The Wanderer - (Translation of Banjara by Manoj)

Here is the video of Banjara by Nandini Srikar and Vijay Prakash from Coke Studio at MTV (India) Season 2- with my attempted translation below of the lyrics that follow.


· Banjara – By Manoj
Gori sove sej par mukh par daare kes,
Chal khusro ghar aapne saanjh bhayi chahun des,
Tu vi banjara te saajan main vi banjara,
Tu vi banjara te saajan main vi banjara,
Kahan talaashein thour thikaanaa,
Tu vi banjara te saajan main vi banjara
Tu vi banjara te saajan main vi banjara
Tu vi banjara te saajan main vi banjara
Kahan talaashein thour thikaanaa
Tu vi banjara te saajan main vi banjara
Darbadar sa kahan bhatke rooh ka tukda,
Pehen ke roj pachhaso dukhdaa,
Tu vi kaisa naasamajh hai samajh na paawanderer,
Mujhko kaun sa bhaawanderer mukhdaa,
Do chhor pe dono ore khade is intazaar mein is intazaar mein,
Sanson ke beech hairaan dil, baithaa kataar mein, baithaa kataar mein,
Banaawanderer roj roj bigaade, kaisi ghalti mitaata hai,
Tu vi banjara te saajan main vi banjara,
Tu vi banjara te saajan main vi banjara,
Kahan talaashein thour thikaanaa
Tu vi banjara te saajan main vi banjaraaa
Paani gaara maati dhuaan wanderer tan hai chithadaa chithadaa saara,
Padh padh pothi gyeani aisaa hua bus kamaaye kachadaa.
Jaise til mein tel hai jyon, chakmak mein aag,
Khuddkaa saayin khuddmein hai, jaag sake to jaag,
Ghatataa safar tooti naav par is beech dhaar mein, is beech dhaar mein,
Apnon ke beech bejaan dil, biktaa udhaar mein, biktaa udhaar mein,
Basaawanderer roj roj ujaade, kaisi marzi chalaata hai,
Tu vi banjara te saajan main vi banjara,
Tu vi banjara te saajan main vi banjara,
Kahan talaashein thour thikaanaa
Tu vi banjara te saajan main vi banjara
Tu vi banjara, main vi banjara
Kahan talaashein thour thikaanaa
Tu vi banjara te saajan main vi banjara, banjara, banjara!

The Wanderer – By Manoj
(Translation – N. Madhavan)
The maiden sleeps with the black hair as her veil
Come home dear Khusro, the land beckons, with an evening feel
* * *

You are a wanderer, my love, and so am I
You are a wanderer my love, and so am I
Where will ye look for a hard ground to rest?
You’re a wanderer my love, and so am I!

The slice of the soul wanders near and far
Wearing woes everyday by the scores
Ignorant as you are, it escapes your mind
What’s that face that I see as my kind
The two stand on different shores, wandering, yearning, waiting in pain
The heart frozen twixt breaths, in a queue -- it seems in vain
Making and breaking everyday, washed in a welter of sins
You are a wanderer, my love, and so am I!

You are a wanderer my love, and so am I
Where will ye look for a hard ground to rest?
You’re a wanderer my love, and so am I

The water’s hard, the earth turns smoke, the body’s smithereens as hell
The wise man steeped in books still earns but dirt – this much I can tell
Like the oil in the seed, and the fire in the glow’s elan
Your truth lies within you. Wake up! Wake up - if you can!
Like the ebbing journey of a broken boat, caught midstream in a tide
The tired heart's lost among its kind; goes for a song, nowhere to hide
It rests and breaks everyday, in a helpless dance of fate
You are a wanderer, my love, and so am I!

You are a wanderer my love, and so am I
Where will wanderer look for a hard ground to rest?
You’re a wanderer my love, and so am I

You are a wanderer my love, and so am I
Where will ye look for a hard ground to rest?
You’re a wanderer my love, and so am I!

© N. Madhavan, 2012