About

 

Anis’s Ideal Marsiya

qalam-e fikr se khincuun jo kisii bazm kaa rang

shama‘-e tasviir peh girne lagen aa aa ke patang

saaf hairat-zadeh Mani ho to Behzaad ho dang    

khuun barastaa nazar aaye jo dikhaauun saf-e jang

 

razm aisii ho keh dil sab ke pharak jaayen

bijliyaan teghon kii aankhon men camak jaayen

 

 

roz marrah shurafaa kaa ho salaasat ho vahii

lab o lahjah vahii saaraa ho mataanat ho vahii

saama‘iin jald samajh len jise sana‘t ho vahii

ya‘ni mauqa’ ho jahaan jis kaa voh ‘ibaarat ho vahii

 

lafz bhii chust hon mazmun bhii ‘alii hove

marsiya dard kii baaton se nah khaalii hove

 

 

bazm kaa rang judaa rang kaa maidaan hai judaa

yeh caman aur hai zakhmon kaa gulistaan hai judaa

fahm-e kaamil ho to har naame kaa ‘unvaan hai judaa

mu­khtasar parh ke rulaa dene kaa saamaan hai judaa

 

dabdabah bhii ho masaa’ib bhii hon tausiif bhii ho

dil bhii mahzuz hon riqqat bhii ho ta‘riif bhii ho

English Translation

With thought’s pen, when I paint the colors of an assembly

May moths repeatedly dive into the picture’s flame

May Mani be bewildered quite, and Behzaad struck dumb!

It rains blood when I show them the line of battle.

May the war be so described  that people’s hearts tremble,

May the sparkling of swords flash in the eye

 

Let the daily speech be that of the nobility, with the same ease

That very tone and idiom, that same intelligence

Only those literary devices should be used which listeners can understand easily.

In other words, every figure of speech should be used only at the right occasion

May the words be appropriate, the topic exalted,

May the marsiya not be empty of pathos

 

The assembly has a different mood, the battle-ground another;

This garden is one, the rose-garden of wounds another

If one has perfect understanding, each story has a different heading.

The ability to read in brief  and make others cry is another art.

A  marsiya should have grandeur, ordeals, and descriptions

Jawaid badayuni