Monday, November 05, 2012

babul mora naihar chooto hi jaaye

Search for "babul mora naihar chooto hi jaaye" and you'll find hundreds of links to this famous song composed by Nawab Wajid Ali Shah of Oudh. He composed this when he was exiled by the East India Company, when they took over his kingdom.
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Wajid_Ali_Shah

Satyajit Ray's only Hindi movie, - "shatranj ke khiladi", based on Munshi Premchand's short story is to be watched to understand the character of Nawab Wajid Ali Shah.

I've translated this song into English, trying to retain the poetry.


O’ father, the home I grew up in is slowly
fading away;
Four men are bedecking my palanquin (coffin)
 with flowers;
And soon I have to leave behind
all that is mine.

I see an unfamiliar garden that seems
a mountain to me;
And my new courtyard seems
an outside land;

O’ father, I’m going away, never to
come back!

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