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Faiz: English Translation of Faiz Ahmad Faiz's Popular Urdu Couplets
Faiz Ahmad “Faiz” was born in Punjab of undivided India on 13th February 1911 in a family of academicians. Faiz, a politically aware poet with leanings towards Marxist ideologies and internationalism was a renowned scholar who studied English Literature and Philosophy.
While the revolutionary nazms (long lyrical poems) of Faiz are more popular today, a large portion of Faiz’s poetry is also classic Urdu poetry of love and romance. What is striking in his poetry is the way he uses the traditional, romantic imagery of Urdu poetry and transforms it into themes of social and political relevance.
Faiz’s ghazals cover a vast array of subjects, including traditional elements of love and loss, as well as the modern concerns of the working class; but they are also bound beautifully within the rhythm and meters or beher, as they are called, which makes reading them a pleasure.
Gar baazi ishq ki baazi hai, jo chaho laga do dar kaisa
Gar jeet gaye to kya kehna, haare bhi to baazi maat nahin
If it is for the game of love, be fearless, take the risk whatever the cost
If you win, you gain, but if defeated, you haven’t really lost
Faiz’s poetry is sophisticated and laced with symbolism, metaphors, similes, and idioms. His symbolism and imagery are apt and something that very few poets have been able to construct. This makes reading Faiz a pleasure and gives us an insight into how he looked at the world
While the revolutionary nazms (long lyrical poems) of Faiz are more popular today, a large portion of Faiz’s poetry is also classic Urdu poetry of love and romance. What is striking in his poetry is the way he uses the traditional, romantic imagery of Urdu poetry and transforms it into themes of social and political relevance.
Faiz’s ghazals cover a vast array of subjects, including traditional elements of love and loss, as well as the modern concerns of the working class; but they are also bound beautifully within the rhythm and meters or beher, as they are called, which makes reading them a pleasure.
Gar baazi ishq ki baazi hai, jo chaho laga do dar kaisa
Gar jeet gaye to kya kehna, haare bhi to baazi maat nahin
If it is for the game of love, be fearless, take the risk whatever the cost
If you win, you gain, but if defeated, you haven’t really lost
Faiz’s poetry is sophisticated and laced with symbolism, metaphors, similes, and idioms. His symbolism and imagery are apt and something that very few poets have been able to construct. This makes reading Faiz a pleasure and gives us an insight into how he looked at the world
61 pages, Kindle Edition
Published January 1, 2020
6 people are currently reading
11 people want to read
About the author
Swati Sani
15 books7 followersAn Urdu poetess and an author, Swati Sani is also an Advertising professional and a software entrepreneur. She is currently translating famous couplets of popular Urdu poets in colloquial English for those who love Urdu poetry but struggle with the finer nuances of the language.
The books, a series titled “Famous Urdu Poets” include poets Mirza Ghalib, Faiz Ahmad Faiz (already published), Seemab Akbarabadi, Firaq Gorakhpuri (soon to be published) and a few more. Each book has a collection of popular couplets of the poets translated in English with the original in Urdu, Devanagari, and Roman script.
A postgraduate in Advertising and Public Relations from the Indian Institute of Mass Communications, New Delhi she completed her Master’s degree in Urdu Literature at 50.
A person with many talents, She decided to switch to being an author after running a software company for 22 years, which was her second career after being an advertising professional. She is also known to document the recipes of the food she cooks, which she intends to bring out in a book form soon.
The books, a series titled “Famous Urdu Poets” include poets Mirza Ghalib, Faiz Ahmad Faiz (already published), Seemab Akbarabadi, Firaq Gorakhpuri (soon to be published) and a few more. Each book has a collection of popular couplets of the poets translated in English with the original in Urdu, Devanagari, and Roman script.
A postgraduate in Advertising and Public Relations from the Indian Institute of Mass Communications, New Delhi she completed her Master’s degree in Urdu Literature at 50.
A person with many talents, She decided to switch to being an author after running a software company for 22 years, which was her second career after being an advertising professional. She is also known to document the recipes of the food she cooks, which she intends to bring out in a book form soon.
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