Stones and Bricks are locked up, Dogs are Free

I have been an unabashed fan of Sahir Ludhianvi, perhaps a part of me is so drawn to him because I had the chance to hear his booming voice and hear him read his Parchaiyaan, but I have not been completely ignorant of other Urdu poets too. People like Faiz, Josh and Iqbal have not been strangers to me.

It was in the midst of heart breaking pictures reaching us from Pakistan I remembered a few lines from Faiz’s poem. I thought I would Google and see if it I could get the complete poem but somehow did not get around to doing it. Then, came the pictures tyranny in Kuala Lumpur and the line from his poem kept repeating in my head.

Here is the first few lines, in Romanized Urdu and an attempted free verse translation of the same:

nisaar main teri galiyon ke aye watan, ke jahaan
chali hai rasm ke koi na sar utha ke chale
jo koi chaahane wala tawaaf ko nikle
nazar churaa ke chale, jism o jaan bachaa ke chale
hai ahl-e-dil ke liye ab ye nazm-e-bast-o-kushaad
ki sang o Khisht muqayyad hain aur sag azaad

Esteemed lanes and streets
Of my beloved country, where
It has become a tradition that
No one should walk with head held high
If some lovers do, perchance, for a pilgrimage
Then slink, not walk, with downcast eyes.

It is wrenching,
For those with beating hearts, to see
That stones and bricks are locked up and
Dogs are roaming free.

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Indeed, in my search I found the complete poem, at a couple of places and uncannily someone who had translated it too at this site. And used it in the same context as well.