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The Rediff Special/Bus to Pakistan

'Lahore ka safar mubarak ho'

Prime Minister Atal Bihari Vajpayee is likely to be carrying a special gift for poets across the sarhad when he boards the inaugural Delhi-Lahore bus on Saturday, February 20.

The unusual gift is an emotional rendition by noted Urdu poet and Jnanpith award-winner Ali Sardar Jaffri from his album Sarhad, reflecting the desire of the Indian people for a peaceful solution to the disputes that have divided the two neighbours.

"Guftagu band na ho/Baat se baat chale
Subah tak sham-e-mulakaat chale...
Regzaron se adavat ke guzar jayenge
Khoon ke dariyaon se hum paar utar jayenge"
(Keep the dialogue going, one word leading to another,
The evening rendezvous lasting till dawn
We shall cross the deserts of hate
And ford the rivers of blood).

The poet, who was invited to join the prime minister's delegation but had to decline on account of ill health, has sent a set of 10 cassettes of Sarhad to Vajpayee to be gifted to poets and writers of Pakistan as a message of love and friendship.

The cassette contains five poems by Jaffri dedicated to the hopes and aspirations of the people for better Indo-Pak relations.

Another poem is Subah Farda which calls upon the people of the two countries to forget the bitter past and usher in a new dawn.

''Isi sarhad pe kal dooba tha suraj hoke do tukde,
Isi sarhad pe kal zakhmi hui thee subah azadi,
Yeh sarhad khoon ki, ashkon ki, aahon ki, shararon ki,
Jahan boi thee nafrat aur talwaren ugai theen,
Yehan mashooq ke chehre aansuon mein jhilmilaye the,
Yehan beton se maa, pyari bahan bhai se bichchdi thee,
Ye sarhad jo lahu peeti hai aur shole ugalti hai,
Hamari khak ki sarhad pe nagin ban ke chalti hai,
Saja ke jung ke hathiyar maidan mein nikalti hai,
Main is sarhad pe kabse muntazir hoon subah farda ka''
(The setting imperial sun broke into two on this very border yesterday,
the dawn of freedom was wounded at this very border yesterday.
This is the border of blood, tears, sighs and sparks
where we sowed hatred and reaped a harvest of swords.
Here stars struggled in the eyes of our dear ones.
Here beloved faces flickered in streams of tears.
Here a mother lost her son, a brother his sister.
I stand on this border waiting for the dawn of tomorrow.)

In an accompanying letter to the prime minister, Jaffri has quoted the legendary Mirza Ghalib: "Ek Brahmin ne kaha hai ye saal bahut achcha hai" (a fortune-teller has said this is a very good year).

Jaffri describes as very positive Vajpayee's decision to travel to Pakistan, and exudes confidence that it will yield very good results.

In the letter written in Urdu in the Devanagri script, the poet has said better Indo-Pak relations would guarantee a better destiny for the subcontinent and South Asia.

"The hearts of lakhs of people are with you as you embark on this noble mission," he said, adding, "Lahore ka safar mubarak ho" (happy journey to Lahore).

UNI

The Rediff Specials

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