Who am I?
Bulleh Shah (1680-1757)
Na maen momin vich maseet aan
Na maen vich kufar diyan reet aan
Na maen paakaan vich paleet aan
Na maen moosa na pharaun.
Bulleh! Ki jaana maen kaun?
Na maen andar ved kitaab aan,
Na vich bhangaan na sharaab aan
Na maen rindaan masat kharaab aan
Na maen jaagan na vich saun.
Bulleh! Ki jaana maen kaun?
Na maen shaadi na ghamnaaki
Na maen vich paleeti paaki
Na maen aabi na maen khaki
Na maen aatish na maen paun
Bulleh! Ki jaana maen kaun?
Na maen arabi na lahori
Na maen hindi shehar nagauri
Na hindu na turak peshawri
Na maen rehnda vich nadaun
Bulleh! Ki jaana maen kaun?
Na maen bheth mazhab da paaya
Ne maen aadam havva jaaya
Na maen apna naam dharaaya
Na maen baitthan na vich bhaun
Bulleh! Ki jaana maen kaun?
Avval aakhir aap nu jaana
Na koi dooja hor pehchaana
Maethon hor na koi siyaana
Bulleh Shah khadda hai kaun?
Bulleh! Ki jaana maen kaun?
I am not a believer inside the mosque
nor a pagan disciple of false rites.
I am not the pure amongst the impure
neither Moses nor the Pharaoh.
Bulleh! Who am I?
I am not in the Vedas
neither in opium nor in wine.
I am not in the drunkard's daze
neither asleep, nor awake.
Bulleh! Who am I?
I am neither in happiness nor in sorrow
neither clean, nor filthy.
I am not from water or the earth
neither fire, nor from air, is my birth.
Bulleh! Who am I?
I am not an Arab, I am not from Lahore,
neither am I from the city of Nagaur.
I am not a Hindu, or a Turk from Peshawar
nor do I stay in Nadaun.
Bulleh! Who am I?
I have never understood the point of religion,
I am not born from Adam and Eve,
I am not just the name,
Neither in stillness, nor in motion.
Bulleh! Who am I?
I am the first, I am the last
None other, have I ever known
I am the wisest of them all
Bulleh Shah - who is this standing here?
Bulleh! Who am I?
Monday, August 04, 2008
Tuesday, November 20, 2007
Dinu's Bill (Dinuche Bill)
Prahlad Keshav Atre
Dinu's father was a doctor. Sometimes, Dinu used to go to his hospital. A lot of people would come there. Some people would come for a check-up. Some people would come for medicines. Some would say "Doctor, my stomach is aching. Please check me up." Some would say "Doctor, tell me how much the bill is."
Dinu would sit on a small chair and see everything, hear everything. By now he could understand several things in the hostpital but still didn't know what a "bill" was.
Once Dinu asked his father: "Baba, what is a 'bill'?"
His father took a piece of paper from the table and showed it to Dinu. "See this. This is a bill. Read it."
Dinu began reading that piece of paper. Written on it was:
For checking the patient ... 10 rupees
Coming to the house twice ... 20 rupees
Medicine (eight times) ... 8 rupees
__________________________________________
Total ... 38 rupees
Dinu was reading the bill for a long time. While reading the bill, he smiled. Who knows what he was thinking? He thought of something. After going home, Dinu went to his room and on a piece of paper, he made a bill for his mother. Written on it was:
Bringing flowers from the garden today ... 50 paise
Taking care of my younger brother for two hours ... 2 rupees
Giving a message to the aunt in the neighbourhood ... 1 rupee
Bringing sugar from the shop ... 50 paise
______________________________________________
Total ... 4 rupees
He went and kept the bill in his mother's room. Dinu woke up early next morning. Four rupees were kept next to his pillow. Dinu picked it up. As he picked up the money, he saw a piece of paper lying there. There was something written on it. He picked up the piece of paper and quickly read it. Mother had made a bill for Dinu.
For bringing (you) up from childhood ... Nothing
Four times, taking care (of you) during illness staying awake day & night ... Nothing
For entertaining (you) with stories ... Nothing
For teaching (you) to read ... Nothing
___________________________________________________________________________
Total ... Nothing
At once, Dinu's eyes were filled with tears. He was choked. The piece of paper fell down from his hand. He took the money as it was and ran to his mother. Without saying a word he gave back the money to his mother, put his head on her lap and began crying.
Mother lovingly patted Dinu, kissed his face and said:
"Dinu, I got what you owed me"
Note: The last line is quite untranslatable from Marathi because it has several hidden meanings. The main culprit is the tricky Marathi word ‘paawna’ which means “to get” in common language. It also means “receiving benefaction from God after sincere prayer”. In a basic sense, it means “Dinu, you got the exact amount as per your bill!” The other meaning for the last line would be that ‘giving that four rupees to you was truly worth it, Dinu (because you have understood a great truth)’.
Grateful thanks to Kiran Dashrath and Aditya Jeurkar for help with the translation.
Prahlad Keshav Atre
Dinu's father was a doctor. Sometimes, Dinu used to go to his hospital. A lot of people would come there. Some people would come for a check-up. Some people would come for medicines. Some would say "Doctor, my stomach is aching. Please check me up." Some would say "Doctor, tell me how much the bill is."
Dinu would sit on a small chair and see everything, hear everything. By now he could understand several things in the hostpital but still didn't know what a "bill" was.
Once Dinu asked his father: "Baba, what is a 'bill'?"
His father took a piece of paper from the table and showed it to Dinu. "See this. This is a bill. Read it."
Dinu began reading that piece of paper. Written on it was:
For checking the patient ... 10 rupees
Coming to the house twice ... 20 rupees
Medicine (eight times) ... 8 rupees
__________________________________________
Total ... 38 rupees
Dinu was reading the bill for a long time. While reading the bill, he smiled. Who knows what he was thinking? He thought of something. After going home, Dinu went to his room and on a piece of paper, he made a bill for his mother. Written on it was:
Bringing flowers from the garden today ... 50 paise
Taking care of my younger brother for two hours ... 2 rupees
Giving a message to the aunt in the neighbourhood ... 1 rupee
Bringing sugar from the shop ... 50 paise
______________________________________________
Total ... 4 rupees
He went and kept the bill in his mother's room. Dinu woke up early next morning. Four rupees were kept next to his pillow. Dinu picked it up. As he picked up the money, he saw a piece of paper lying there. There was something written on it. He picked up the piece of paper and quickly read it. Mother had made a bill for Dinu.
For bringing (you) up from childhood ... Nothing
Four times, taking care (of you) during illness staying awake day & night ... Nothing
For entertaining (you) with stories ... Nothing
For teaching (you) to read ... Nothing
___________________________________________________________________________
Total ... Nothing
At once, Dinu's eyes were filled with tears. He was choked. The piece of paper fell down from his hand. He took the money as it was and ran to his mother. Without saying a word he gave back the money to his mother, put his head on her lap and began crying.
Mother lovingly patted Dinu, kissed his face and said:
"Dinu, I got what you owed me"
Note: The last line is quite untranslatable from Marathi because it has several hidden meanings. The main culprit is the tricky Marathi word ‘paawna’ which means “to get” in common language. It also means “receiving benefaction from God after sincere prayer”. In a basic sense, it means “Dinu, you got the exact amount as per your bill!” The other meaning for the last line would be that ‘giving that four rupees to you was truly worth it, Dinu (because you have understood a great truth)’.
Grateful thanks to Kiran Dashrath and Aditya Jeurkar for help with the translation.
Monday, March 12, 2007
Love
Victor Jara (1932-1973)
A cuatro días antes del Golpe, le preguntaron a Víctor Jara por la palabra amor, qué significaba para él. Respondió:
“El amor a mi hogar, mi mujer y mis hijos.
El amor a la tierra que me ayuda vivir.
El amor a la educación y al trabajo.
El amor a los demás que trabajan por el bien común.
El amor a la justicia como instrumento del equilibrio para la dignidad del hombre.
El amor a la paz para gozar de la vida.
El amor a la libertad, no al libre albedrío. No a la libertad de unos para vivir de otros; sino la libertad de todos. La libertad para que yo exista y existan mis hijos, y mi hogar y el barrio y la ciudad y los pueblos y todos los contornos donde nos ha correspondido forjar nuestro destino. Sin yugos propios ni yugos extranjeros.”
Four days before the coup (and his execution on 11th September, 1973), when asked what the word 'love' means to him, Victor Jara responded:
Love of my home, my wife and my children.
Love for the earth that helps me live.
Love for education and of work.
Love of others who work for the common good.
Love of justice as the instrument that provides equilibrium for human dignity.
Love of peace in order to enjoy one's life.
Love of freedom, but not the freedom acquired at the expense of others’ freedom, but rather the freedom of all. The freedom to live and exist, for the existence of my children, in my home, in my town, my city, among neighbours and in the environment where we can forge our destiny. (The freedom) without yokes: nor ours nor foreign.
Victor Jara (1932-1973)
A cuatro días antes del Golpe, le preguntaron a Víctor Jara por la palabra amor, qué significaba para él. Respondió:
“El amor a mi hogar, mi mujer y mis hijos.
El amor a la tierra que me ayuda vivir.
El amor a la educación y al trabajo.
El amor a los demás que trabajan por el bien común.
El amor a la justicia como instrumento del equilibrio para la dignidad del hombre.
El amor a la paz para gozar de la vida.
El amor a la libertad, no al libre albedrío. No a la libertad de unos para vivir de otros; sino la libertad de todos. La libertad para que yo exista y existan mis hijos, y mi hogar y el barrio y la ciudad y los pueblos y todos los contornos donde nos ha correspondido forjar nuestro destino. Sin yugos propios ni yugos extranjeros.”
Four days before the coup (and his execution on 11th September, 1973), when asked what the word 'love' means to him, Victor Jara responded:
Love of my home, my wife and my children.
Love for the earth that helps me live.
Love for education and of work.
Love of others who work for the common good.
Love of justice as the instrument that provides equilibrium for human dignity.
Love of peace in order to enjoy one's life.
Love of freedom, but not the freedom acquired at the expense of others’ freedom, but rather the freedom of all. The freedom to live and exist, for the existence of my children, in my home, in my town, my city, among neighbours and in the environment where we can forge our destiny. (The freedom) without yokes: nor ours nor foreign.
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