Abdul Ahad Azad’s Shikwa-e-Kashmir by Rahul Wanchoo

A SearchKashmir production.
Second in the series on Kashmiri poetry

Rahul Wanchoo brings alive an old forgotten work of Abdul Ahad Azad (1903–1948). Azad’s work titled “Shikwa-e-Kashmir” had imagined Kashmir as a figure narrating its own tumultuous history, all that it witnessed in all the centuries, concluding that world is always in constant motion, always has been, always will be, sometimes for good, sometimes for bad, that man has to learn from history, from mistakes and hope for a better future. The video puts the poem in context of present history of Kashmir, and reimagines it as a lament by a Kashmiri Pandit. In the end, optimism of Azad (of 1940s) is contrasted by pessimism that surrounds us in present times.

I asked Rahul, we need to shoot this in an abandoned Kashmiri Pandit house. I want to see you sing it in those ruins. Finding the house proved to be a challenge, not that there are not many such houses in Kashmir. Fear. There is fear. The people visiting are afraid. The “guardians” and in some cases, the pandits still in Kashmir, are afraid what camera might be used for and how it would impact them. Something so simple became tricky. In the end, Rahul mentioned his mother’s birth house is still there in Kashmir. I asked him, “What about your own house?” He replied, “It is a rubble.” So, the song was shot in Rahul’s matamaal, or what remains of it. Once the song was done, I asked him to give me some Sahir Ludhianvi.

Video Link

Audio steam and Download available here:

Saavn: Link



Lyrics:

Zamaan Kaetyah Karaan che Gardish 
World, how it spins

Na chus araam na chus karaar
knows no relief, finds no peace

Zamaan Kaetyah Karaan che Gardish 
World, how it spins

Na chus araam na chus karaar
knows no relief, finds no peace

Kaman Baharan Karaan Dadvun
Many a Gardens, it burns down

Kaman Baharan Karaan Dadvun
Many a Gardens, it burns down

Kaman Dadvanan Bahaara 
Many a burnt ones, it returns to Spring

Zamaan Kaetyah Karaan che Gardish 
World, how it spins

Na chus araam na chus karaar
knows no relief, finds no peace

Kwcchee be rechhnaev-thas
cradled in Lap

Kwcchee be rechhnaev-thas
cradled in Lap

Kwcchee be rechhnaev-thas
cradled in Lap

Kwcchee be rechhnaev-thas
cradled in Lap

Timai ttaa’tthy karum yimoov sanz gulshanu’ky paa’tthy
dear ones, those bedecked like a garden fair

na rood-y tim gul na rood-y bulbul
neither the garden, nor its birds, now remain

dilas me gai Khaar Khara
My heart it turned dust and ashes

Zamaan Kaetyah Karaan che Gardish 
World, how it spins

Na chus araam na chus karaar
knows no relief, finds no peace

Yimav achaev wuch me
With these eyes I have seen

Yimav achaev wuch me
With these eyes I have seen

Yimav achaev wuch me
With these eyes I have seen

Yimav achaev wuch me
With these eyes I have seen

Raaz Laltaaditas hiwi gul falaan wariyah
many a blooming flowers like King Lalitaditya

timan achan tal no’ treesh naagan
Before my eyes, those springs have dried

gatshaan baagan chhu loorpara
my Gardens, they stand pillaged

Zamaan Kaetyah Karaan che Gardish 
World, how it spins

Na chus araam na chus karaar
knows no relief, finds no peace

Zamaan Kaetyah Karaan che Gardish 
World, how it spins

Na chus araam na chus karaar
knows no relief, finds no peace

Zamaan wuch wuch hi banaan chu insaan
Watching the world, people learn

wuchum ti wariyah hetchum ti wariyah
I have seen a lot, learnt a lot

Zamaan wuch wuch hi banaan chu insaan
Watching the world, people learn

wuchum ti wariyah hetchum ti wariyah
I have seen a lot, learnt a lot

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