Khed da reh gaya khilonyaan de naal, Kadi mushkala de naal to khelya hi nahi.
Dujaya to sikhda reh gaya, te kade aapne aap no mai kuch sikhaya hi nahi.
ja ja vad da university, schoola, kade aapne mann aandar ta vadya hi nahi.
Pad pad ke kahaniya, kitaba thaka, te kade aapne aap no mai padya hi nahi.
Karigari ki kitaba katthi kitya, kade karigar ke kol khalota koni.
Karigar ke kol khalota, kade karigari kiti koni.
Karigari kiti, kade kamai kit koni.
Kagazi kamai kiti, kade karam kamaya koni.
Vade vade khavaba nu fad da rehgya, jede hath vich ha usno mai fadya hi nahi.
Choti choti trophiya khadkanda rehgaya, te kadi vadi manjal te chadya hi nahi.
O Sethi de naal lad da rehgaya, te kade aapne ghamand naal te mai kade ladya hi nahi.
I remained stuck with toys; I never played with hardships.
I kept learning from others, and I never taught myself anything.
I went on to universities and schools, but I never went inside my own mind.
Reading and reading stories and books tired me; I never studied myself.
I collected books on craftsmanship, but I never stood by a craftsman.
I stood by the craftsman, but never did any craftsmanship.
I did craftsmanship, but I did not earn any income.
I made only paper income, but never earned any Karma.
I kept clutching at big dreams; I never held the one in my own hand.
I kept jingling small trophies, but I never climbed the big floor.
I kept fighting with Sethi, but I never fought with my own ego.
The last line is written from prespective of those readers who kept fighting with me, the poet of this poem, but never fought with their ego. It does not imply that I kept fighting with myself. My last name there also serves as my personal branding.
Kade Kuch Kita Hi Nahi is a self-reflective, mono-rhythmic poem meaning “did not really do anything”. It is not written from my prespective. The Punjabi variant does not include any pronouns whatsoever, and can refer to both self and any other person.
This poem has been inspired from Bulleh Shah’s Makkay Gayan Gul Mukdi Naaheen^1 and First segment of Nusrat Fateh Ali Khan’s Jana Jogi De Naal qawwali.
Translation at MIT's site. The translation linked is almost accurate, but it mistranslates Gaya, Buddhist Sacred place, as Goa, the state in modern day India.
This is the first poem I have written, and that too just 2 days before exams. I just wrote it after 3 days of consuming such content. I have not included in any religious or romantic references, a common thing in works I consumed. It also include a subpoem, a tautogram in which every word starts with 'k'.
Na mai IPO vich apply kita, te na unlisted company vich paisa gavaya.
Na mai stocks nu hilaya, te na mai management expense vich paisa lutaya.
Na mai Bank khata khulvaya, te na mai gadde thale paise nu lukaya.
Na mai koi heere lete, te na mai chandi nu chamkaya.
Na mai koi lottery khichi, te na mai taash nu sajaya.
Na mai kitthe boli layi, te na mai kade jholi nu falaya.
O Na koi Nafa Kamaya, te na koi nuksan sahaya.
Neither did I apply for IPOs, nor did I lose money in unlisted companies.
Neither did I trade stocks, nor did I waste money in management expense[like of mutual funds].
Neither did I open a bank account, nor did I hide my cash under the mattress.
Neither did I buy diamonds, nor did I polish any silver.
Neither did I ever buy a lottery ticket, nor did I ever arrange the playing cards.
Neither did I place a bid anywhere, nor did I ever spread my bag out to beg from anyone.
Oh! Neither did I earn any profit, nor did I ever suffer any loss.
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