Arise, You Have to Go Far
Your eyes are usually vigilant
but they are full of sleep today
Arise, you have to go far
Whether there is an earthquake in the heart of the mountains
Or if the calm sky rains tears of destruction
Whether darkness swallows the light of the sun
Or if lightning streaks across the sky in a frightful storm
You must make your mark on the path of destruction
And emerge victorious
Arise, you have to go far!
Will these bounds of wax tie you down
Will colorful butterflies barricade your path
Will the humming of bees drown the sorrowful cries of the world
Will the dewdrops on flowers drown you
Do not let your shadow become your prison
Arise, you have to go far!
How did a single tear melt your heart as strong as stone
Who did you give your life to in exchange for drowning yourself in wine
Did the exuberance in your heart get blown away by the gentle breeze
Did the world put a curse on you to sleep
You are the heir of immortal ancestors
Why are you accepting death?
Arise, you have to go far!
Do not sigh and tell me to forget your fiery past
Let the tears in your eyes grace you
When you find the strength to move forward
Even if you fail, you may fly the flag of victory
The flame of your triumph will never turn to ash
You must spread petals on the bed of burning coals
Arise, you have to go far!
–Mahadevi Verma
जाग तुझको दूर जाना
चिर सजग आँखें उनींदी आज कैसा व्यस्त बाना!
जाग तुझको दूर जाना!
अचल हिमगिरि के हॄदय में आज चाहे कम्प हो ले!
या प्रलय के आँसुओं में मौन अलसित व्योम रो ले;
आज पी आलोक को ड़ोले तिमिर की घोर छाया
जाग या विद्युत शिखाओं में निठुर तूफान बोले!
पर तुझे है नाश पथ पर चिन्ह अपने छोड़ आना!
जाग तुझको दूर जाना!
बाँध लेंगे क्या तुझे यह मोम के बंधन सजीले?
पंथ की बाधा बनेंगे तितलियों के पर रंगीले?
विश्व का क्रंदन भुला देगी मधुप की मधुर गुनगुन,
क्या डुबो देंगे तुझे यह फूल दे दल ओस गीले?
तू न अपनी छाँह को अपने लिये कारा बनाना!
जाग तुझको दूर जाना!
वज्र का उर एक छोटे अश्रु कण में धो गलाया,
दे किसे जीवन-सुधा दो घँट मदिरा माँग लाया!
सो गई आँधी मलय की बात का उपधान ले क्या?
विश्व का अभिशाप क्या अब नींद बनकर पास आया?
अमरता सुत चाहता क्यों मृत्यु को उर में बसाना?
जाग तुझको दूर जाना!
कह न ठंढी साँस में अब भूल वह जलती कहानी,
आग हो उर में तभी दृग में सजेगा आज पानी;
हार भी तेरी बनेगी माननी जय की पताका,
राख क्षणिक पतंग की है अमर दीपक की निशानी!
है तुझे अंगार-शय्या पर मृदुल कलियां बिछाना!
जाग तुझको दूर जाना!
-महादेवी वर्मा
In our last unit of the semester we studied the poetry of Paul Celan. One of the reasons why interpreting Celan was difficult was that his poems are originally in German but we were reading the translated versions. Translating poetry is complicated, and there are a lot of words and phrases which simply cannot be translated and fully understood in another language. I wanted to try translating a Hindi poem to English in order to gain first-hand experience and understanding of the complexities of translation.
This is my attempt at translating a poem by Mahadevi Verma. The poem calls upon an unknown person or people to awaken and come to action. I chose this poem because the spirit of coming to action reminds me of the spirit of organizing a revolution.
