A book of Hindi translation of a selection of Rumi’s ghazals was unveiled at a ceremony in Hozeh Honari (Art Bureau) in Tehran on Saturday in the presence of its translator Balram Shukla.
Rumi was a 13th century Persian poet, scholar and mystic. His poems have been widely translated into many of the world’s languages
The selected poems, about a hundred ghazals, have been rendered into Hindi by Professor Shukla of Delhi University.
This is the first time such a volume of Rumi’s work has been translated into the Hindi language directly from Persian.
Earlier translations were mainly from the English versions of the poet’s work, Dnaindia.com reported.
A ghazal is a poetic expression of both the pain of loss or separation and the beauty of love in spite of that pain.
Shukla who teaches Sanskrit and has a master’s degree in Persian, has been working on the book for the past six years.
“I read Rumi’s works while pursuing (my) MA in Persian language and literature. I was mesmerized by the beauty of his writing and wanted to make his work accessible to our Hindi readers. So I decided to translate some of his finest ghazals into Hindi,” Dnaindia.com quoted Shukla as saying.
“Even though I have tried my best to follow the tone and rhythm of the Persian ghazals in translation, my work still cannot match the beauty of the original poetry.”
A deep grasp of Rumi’s original poetry requires excellent command of Persian language. With such command, one may succeed in peeling back the multitude layers of meaning.
Shukla has picked the title “Nihshabd Noopur”, meaning dancing in silence in Hindi language for the book, “since many of Rumi’s ghazal’s end by inviting people to silence”, Shukla told the Financial Tribune.
Silence is really valuable in ethics and mysticism, a concept visited also by other Persian mystics and poets like Sa’di.
It is believed that it is in silence that the soul gets the chance to look inward and opens a window for the voice of God to be heard.
Shukla’s book is divided into three parts: Baab-e-talab (spiritual yearning), Baab-e-tarab (divine ecstasy) and Baab-e-visaal (union).
Printed by Rajkamal Prakashan Publishing House in India, the translation was made possible through collaboration between Translation of Persia, a Tehran-based center active in translating and publishing of Persian works into other languages and Mahatma Gandhi International Hindi University based in the city of Wardha in India
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