Majzoob:An address to Pashto ( An English Translation of Majzoob’s poem’ Pakhtu ta- پښتو ته):

               An address to Pashto (An English Translation of Majzoob’s poem" Pakhtu ta- پښتو ته"):

My Pashtu, O my sweet Pashtu!                          Thy worries have curdled my blood,  Pashtu!

 You have been the co-traveller of Kings,

But they too have been indifferent to you.

The Mughals plundered everything of you,

Stripped you of every attire.

Pathans themselves have scorned you,

 Aloof they have kept themselves from you.

The people of The Cross did  flirt with  you,

But being the foreigners, a stranger they have treated you.

Even the mangiest ones have made fun of you,

They jeer at your mien and looks.

The roses at your bosom wilt in vain,

The Spring passes by in vain.

Nobody owned your graceful body,

Nobody kissed your rosy cheek.

What a pity! Whenever somebody falls in  love with you,

All the world takes him as their foe.

They harass your lovers on one or other pretext,

Some jail your lovers, some fetter them.

Why do you look on helplessly?

Why do you let them torment your lovers?

Don’t you wield the coquetry of the rose-cheeked ones?

Don’t you possess the grace of beauties, the pert?

Get up and muster the qualities of the pretty ones,

Summon up your allure and be vibrant.

 Still, your tresses  can raise storms,

 Still, your eyes can stir up fires.

 I see lightnings flash in your laughing,

 I see tumults stirred up by your every lovely act.

Where are your adoring Qalandaran[i]?

Where are those flame-eyed falcons?

O Jameely (the beauteous one) ! Where is thy Ajmal[ii]?

Where are sons of Khushal[iii], where is Aimal[iv], a second one?

Go, seek guidance from the Mahdi(the guided one),

Go, get a force  from Amir Hamza[v]

Go,  muster Toofan[vi]( a storm) upon your foes,

Go, let Khushal Khan march upon the Mughals.

  [i]Two poets of Pashtu with pen names of Qalandaran.

[ii] Ajmal Khatak, a great Pashtu poet. His name ( meaning The most handsome one)has a resemblance with the word Jameela(the beauteous one).Majzoob has played on this resemblance in phonetics and meanings.

[iii] Khushal Khan Khattak was a famous Pashtu poet, chieftain and warrior.

[iv] A Pathan warrior who fought against Mughals.

( Translated into English by Aslam Mir on 18.6.2020)