Written by Fiction-writer, critic and translator, Asif Farrukhi was born in Karachi. A public health physician by training, he was educated at the Dow Medical College, Karachi, and the Harvard University, USA. Known for short stories and essays, seven collections of his short fiction and two collections of critical essays have been published. He has published translations of prose and poetry from modern and classical writers. His recent publications include a collection of new critical essays on Manto and Look At The City From Here, an anthology of writings about Karachi, published by OUP. He has recently published a book length study of the Urdu novelist and short story writer Intizar Husain. Asif Farrukhi contributes regularly to the English-language press. Two of his adaptations have been staged in Karachi. He is the editor of Duniyazad, a literary journal of new writing and contemporary issues in Urdu. He has presented papers and participated in literary events at home as well as abroad. He is a founder member of the Karachi Literary Festival and the Islamabad Literature Festival. For his distinguished work, he was awarded the Prime Minister’s Literary Award by the Pakistan Academy of Letters in 1997 and the Tamgha-i-Imtiaz by the Government of Pakistan. Asif Farrukhi lives and writes in Karachi. He became associated with the Habib University, Karachi, as the Director of the Arzu Centre for Regional Languages and Humanities. He is a visiting faculty member of the Aga Khan University, Karachi. Read more by this writer |
Translation: We are Our Hands by Tanveer Anjum “Cave of Unknown Dreams” by Irfan Ahmed. 2018. Digital Photograph.
We are Our Hands
Translated from the Urdu by Asif Farrukhi For the sake of this paradise
So many people Made their way through a tunnel full of rats Some survived this poison
So many people Clambered on a boat set to topple by its own weight Some were able to swim to the shore
So many people Were made to hide under the heavy load on a truck Some were pulled out Before they could use up all the air to breathe
This land is the great paradise for those who survive Every morning a lorry comes here So many people gather and Jump high to display how strong are their hands Some get chosen for work and are taken on to the lorry. ہم اپنے ہاتھ ہیں تنویرانجم
اس جنت کے لئے
بہت سے لوگ چوہوں سے بھری سرنگ سے گزرے چند ان کے زہر سے بچ گئے
بہت سے لوگ اپنے بوجھ سے الٹ جانے والی کشتی پر سوار تھے چند تیر کر کنارے تک پہنچ گئے
بہت سے لوگ ٹرک میں بھاری سامان تلے بکسوں میں چھپائے گئے چند سانس ختم ہونے سے پہلے نکال لیے گئے یہ سرزمین بچ جانے والوں کی جنت ہے جہاں ہر صبح لاری آتی ہے بہت سے لوگ اچھل اچھل کر اپنے ہاتھوں کی مضبوطی کی نمائش کرتے ہیں چند کو کام پر لے جانے والی لاری میں جگہ مل جاتی ہے
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