Original
Agha Shahid Ali’s ‘I want from love only the beginning,’ his version of the poem by Mahmoud Darwish, from collection ‘Rooms are Never Finished’.
Translation in Hindi
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About the translator
Akhil Katyal
Akhil Katyal is finishing his doctoral thesis at SOAS, University of London. He blogs at akhil katyal poetry
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What a lovely thought isn’t it? I want from love only the beginning – sexuality, clearly, has nothing to do with “the first flush” — everyone goes through it.
the translation, i think, is poignant, reminiscent of neruda in its almost clinical rendering of a past love (Tonight I can write the saddest lines).
Thank you Akhil.
Cheers to the first one!
Lovely piece of work, I especially loved the line :A little land will suffice for us to meet.
Thank you Akhil.
@Ruswa : true, “the first flush” has really nothing to do with sexuality, it is after all just love.
sometimes it is the love of a lifetime even if it lasts just a week!
so all we need is a beginning.
these lines are so honest, so direct, so simple and so beautiful.
@Akhil owe you for this! Thank you.