जिस्म
मुझे मेरा जिस्म छोड़कर बह गया नदी में
अभी उसी दिन की बात है
मैं नहाने उतरा था घाट पर जब
ठिठुर रहा था-
वो छू के पानी की सर्द तहज़ीब डर गया था।
मैं सोचता था,
बग़ैर मेरे वो कैसे काटेगा तेज़ धारा
वो बहते पानी की बेरुखी जानता नहीं है।
वो डूब जाएगा-सोचता था।
अब उस किनारे पहुँच के मुझको बुला रहा है
मैं इस किनारे पे डूबता जा रहा हूँ पैहम
मैं कैसे तैरूँ बग़ैर उसके।
मुझे मेरा जिस्म छोड़कर बह गया नदी में।
(The poem’s been taken from anubhuti-hindi.org)
The most beautiful (and the most troublesome) vista of poetry is that the only person who understands the context and the intended meaning of a poem is the poet who wrote it. The reader can ONLY guess and (hence put more appropriately) is merely an *interpreter*.
With this indirect disclaimer, I present you my interpretations (in a tone that depicts as if I’m the poet) of Jism, a poem by Gulzar Saab.
Mujhe mera jism chhodkar beh gaya nadi mein।
Abhi usi din ki baat hai
Main nahane utara tha jab,
Thithur raha tha-
Woh chhuu ke paani ki sard tehzeeb darr gaya tha।
Literal:
The soul is the narrator here. She says that its body has left her and sailed in the river. She then recalls a certain day when he (the body) descended down the bank to take a bath and was shivering with cold. He was scared of the extremely cold _nature_ of water. Notice the beautiful usage of “I” (by the soul) in the third line to denote an action desired by the soul, and performed by the body.
Metaphorical:
The poet uses the analogy of aatma (soul) to the lover, and her body to the beloved. The opening line indicates a painful separation between the two. The narrator’s says that his beloved has left him and sailed in the big-bad world. He remembers the times when he tried to get her out of her dreamy idealistic world, and get her habituated to the society. Needless to say, she was hurt by the coldness of people.
Main sochta tha,
Bagair mere woh kaise kaatega tez dhaara
Woh behte paani ki berukhi nahi jaanta hai ।
Woh doob jayega-sochta tha main ।
Literal:
The soul always wondered whether the body would be able to sustain the currents in the river. After all, he isn’t aware of the apathy of the waves. How would he be able to survive the forces of the ruthless currents!
Metaphorical:
He used to wonder if his beloved would be able to survive the fast paced and uncaring life in the real world. The world outside her dreams is extremely cruel. It couldn’t care less for her feelings. She may be emotionally shattered.
Ab us kinaare pahonch ke mujhko bula raha hai ।
Main is kinaare pe dubta ja raha hoon paiham ।
Main kaise tairoon bagair uske ।
Literal:
Quite contrary to the concerns of the soul, the body’s reached the other end of the river and is now calling the soul to join him… the soul, however, has now realized that she can not travel without her body.
Metaphorical:
Slowly and steadily, the beloved has shattered all the concerns of her lover… she’s now become accustomed to the world and its cruel ways. On the contrary, the lover, who always seemed engrossed with the fragility of his beloved is the one unable to cope-up. He’s now coming to terms with his own weaknesses.
Mujhe mera jism chhodkar beh gaya nadi mein ।
Literal:
Smashing all the concerns and worries, the body has left the soul and set out on his lone voyage. It wasn’t really the body who needed the soul, rather it was the soul who required a body to survive.
Metaphorical:
The lover has finally recognized his own frangibility. All the time he worried about his beloved, when in reality, his strength was a farce… completely relative to someone else’s weaknesses. Now when his beloved is strong enough, he’s coming to terms to the harsh and bitter realities.
