چارسگے پوستی
اونہاں دی سی دوستی
ڈوہڈیاں دی پنڈ چاہ
پہ گۓ اک پنڈ راہ
راہ وچ چوہ سی
اوتھے گۓ کھلو سی
مِرگ ترِشنا جو
اونہاں پہانیں ہاڑ اوہ
اک وچوں بولیا
پھجیا او لولیا
کھڑے کی سیان دے
ترن اسی جان دے
چلو چھال ماریے
تے پار نوں پدھاریے
چوہ سگا سکیا
تے کلا کلا ڈہکیا
ڈھڈاں نوں گھسیٹدے
تے اکھیاں نوں میچدے
ڈھڈ گۓ جل سی
تے اوتھے کہیڑا جل سی
او پھائی جمالیا
وڈے ڈھڈ والیا
ڈھڈ تیرا چھلیا
تے بند بند ہلیا
اوہ کہندا پھڑ اوۓ
پھڑ پھڑ پھڑ اوۓ
رڑھ گئی پنڈ اوۓ
کنڈھے اتے بہ واں گے
ساہ تھوڑا لواں گے
ڈوہڈیاں نوں ملاں گے
پی واں گے تے چلاں گے
ڈوہڈیاں نوں پیینودے
تے گولے کھاندے فیم دے
اک وچوں بولیا
او پھائی پھتوآ
بھاڑے دیا ٹٹوآ
کنے اسی یارسی
تن سی کہ چار سی
بار بار گن رہۓ
ہوندے پورے تن رہۓ
اک وچوں گھٹ دا
تے دل پیا پھٹ دا
جٹ اک اوندا
تے پوستی سناؤندے
چار اسی یار سی
تن ہوۓ پار سی
اک وچوں گھٹ دا
تے دل پیا پھٹ دا
بٹھال کے قطار وچ
ڈوہڈیاں دی تار وچ
جٹ جتا لاہ لیا
تہ ہتھ وچ چاہ لیا
ٹوٹراں تے ماردا
تے گن کے سناؤندا
اک دو تن چار
پورے ہوۓ چار یار
پوستی خوش ہو جاندے
تے بغلاں بجاؤندے
Four Druggies
There were friends four
Addict’d to poppy for sure
Loaded with pile of poppy-pod
Set their way to a village odd
On the way was a stream
Stood there in a dream
The mirage created an illusion
Water flooded in their confusion
Spoke one amongst them yeah
O Phajjeah O Lolayah
What are we thinking?
We know swimming!
Let’s dive; he cried!
Swim to the other side
Alas the earth was parched!
But ahead they marched.
They dragged their bellies
Keeping shut their eyes
Their bellies were scathed
Where’s water that glazed?
O brother Jamaliah
With a huge belly Ah
Your belly is scratched
Each joint detached
Poppy bundle’s drifting, he rasped
Grasp quickly. ‘Twas grasped
On the brink we’ll sit
Breathe and collect wit
First, pods we’ll grind
Relax, drink and unwind
There they were getting high
And one o’ them said wit’ a sigh
O brother Phuttooah
Hired pony for money Ah!
How many friends started?
Three o’ us or four departed?
Again and again, they counted
To three the number amounted
One was missing, it’s no relief
And their hearts burst with grief
Soon one Jatt came by
So told him the druggies
Four friends were we
Crossed stream only three
One is missing, it’s no relief
And our hearts burst with grief
Jatt sat them in a queue
In the rows of poppy
His slipper removed
In his hand to wield
Back of heads he hit ‘em
While counting for them
One two three four
There you are four
The pals become happy
And rejoice heartily
Translation note:
These fifty-six lines extract I translated is from an epic-like Punjabi poem ‘چار پوستی’ that I learned, as a child, from my maternal uncle who had learned it from his mom’s maternal uncle. I am the fourth link in the generation for whom the poem still holds its charm. Hence, as a multilingual, being fluent in three languages, namely, Punjabi, Urdu and English, I decided to translate the poem for a wider audience. Though Punjabi is my first language, I have no formal training to read or write it. Furthermore, the dialect that I am fluent in and the one the poem uses have some dissimilarities. Having never seen the written version, relying on my memory, I had to first search some of the Punjabi words to see if they existed and then looked for their meaning and their English substitutes. For this laborious task, I used social media and dictionaries. It took me a while to find appropriate terms for the lexis used in the seventh line. Probing my memory, I thought of my uncle’s explanation of the line, and searched for the Punjabi word for ‘mirage’. The two options I found were ‘مِرگ جل’ and ‘مِرگ ترِشنا’. I decided to include ‘مِرگ ترِشنا’, as it fit in with the lyrics of the poem.
Using humour, the poet shows hoIn Punjabi the poem is recited in couplets, and I have tried to maintain the stylistic features in translation, but in some lines, I could not make the words rhyme completely. I have tried to save the lyrical quality of the text while capturing the meaning and essence in its entirety. w logic and common sense take leave for someone under the influence of a substance. This story of the dopes or simpletons is not just hilarious but also holds a universal appeal as people all over the globe, stoned, might be observed acting in a strange manner, and their antics may provide comedy for others.
The colloquial language and informal tone make the poem enjoyable. The narration of the comedic event is simple and straight forward. It makes its audience sympathize with the fools rather than feeling angry or irritated towards them. The poet has highlighted the local colours by using everyday names and how they are ruined to create nicknames for well-loved and close friends or family members. Applying this to a universal audience too, we may notice that this act is neither unique nor exclusive to our Punjabi culture, it rather prevails around the world.
Punjabi ‘چوپال’ where villagers gathered in evenings to relax and entertain after a hard day of labour was probably the first audience of the poem, who must have enjoyed and appreciated the nuances of the poem. This urge to while away the evening hours with a shared activity can now be compared to family evenings in most households when all gather to watch a movie, sitcom or even listen to a podcast.
I specifically chose this extract for translation because many authors of literature in English, like Hardy, have created memorable rural characters that win their audiences for their sheer simplicity of nature, sometimes even for their naivete. It’s time others see endearing Punjabi characters too. In retrospect, I feel that human experience is the same over time and space, and language/s unify people and shape their world view distinctly.
Bio note:
I am Saema Khalil, MA English Literature from PU and MPhil in Applied Linguistics from BNU. As a trilingual, I find myself fluent in all languages I speak, namely, Urdu, Punjabi and English. From a very young age I have had a keen interest in literature and pored over diverse literary pieces in Urdu as well as English. My work as an English language and literature teacher for O and A levels too has also aided in keeping my passion alive.
