ازدها
بابا جيڪو پاڪستان کان به وڏو آهي
دنيا ان جي موڪلاڻيءَ لاءِ سوچي ٿي
دير سوير هن کي اسانکان موڪلائڻو آهي
ڇو ته جيڪا شيءِ پراڻي ٿي ويندي آهي
ان لاءِ دنيا ائين ئي سوچيندي آهي
موت کي اسان جو در کڙڪائڻو آهي
انسان توڙي جو سموري مخلوقن ۾
موت جو گهوڙيسوار ڀالو هڻي وٺي ٿو
۽ پوءِ رڳو يادون ئي بچن ٿيون
بابا جيڪو پاڪستان کان به وڏو آهي
هن لاءِ اهڙا انومان روز اچن ٿا ۽ وڃن ٿا
ڪاش هن کي منهنجي صحت ملي پوي
ڪاش هن کي منهنجي جواني ملي پوي
مان اها دلي خواهش رکان ٿو
مٽيءَ ماءُ حوالي ٿيڻو آهي
بابا جيڪو پاڪستان کان به وڏو آهي
جيڪڏهن بابا مٽيءَ ماءُ حوالي ٿيندو
ته پاڪستان جو به انت ايندو
دنيا ۾ هر شيءِ جو هڪ مدو آهي
ابن خلدون به ته ائين چيو آهي
ڪجهه ڏينهن زوال پذيريءَ جا
ته پاڪستان جو انت به ٿيندو
ائين انت جي دنيا کان پوءِ
سموري دنيا انت ڏانهن وڃي رهي آهي
