Meet the poet who translated Mirabai’s works into Urdu

By Mohammad Suaib

New Delhi, Oct 24 It is said that art, culture, literature, sports, etc., know no boundaries, division and difference. A Muslim poet has proven this notion true by translating Mirabai’s works dedicated to Lord Krishna into Urdu, even as he faced criticism.

Hashim Raza Jalalpuri, who hails from Uttar Pradesh, has translated 209 verses of Mirabai into 1,510 couplets.

Raza spent five years translating the verses written in Braj language into Urdu, a task which he says was “not that simple”.

“I have loved reading and listening to Mirabai’s verses since childhood and that is why I never looked back when I decided to translate them into Urdu,” he told IANS.

He said people have been reading the verses mostly in Braj language and wanted to make them available in Urdu as well since it is one of the most spoken as well as popular languages.

Besides, he is also trying to translate Kabir’s couplets into Urdu.

According to Hashim Raza, Mirabai is the greatest poet in the world and “there are only two poets in the world of poetry which can be given the status of sun and moon”.

“The first is Sappho, the poetess of ancient Greece, the second is Meera, the poetess of our own country, India. The ‘shayari (poetry)’ of both is is ‘Ishqiya Shayari (romantic poetry’. Shayari of both is a poetry of feelings while the poetry of both is the shayeri of a woman’s feelings,” he said.

Jalalpur — the town to which Hashim Raza Jalalpuri belongs, is considered as the land of poets, writers and dancers.

Hashim Raza, who is awarded with the Ganga Jamuni Tehzeeb honours and Urdu Ratna, is a well-known name in ‘mushaira’ circles and ‘Kavi Sammelan’.

However, his effort of translating Mirabai’s 209 verses into 1,510 ‘shair’ (couplets) sets him apart from the other poets of his era.

“When I launched the poster of my book on social media, I was criticised… and was told how a Muslim can do this. However, I ignored all those comments. I have completed the task and today, I am very happy,” a delighted Hashim Raza told IANS.