Wednesday, January 20, 2010

Ahista ahista - Jagjit Singh























I love this Ghazal titled 'Ahista, Ahista' which roughly translated into English is 'Slowly, Slowly.' The Ghazal is a particular form of poetry usually recited or sung in Urdu and having its roots in India. The artist on the Video is Jagjit Singh and the song was written by Ameer Minai. Jagjit Singh originally sang this on his album titled ‘Unforgettables’, which was released with his wife Chitra Singh in 1975.
The following is my attempt at an English version of this song.
revealing her beautiful features
the veil falls away, slowly, slowly
appearing over the mountains
the moon rises, slowly, slowly
when she left behind her youth,
she hid behind this veil
modesty and social ways appearing
as the youthfulness waned, slowly, slowly
this night of separation I am awake,
angels of death let me sleep now
take account of this situation tomorrow,
when you have time, slowly, slowly
so much passion for conversation
yet she is fearful and when
she replies her lips
are tightly clenched, slowly, slowly
there is just a slight difference
between our love for one another
on my side in a rush
and from you it is always slowly, slowly
she has beheaded me,
so without passion I tell her
your graciousness! slowly,
your majesty! slowly, slowly

1 comment:

Anonymous said...

I was in an Indian market in a U.S. city and asked the clerk to recommend some traditional Indian music from the cd's for sale. I wanted something that felt spiritual, like Krishna chanting or something. The clerk immediately grabbed a Jagjit Singh cd and handed it to me. It is so great. A regular on this rock n roller's disc changer. Love this video of him live. Thank you!