Tag Archives: Hong Kong

Looking for Buddha…

Yellow/Peela

Gold

Nothing is more important than life itself
Nothing is as sacred as love
Thoughts dissolves in the notion of togetherness
The heart of gold shines through

The freshness of first breeze breathe
Simmering white dandelion on thin air of hope
The soul of green grasses,
in the early morning sun
On the mistery music of the forest
The goddess of beauty dances,
arms wide open

Upon heart of trance
The flower bloosoms Yellow
And the heart shines gold
Heart of gold shines through
And the heart shines gold

Poetry by https://allpoetry.com/Subedisachin

Kala/Black

Saifuddin Saif was born in Amritsar in 1922. He wrote some very powerful poems during his college days. He was always inclined towards writing for films, but the films for which he had written lyrics before partition were not released due to the unfavorable conditions in the subcontinent. Saif penned songs for Teri Yaad (1948) which was the first film to be released in Pakistan and received admiration for the freshness of his poetry. (courtesy of Rekta: https://www.rekhta.org/Poets/saifuddin-saif/profile)

For the lyrics of Chandni Raat: https://www.rekhta.org/ghazals/chaandnii-raat-badii-der-ke-baad-aaii-hai-saifuddin-saif-ghazals

Read about Ali Sethi’s version of Chandni Raat, which has the lyrics plus a translation in English: https://dilliwaliblog.wordpress.com/2019/03/03/chandni-raat-ali-sethi/

Hara/Green

Habib Jalib was born in 1928 in Hoshiarpur, East Punjab. He migrated to Pakistan after partition and worked as a proof reader in Daily Imroze, Karachi. Read further about him: https://www.letsstartthinking.org/Pakistan/personalities/habib-jalib.php. All his poetry is available via Rekhta. Below is the poem Bagiya Lahoo Luhan-The Garden Is A Bloody Mess. The poem is about the oppression in East Pakistan in 1971 but unfortunately it continues to resonate, even today.

Bagiya Lahoo Luhan
Haryali ko aankhen tarsen bagiya lahoo luhan
Pyar ke geet sunaoon kis ko shehar hue weeran
Bagiya lahoo luhan 

Dasti hain suraj ki kirnen chand jalaye jaan
Pag pag maut ke gehre saye jeewan maut saman
Charon ore hawa phirti hai le kar teer Kaman
Bagiya lahoo luhan 

Chhalni hain kaliyon ke seeney khoon mein lat paat
Aur nahjaney kab tak hogi ashkon ki barsaat
Dunya walon kab beeteinge dukh ke yeh din raat
Khoon se holi khel rahe hain dharti ke balwan
Bagiya lahoo luhan
The Garden Is A Bloody Mess 
Our eyes yearn for greenery
The garden is a bloody mess
For whom should I sing my songs of love
The cities are all a wilderness
The garden is a bloody mess

The rays of the sun, they sting
Moonbeams are a killing field, no less
Deep shadows of death hover at every step
Life wears a skull and bone dress
All around the air is on prowl
With bows and arrows, in full harness
The garden is a bloody mess 

The battered buds are like a sieve
The leaves drenched in blood smears
Who knows, for how long
We’ll have this rain of tears
People how long do we have to bear
These days and nights of sorrow and distress
This oppressor’s blood bath is a frolicsome play
For the mighty of the world, a mark of their prowess
The garden is a bloody mess 

Source: Revolutionary Democracy