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Rumi: A New Translation of Selected Poems
Championed by the likes of Madonna, Donna Karan, and Deepak Chopra, Rumi has won such a following in this country that a few years ago he was proclaimed our bestselling poet. But translations that have popularized the work of this thirteenth-century Sufi mystic have also strayed from its essence. In this new translation, Farrukh Dhondy seeks to recover both the lyrical beauty and the spiritual essence of the original verse. In poems of love and devotion, rapture and suffering, loss and yearning for oneness, Dhondy has rediscovered the Islamic mystic of spiritual awakening whose quest is the key to his universal appeal. Here is at once a great poet of love, both human and divine, and the authentic voice of a moderate Islam—a voice that can resonate in today’s turbulent, fundamentalist times.
186 pages, Kindle Edition
Published April 1, 2013
319 people are currently reading
1242 people want to read
About the author
Farrukh Dhondy
60 books16 followersFarrukh Dhondy is an Indian-born British writer, playwright, screenwriter and left-wing activist of Parsi descent. He is well known not only for his writing, but also for his film and TV work.
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Displaying 1 - 30 of 109 reviews
February 7, 2017
This little pink book of Rumi Poetry translated by writer Farrukh Dhondy is radiant. The poems included in this collection are brief, some only a stanza or a few lines, but such is the poetry of Rumi, short and piercing, yet peaceful and meditative, a glimpse of another time and place, yet contemporary. This thirteenth-century Sufi poet is the most popular one in our current culture, the best selling poet of all time, because of his ability to connect with a simple voice and resonating, universal message that speaks across all religions. Reading each verse is like a meditation in itself.
Dhondy introduces his collection with a compelling and helpful essay, “Rumi, Sufism and the Modern World.” He expounds how Sufism is in truth a universal religion of the spirit that adopted the disciplines of Islam and used its dynamism to disseminate itself. For other orders of Islam, acceptance of the five pillars, the obedience of Sharia, and ritual observance, are necessary to deem oneself a good Muslim. But for the Sufi, these are the minimal garb, the outer, “hollow” forms of Islam. The essence of Sufi devotion is the spiritual awakening, he writes, the oneness and the light. All ritual or practice must lead to that. All paths lead to the one. Dhondy also includes a personal note about translating this collection at the end.
The verses selected are from the Mathnawi, Diwan-e Shams-e and The Discourses. Though I am not a Sufi scholar, or well versed in his poetry (though I have read some other collections and translations), I can only comment as a lay reader. But I have to say that I immensely enjoyed this translation. My job is not to judge the translator, but to appreciate his interpretation. Translation is a science but it is also an art, and as an art, the poems were beautifully translated. Each poem has its own charm and poignancy. I always like to include a poem from a collection that I review. Here is one of my favorites below.
HE LISTENS
There are no rules of worship
He will hear
The voice of every heart
That is sincere.
Dhondy introduces his collection with a compelling and helpful essay, “Rumi, Sufism and the Modern World.” He expounds how Sufism is in truth a universal religion of the spirit that adopted the disciplines of Islam and used its dynamism to disseminate itself. For other orders of Islam, acceptance of the five pillars, the obedience of Sharia, and ritual observance, are necessary to deem oneself a good Muslim. But for the Sufi, these are the minimal garb, the outer, “hollow” forms of Islam. The essence of Sufi devotion is the spiritual awakening, he writes, the oneness and the light. All ritual or practice must lead to that. All paths lead to the one. Dhondy also includes a personal note about translating this collection at the end.
The verses selected are from the Mathnawi, Diwan-e Shams-e and The Discourses. Though I am not a Sufi scholar, or well versed in his poetry (though I have read some other collections and translations), I can only comment as a lay reader. But I have to say that I immensely enjoyed this translation. My job is not to judge the translator, but to appreciate his interpretation. Translation is a science but it is also an art, and as an art, the poems were beautifully translated. Each poem has its own charm and poignancy. I always like to include a poem from a collection that I review. Here is one of my favorites below.
HE LISTENS
There are no rules of worship
He will hear
The voice of every heart
That is sincere.
January 31, 2020
To be honest, I have never been a reader of poetry and this was my very first full poetry collection which I finished. Just to remedy this I have ordered 4 other poetry collections and will try to read them sooner than later. Though my next poetry collection is surely going to be Milk and Honey by Rupi Kaur, I borrowed a copy from my friend.
So like most readers of this book I have just read or heard few couplets by Rumi here and there. And I loved the fact that Mr. Dhondy in the translation paid special attention to rhyme and flow. Because I like my poems to rhyme and make sense that was one of the reasons that I hadn't picked up any english poetry books because most of english poems I read were more like stories told in a poem form and rarely rhyme.
But this was just fine and loved reading the couplets and full length poems by Rumi and after the poems there is also notes by the Mr. Dhondy and interview too which I also liked but poems being by the virtue of being poems just flew by whenever I picked to read it.
So if you are on the fence about this one or poetry in general then sure give it chance it's a short quick read and the book is cute to boot. I am happy, i hope you would be too.
People who don't read generally ask me my reasons for reading. Simply put I just love reading and so to that end I have made it my motto to just Keep on Reading. I love to read everything except for Self Help books but even those once in a while. I read almost all the genre but YA, Fantasy, Biographies are the most. My favorite series is, of course, Harry Potter but then there are many more books that I just adore. I have bookcases filled with books which are waiting to be read so can't stay and spend more time in this review, so remember I loved reading this and love reading more, you should also read what you love and then just Keep on Reading.
So like most readers of this book I have just read or heard few couplets by Rumi here and there. And I loved the fact that Mr. Dhondy in the translation paid special attention to rhyme and flow. Because I like my poems to rhyme and make sense that was one of the reasons that I hadn't picked up any english poetry books because most of english poems I read were more like stories told in a poem form and rarely rhyme.
But this was just fine and loved reading the couplets and full length poems by Rumi and after the poems there is also notes by the Mr. Dhondy and interview too which I also liked but poems being by the virtue of being poems just flew by whenever I picked to read it.
So if you are on the fence about this one or poetry in general then sure give it chance it's a short quick read and the book is cute to boot. I am happy, i hope you would be too.
People who don't read generally ask me my reasons for reading. Simply put I just love reading and so to that end I have made it my motto to just Keep on Reading. I love to read everything except for Self Help books but even those once in a while. I read almost all the genre but YA, Fantasy, Biographies are the most. My favorite series is, of course, Harry Potter but then there are many more books that I just adore. I have bookcases filled with books which are waiting to be read so can't stay and spend more time in this review, so remember I loved reading this and love reading more, you should also read what you love and then just Keep on Reading.
December 7, 2022
I got this book for the cover. And yes, for Rumi. Somehow I feel disappointed.
The translation is very accessible to read for any age group. The poems are short and the entire collection will not take much of your time.
Love the book for what it is. Love the concepts and the themes presented in each poem.
However, the translation isn’t that good I feel.
The translation is very accessible to read for any age group. The poems are short and the entire collection will not take much of your time.
Love the book for what it is. Love the concepts and the themes presented in each poem.
However, the translation isn’t that good I feel.
July 15, 2018
2.5/5
ITS NOT THE BOOK. ITS NOT ME. ITS THE TRANSLATION!
ITS NOT THE BOOK. ITS NOT ME. ITS THE TRANSLATION!
Want to read
September 8, 2022The cover!
I'm dying send help 😵
I'm dying send help 😵
October 19, 2018
When God has made the earth for you to roam ,
Why have you made a prison cell your home ?
Rumi .
A very unique masterpieces poems about human being ,life and God by Rumi , once you start reading , words from that book , would not be only letters anymore, they would fly and emerge in to your veins and touch every living cell of your being .
Rumi as pure real muslim writer , poet and sufi for centuries his name stayed and will stay as a shine star over all over the world .
I was surprised when I was a bout to borrow that book at Edmonton public library / canada - they system showed that all 20 copies currently with readers and 15 people already in queue for it . This is how the Canadian community read about anything anytime .
WOMAN
A women is a god’s radiance a ray
Not just a thing with which man has his way
When god created Eve , she was to be
The source of all creative interplay .
Rumi
Why have you made a prison cell your home ?
Rumi .
A very unique masterpieces poems about human being ,life and God by Rumi , once you start reading , words from that book , would not be only letters anymore, they would fly and emerge in to your veins and touch every living cell of your being .
Rumi as pure real muslim writer , poet and sufi for centuries his name stayed and will stay as a shine star over all over the world .
I was surprised when I was a bout to borrow that book at Edmonton public library / canada - they system showed that all 20 copies currently with readers and 15 people already in queue for it . This is how the Canadian community read about anything anytime .
WOMAN
A women is a god’s radiance a ray
Not just a thing with which man has his way
When god created Eve , she was to be
The source of all creative interplay .
Rumi
June 5, 2018
" Their melancholy is soothing, and their joy elevating, to a degree I never experienced in studying the authors of any other country. When you read their writings, life appears to consist in a warm sun and a garden of roses, in the smiles and frowns of a fair enemy, and the fire that consumes your own heart. "
-Victor Frankenstein on Oriental Poetry
(Mary Shelley's Frankenstein )
I begin my review, or rather, I sum it up in the words borrowed from Mary Shelley, who said it all about the likes of Omar Khayyam, Khalil Gibran, and Rumi, in those two lines. Yes, this is exactly what reading Oriental poetry feels like, even to a person from the Oriental world! This is exactly what reading this little pink book feels like.
In fact, I'm glad I got my hands on it before that little three-year-old girl, who was probably eyeing it keenly because it's pink and cloth bound. I still shudder to think where Rumi's wisdom would have lain, in a doll house perhaps, surrounded by Barbie dolls, instead of a bookshelf!
Anyway, what about this translation of Rumi? Is it as good as Barks? Better than Barks? Is it different?
Well, I am not going to compare it with Barks, because, I am yet to read it. As to what I think of this translation, it certainly is amazing but it isn't what one would call brilliant. Somewhere, while trying to keep the rhyme scheme intact, the translator lost that key essence of Rumi: depth! I don't mean that the poems are not deep anymore or have suddenly become simple and shallow and meaningless-no! However, the original beauty of Rumi is lost in the use of more colloquial words and all this just to get the whole things rhyme. Certain quatrains are so vague you just lose track of what you're reading and there are places where the translation is simply clumsy.
I do not claim to be an expert on Persian poetry like my grandfather was however, I know for sure that if this collection had been translated in the same way as Navtej Sarna translated Zafarnama or Vikram Seth translated certain couplets from Arabic, Persian and Urdu in his A Suitable Boy , I, for one, would have loved this book slightly more than I do now.
That being said, I have still adored the book. Who couldn't? Rumi's poems are like music to the soul, and even if they seem a little too casually handled, they still leave a mark on you, hit the nail, touch a nerve somewhere. I throughly enjoyed the book but I just feel that it could have been better!
A MUST read, nonetheless!
-Victor Frankenstein on Oriental Poetry
(Mary Shelley's Frankenstein )
I begin my review, or rather, I sum it up in the words borrowed from Mary Shelley, who said it all about the likes of Omar Khayyam, Khalil Gibran, and Rumi, in those two lines. Yes, this is exactly what reading Oriental poetry feels like, even to a person from the Oriental world! This is exactly what reading this little pink book feels like.
In fact, I'm glad I got my hands on it before that little three-year-old girl, who was probably eyeing it keenly because it's pink and cloth bound. I still shudder to think where Rumi's wisdom would have lain, in a doll house perhaps, surrounded by Barbie dolls, instead of a bookshelf!
Anyway, what about this translation of Rumi? Is it as good as Barks? Better than Barks? Is it different?
Well, I am not going to compare it with Barks, because, I am yet to read it. As to what I think of this translation, it certainly is amazing but it isn't what one would call brilliant. Somewhere, while trying to keep the rhyme scheme intact, the translator lost that key essence of Rumi: depth! I don't mean that the poems are not deep anymore or have suddenly become simple and shallow and meaningless-no! However, the original beauty of Rumi is lost in the use of more colloquial words and all this just to get the whole things rhyme. Certain quatrains are so vague you just lose track of what you're reading and there are places where the translation is simply clumsy.
I do not claim to be an expert on Persian poetry like my grandfather was however, I know for sure that if this collection had been translated in the same way as Navtej Sarna translated Zafarnama or Vikram Seth translated certain couplets from Arabic, Persian and Urdu in his A Suitable Boy , I, for one, would have loved this book slightly more than I do now.
That being said, I have still adored the book. Who couldn't? Rumi's poems are like music to the soul, and even if they seem a little too casually handled, they still leave a mark on you, hit the nail, touch a nerve somewhere. I throughly enjoyed the book but I just feel that it could have been better!
A MUST read, nonetheless!
October 4, 2018
** Rumi: A New Translation **
This book of Rumi verses by Farrukh Dhondy was really beautiful both physically (the book) and soulfully (the words)
Rumi's poems are considered to be the music to a soul and i will not defer from it.. Somewhere along the pages, I felt out of this world.
It was ethereal and beautiful but i can't say this about the whole book. Mayb it was the translation or mayb it was me. There were places I couldn't enjoy and there were places I couldn't get but in the end this book will always remain in my heart..
I wish I could get to a point were I wud enjoy Rumi utterly but i am sure it is a journey in itself.
.
.
One of my favorite verses from this book is
"And so my friend, to be remade and whole
Prepare to desecrate your very soul.."
This book of Rumi verses by Farrukh Dhondy was really beautiful both physically (the book) and soulfully (the words)
Rumi's poems are considered to be the music to a soul and i will not defer from it.. Somewhere along the pages, I felt out of this world.
It was ethereal and beautiful but i can't say this about the whole book. Mayb it was the translation or mayb it was me. There were places I couldn't enjoy and there were places I couldn't get but in the end this book will always remain in my heart..
I wish I could get to a point were I wud enjoy Rumi utterly but i am sure it is a journey in itself.
.
.
One of my favorite verses from this book is
"And so my friend, to be remade and whole
Prepare to desecrate your very soul.."
January 2, 2021
It always amazes me, how someone's interpretation of life, lived eons ago, can still make sense in this chaotic and ever chasing modern world.
This book will let you pause, ponder and participate in things which makes life worth living - "the simple joys of life" !!
This book will let you pause, ponder and participate in things which makes life worth living - "the simple joys of life" !!
May 24, 2017
Rasa berbelah bahagi membaca karya terjemahan Maulana Jalaluddin Rumi ini akibat 'tersilap' membaca pendahuluan oleh penterjemahnya. Seelok-eloknya bahagian pendahuluan dan penutup (termasuk latar belakang penterjemah!) tidak dibaca terlebih dahulu untuk menikmati terjemahan secara lebih adil.
Memang perbezaan antara terjemahan Dhondy dengan terjemahan penterjemah lain agak ketara meskipun sukar untuk dibandingkan tanpa membelek satu persatu terjemahan Mathnawi yang lain. Ini kerana terjemahan Dhondy tidak menyatakan bilangan atau jilid ke berapa karya berkenaan. Namun, terjemahan yang agak berlainan untuk bahagian permulaan berbanding rata-rata terjemahan yang boleh dianggap sudah kukuh, agak mengecewakan sedikit.
Begitu juga karya yang dipilih oleh Dhondy juga menimbulkan tanda tanya. Dalam syarahan Abdul Karim Soroush di United Kingdom (UK), beliau ada menyebut mana-mana Mathnawi yang menyebut nama Rumi adalah sebenarnya bukan karya asli tokoh besar itu.
Memang perbezaan antara terjemahan Dhondy dengan terjemahan penterjemah lain agak ketara meskipun sukar untuk dibandingkan tanpa membelek satu persatu terjemahan Mathnawi yang lain. Ini kerana terjemahan Dhondy tidak menyatakan bilangan atau jilid ke berapa karya berkenaan. Namun, terjemahan yang agak berlainan untuk bahagian permulaan berbanding rata-rata terjemahan yang boleh dianggap sudah kukuh, agak mengecewakan sedikit.
Begitu juga karya yang dipilih oleh Dhondy juga menimbulkan tanda tanya. Dalam syarahan Abdul Karim Soroush di United Kingdom (UK), beliau ada menyebut mana-mana Mathnawi yang menyebut nama Rumi adalah sebenarnya bukan karya asli tokoh besar itu.
May 9, 2022
I'm still clueless as to what exactly prompted me to start on this translation, but I would like to believe that it could be because of my curiosity. It's no secret that people on the internet keep raving about Rumi’s numerous gazals or even short, four-line poems.
After reading Rupi Kaur, I believed that I was mentally prepared to exert all of my mental capacity just to make sense of what I thought would be an arduous & intricate piece of literature. To my absolute shock, the translation was easy to interpret to a certain extent. I even managed to highlight the hell out of this book!
After reading Rupi Kaur, I believed that I was mentally prepared to exert all of my mental capacity just to make sense of what I thought would be an arduous & intricate piece of literature. To my absolute shock, the translation was easy to interpret to a certain extent. I even managed to highlight the hell out of this book!
╭─────────────────────────────╮
Your leaving is the drought, my lips are dry
The only moisture, wells up in my eye.
╰─────────────────────────────╯
╭─────────────────────────────╮
Moonlight stretches out against the skies
Your share of it depends upon the size
Of windows in your room.
╰─────────────────────────────╯
June 23, 2021
Considering I am not a big fan of poetry, this book had me hooked from the time I randomly opened it at a bookstore. For the first time I understood what it is that people like about poetry. So glad I came across this.
June 15, 2022
I want to read the poems again at a later point in life as I believe the verses will bring new perspectives at different stages of life. Some verses were hard to comprehend but the context set by the author towards the end of the book is useful. I would recommend to read that before reading the poem.
September 4, 2013
Though I have come across many quotes by Rumi, this is the first time I read it in full (or a part of his teachings). He has been described as the founder of Mawlawi Sufi order. on a reading, I find that his preachings are more like those contained in the Upanishads. He says ' Why traverse deserts, why confront the storm, If within you resides the formless Form..If he in your heart, your pilgrimage ends where it begins'. That is how the upanishads describe the Brahman as the light within the heart; farthest of the far and the nearest of the near. As some reviewers say that Farrukh Dhondy's English translation is not good, I think his sayings would be still more beautiful if I could read them in original.
July 22, 2018
I have only read quotes of Rumi so I was really excited when I began this book. But sadly I couldn't get much of the poetry, it could be the translation, it could be me. Maybe I need to read more of him to really appreciate and understand him.
A few that stood with me:
And so my friend, to be remade and whole
Prepare to desecrate your very soul
A pen is an instrument
It doesn't know how to write
Does a ball ever know the trajectory of its flight?
Don't try to separate
The stem from the root
Is not the flautist's breath
But a part of the flute?
A few that stood with me:
And so my friend, to be remade and whole
Prepare to desecrate your very soul
A pen is an instrument
It doesn't know how to write
Does a ball ever know the trajectory of its flight?
Don't try to separate
The stem from the root
Is not the flautist's breath
But a part of the flute?
October 22, 2020
This book is a beautiful translation, it transports you to a bittersweet state of mind and leaves you yearning for a kind of Love that is unconditional and beyond everything. However I still think, finer meanings and nuances have been lost in translation and a lot of poems have been translated to seem more generic. Hopefully, someone translates Rumi for what he has written, in the way he has written it.
June 1, 2013
I find this work absolutely beautiful.
I have read a lot of Rumi, published both in the UK and in Turkey, but tend to find other translations to be either irritatingly 'new aged hippy style' or too literal and unpoetic.
Here Dhondy manages to keep Rumi's meaning, humour, rhythm and rhyme in perfect balance.
A real joy.
I have read a lot of Rumi, published both in the UK and in Turkey, but tend to find other translations to be either irritatingly 'new aged hippy style' or too literal and unpoetic.
Here Dhondy manages to keep Rumi's meaning, humour, rhythm and rhyme in perfect balance.
A real joy.
July 30, 2018
Goodbyes are only for those who love with their eyes. Because for those who love with heart and soul there is no such thing as separation. - RUMI
It just soothes your soul.It can put your mind to ease and satisfy that unquenchable thirst which you feel for emotions you can't speak .
Read this book if you like to read poetry !!!!
It just soothes your soul.It can put your mind to ease and satisfy that unquenchable thirst which you feel for emotions you can't speak .
Read this book if you like to read poetry !!!!
February 7, 2012
Dhondhy tries hard but Rumi is something that is just beyond his reach... the three stars is to Rumi and not Dhondhy, who i think reduced the number of stars to be awarded by 2 :P
May 14, 2013
Absolutely beautiful. Where other translations of Rumi are literal and somewhat clunky, here Dhondy manages to keep Rumi's meaning, rhythm and rhyme in perfect balance. A real joy.
July 2, 2020
One of the best translations of Rumi, I've read.
August 20, 2020
this is my first time reading rumi, and i don’t know if it’s the translation or the poetry itself but it was just meh. some of the longer ones were interesting to read but... yeah
November 28, 2024
I’ve always heard about Rumi but never had the chance to know what a great poet he is and now that I know I admit that his poems are on a different level and very deep. Farrukh Dhondy did a great job in translating these great poems and I’m so happy to read it.
April 12, 2017
Don't waste your words. ~ Rumi
I can't tell if Rumi is just THAT bad or if the translation is. I felt a heart sick teen would have written better poetry.
I can't tell if Rumi is just THAT bad or if the translation is. I felt a heart sick teen would have written better poetry.
August 10, 2022
Classic versions of popular Rumi poems translated and read slowly and dramatically by Bly and Barks with a musical accompaniment.
August 21, 2022
In my opinion, it's an interesting and quite a different take on some of Rumi's masterpieces, translated in English focusing on it's lyrical and structured nuances, almost evoking the long-lost oratory practices of Perisan-poetry traditions.
A refreshing change from the usual free-verse, or sometimes verse-free translations that fill up most of the literary and nowadays the digital space.
A refreshing change from the usual free-verse, or sometimes verse-free translations that fill up most of the literary and nowadays the digital space.
September 4, 2025
Nothing else to say except there was a poem in this collection called “Size Matters”.
May 7, 2018
Rumi definitely had a spiritual calling on his life. His poetry is both astounding and inspiring. I find Jesus and the Holy Spirit in his thoughts and carefully placed words. Which is curious, because Rumi was a Sufi mystic. No matter. To me, in any religion, if your devotion is to Love above all other wordly trappings, and you are heeding the voice of your maker which beckons you forth and shows you the way, empowering your steps, you are on a good path, I think. I do think love has a name but I am certain there have to be people in all religions who mistake what that name is or who care not because they are pulled forward by the purpose for which they are being drawn. I am intrigued and will definitely be reading more about Rumi. I will continue to enjoy his words and dig further into his spiritual and poetic insights. Good book!
Displaying 1 - 30 of 109 reviews