Betrayal - An Urdu Sher in Translation

Original (in Urdu by Shawaab Lakhnawi)~

Pahle main but-parast thaa, kaafir thaa betarah;
kuchh bewafaa buton ne musalmaan banaa diyaa.

Translation:

Fond of idols I was earlier,
I was their blind-worshipper;
It was some idols' betrayal
That made me an idol-breaker !
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(Note: This sher is written by Shri Prakash Shankar Mishra, my respected teacher in Government Jubilee College at Lucknow during 1968-70. He wrote poetry in Hindi under the pen-name 'Prakash' and in Urdu under the pseudonym of 'Shawaab Lakhnawi'. He introduced me to the nuances of poetry and I consider him truly my 'Kavya-guru'.)
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Radha's Dance (A Poem in Hindi - Avadhi dialect)

Raadhaa jee naachat Brindaaban.

pag thirkat hain baajat ghunghroo,

chhanan chhanan chhan chhanan chhanan.

taakat khag-mrig gop-gopikaa,

chhaadi sakal jag ke bandhan.

bhooli adhar dhar murali, vilokat

vismit- chakit- bhramit nand-nandan.

Brindaaban kee kunj galin maa,

jhar jhar jharat amee-ras-ghan.

Translation:

Radha is dancing in Vrindavan.

Her feet are moving and anklebells tingling

'chhanan chhanan chhan chhanan chhanan'.

All birds and animals and gopas and gopis

are viewing the dance casting aside all worldly bonds.

Even the son of Nanda is so bewildered and amazed,

that the flute on his lips he has forgotten to blow.

In the gardens and streets of Vrindavan indeed,

the nectar is pouring thick and fast.

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