Song: En Kadhal Solla (Tamil)
Film: Paiya
Music: Yuvan Shankar Raja

Attempting a more poetical translation than the one posted earlier. Its incomplete - finished the first five stanzas.

En kadhal solla neram illai
un kadhal solla thevai illai
nam kadhal solla vaarthai illai
unmai maraithaalum maraiyaadhadi

No right moment to declare my love
No need either for a declaration by you
Words may fail to describe it, yet
It cant be hidden that my love is true

Un kaiyil sera engavillai
un tholil saaya aasaiyillai
nee pona pimbu sogam illai
endru poi solla theriyadhadi

"I yearn not to be with you
I do not need to depend upon you
Leave me, and I wont pine"
Wish I knew how to utter such lies

Un azhagale un azhagale
en veyil kaalam adhu mazhai kaalam
un kanavale un kanavale
manam alaipaayum mella kudai saayum

Ah! such breathtaking beauty
That rains love in my heart desolate
Dreams, Oh such wonderful dreams!
Overwhelm me in waves that wont abate

Kaatrodu kai veesi nee pesinaal
endhan nenjodu puyal veesudhe
vayadhodum manadhodum sollamale
sila ennangal valai veesudhe

kadhal vandhale kannodu dhan
kallathanam vandhu kudi yerumo
konjam nadithenadi konjam thudithenadi
indha vilayaattai rasithenadi

Ye sylph your breezy moves,
play my heart like it was a flute
Body and mind dance to your tunes
Leaving me just a spectator mute

Love has as if unbeknownst to myself
brought some playful mischief to my eyes
I pretended otherwise, tormented myself
Yet found this playful torment to be nice

Un vizhiyaale un vizhiyaale
en vazhi maarum kan thadumaarum
adi idhu yedho oru pudhu yekkam
idhu valithalum nenjam adhai yerkum

One look of you, ye temptress
Changes my course, tempts me like nothing else
What sort of yearning is this
Where the heart aches so much, yet yearns for more!

Oru vaarthai pesamal enai paaradi
undhan nimidangal neelatume
veredhum ninaikaamal vizhi moodadi
endhan nerukangal thodaratume

yaarum paakkamal enai paarkiren
ennai ariyamal unai paarkiren
siru pilaiyena endhan imaigal adhu
unai kandaale gudhikindradhe

Hush! my dear, say no word
Let the moments pass, and silence lengthen
Think of nothing else, just close your eyes
Allow my burning passion to at least touch you

Whenever I am aware of myself, I realize that
I am always gazing at you with longing eyes

En adhigaalai en adhigaalai
un mugam paarthu dhinam yezha vendum
en andhi malai en andhi malai
un madi saiyndhu dhinam vizha vendum

My only wish remains
that everyday my day dawns with your sight
and the evening sets resting on your lap
watching the setting sun.

I am addicted to thinking about her like a chain smoker to cigarette...quite difficult to quit.

I have never been a good student...but the only reason I rue it is coz I don't learn the lessons of love.

Song: En Kadhal Solla (Tamil)
Film: Paiya
Music: Yuvan Shankar Raja

Found the lyrics very meaningful and beautifully expressive. I havent tried to be very poetical with the translation, just focussed on conveying the meaning in right spirit.

En kadhal solla neram illai
un kadhal solla thevai illai
nam kadhal solla vaarthai illai
unmai maraithaalum maraiyaadhadi

Cant find the right moment
To express my love
And I'm so crazy about you
That my love is enough for both of us
Are there any right words
To define this love
I know only this much, try as I may
I can never forget you

Un kaiyil sera engavillai
un tholil saaya aasaiyillai
nee pona pimbu sogam illai
endru poi solla theriyadhadi

No, I am not desperate for you
And I can live without you
Leave if you wish, I shall not suffer
Ah! If only I could lie this easily!

Un azhagale un azhagale
en veyil kaalam adhu mazhai kaalam
un kanavale un kanavale
manam alaipaayum mella kudai saayum

Your sight is like a breeze
that can cool the scorching summer
Your dreams, well up emotions in the heart so much,
that I feel choked.

Kaatrodu kai veesi nee pesinaal
endhan nenjodu puyal veesudhe
vayadhodum manadhodum sollamale
sila ennangal valai veesudhe

kadhal vandhale kannodu dhan
kallathanam vandhu kudi yerumo
konjam nadithenadi konjam thudithenadi
indha vilayaattai rasithenadi

When you prance breezily here and there
Its as if the winds play the flute of my heart
Its as if every part of my body
is beyond my control and dances to your tune

What sort of mischief does this love
play with my mind and heart
I played along, I got tormented too
Yet I cannot deny that I enjoyed every moment of it

Un vizhiyaale un vizhiyaale
en vazhi maarum kan thadumaarum
adi idhu yedho oru pudhu yekkam
idhu valithalum nenjam adhai yerkum

One look of you, ye temptress
Changes my course, tempts me like nothing else
What sort of yearning is this
Where the heart aches so much, yet yearns for more!

Oru vaarthai pesamal enai paaradi
undhan nimidangal neelatume
veredhum ninaikaamal vizhi moodadi
endhan nerukangal thodaratume

yaarum paakkamal enai paarkiren
ennai ariyamal unai paarkiren
siru pilaiyena endhan imaigal adhu
unai kandaale gudhikindradhe

Hush! my dear, say no word
Let the moments pass, and silence lengthen
Think of nothing else, just close your eyes
Allow my burning passion to at least touch you

Whenever I am aware of myself, I realize that
I am always gazing at you with longing eyes

En adhigaalai en adhigaalai
un mugam paarthu dhinam yezha vendum
en andhi malai en andhi malai
un madi saiyndhu dhinam vizha vendum

My only wish remains
that everyday my day dawns with your sight
and the evening sets resting on your lap
watching the setting sun.

Distracting muse

She would seem less of my muse and more of a distraction?

But now that the distraction has become the object of concentration
She has become my muse by being my distraction.

"Patience does not mean to passively endure. It means to be farsighted enough to trust the end result of a process.

What does patience mean? It means to look at the thorn and see the rose, to look at the night and see the dawn.

Impatience means to be so shortsighted as to not be able to see the outcome. The lovers of God never run out of patience, for they know that time is needed for the crescent moon to become full."

Elif Shafak, "The Forty Rules of Love"

Praise be to the Lord!
Who builds our character, by Testing our mettle by challenges and Giving us the strength to overcome them.
Alhamdulillah

Being calm as the center of a whirlpool
Into which rush furious waves from all around

Being receptive as the beach sand, soaked with sea water
Letting the waves of experience wash over

Sometimes white sea shells, sometimes filthy dark mud
Every wave leaves behind its mark
and washes away some sand off the beach
Thus does experience act upon our souls
Peace lies in accepting it all.

Sometimes we run after things
Like a dog pursues its tail
The closer it gets, the farther goes the object
When we desperately run after something
It shies away, even if it be a measly tail

A man who follows his own heart
Confident, secure in knowledge of his own worth
Even the worlds stops to take notice
and follows such a man.

"Fret not where the road will take you. Instead concentrate on the first step. That's the hardest part and that's what you are responsible for. Once you take that step let everything do what it naturally does and the rest will folllow. Do not go with the flow. Be The Flow"
- Elif Shafak, "The Forty Rules of Love"

Hmm... makes me think of how to approach my second book. I'm kind of stuck of in a limbo over here.

Try not to resist the changes that come your way. Instead let life live through you. And do not worry that your life is turning upside down. How do you know that the side you are used to, is better than the one to come?
- Elif Shafak in "The Forty Rules of Love"

My comment - its wise, but its easier said than done, but then again - there's no better option either.

The fire of adolescent passion burned for so long
That when it died out, I found myself in late youth
And suddenly all too old for my liking.

Confused sentiments

A romantic can shrug off romance,
But what would he do without it?
What would an ox do, even if freed,
when the yoke has been part of its entire life?

Love is a bitter pill at times
A horrible and slow torture by fire
But nothing else gives such ecstasy,
Nothing else makes one feel truly alive

My words come out all twisted
Not expressing what I feel
But then do I know what I really feel!
For never before I've felt so confused

But this much I know for sure
She brings peace to my troubled heart
Yet she also creates a storm
that raises huge waves off a quiescent surface
She robs what she gives
And then gives what she robs

Is wisdom in going forward,
Or is it in letting her come?
Is wisdom in opening up, accepting,
Or is it in being intriguing?
And why this fixation with being wise!
After all, is it wise to be wise,
Or wise to be a fool?
For she makes me look like a fool, even when I act wisely.

Dear Lord! How foolish I am about all this
for I know that she is none the wiser about this than me.

Only one thing I wish to know,
one thing to bring me peace.
Do I confuse her, O Lord?
As much as she confuses me!

Desperate for some movie to really charge me up. I think I seriously require some heroic movie... any suggestions anyone?

Oh! God, Help me!!!

Just a clarification to friends who follow my blog - this is not related to romance.
I am so bored with my job that I am not able to concentrate, even though its a pressure cooker situation.

Saahira

Ek kaafiyah na likh saka
Jo ek waqt mein shayar tha

Ishq ki taaleem di usko
Jo pahuncha huwa aashiq tha

Junoon ka jazbah kya hota hai
Us jaahil ko tab chala pata

Woh bhi ek saahira thi
Jiska deewana yeh Saahir tha

kaafiyah - rhyme
taaleem - lessons
saahira - witch... 'Bewitched' am I ;)
Saahir - yours truly's pen name (for this poem at least :D )and literally means wizard. I like the famous lyricist Sahir Ludhiyanvi.

Zindagi ke darya kinare chalte chalte
Ek majhi mili apni nayya ke saath

Humko dekh woh muskurayi, nayya nikali
Aur hum nikal pade uske saath

Uske mast nigahon mein dub gaye hum
Dil machal gaya jab usne pakda haath

Kis rukh mude, kis dagar taraf chal diye
Pata naha tha ki woh din tha ya raat

Usne kaha "Main Muqaddar hoon tera"
Aur humne bas maanli uski baat

Aage peeche ka koyi hosh nahi
Bas chal rahe hain thaame us naseeb ka haath

Woh hame yaad karte hai,
toh hum unhe bhula nahi paate

Unka andaaz dekh kar,
unhe nazarandaaz kar nahi paate

Sadaaqat

Teri ulfat mein main sadqe jaoon
Apni hasti se jyaada, aur kya doon sadqah
Agar mahboob nahi toh sadiq hi maan lo
Aur kya saboot chahiye meri sadaaqat ka

I am dedicated to you, my love
What bigger sacrifice can I give than my life
Give me the space of an intimate friend, if not your lover
What more proof you require of my sincerity

Commitment

Recently someone, who matters to me, queried me to this effect - "Would you stop valuing someone or something which is important to you, once you have got it?"

Since the "someone" part doesnt apply to my past history, I had only "something" to rely on, in order to decide. The most important "something" achieved so far has been finishing my book. It was one initiative, where I put all my heart and soul into it, even when towards the end, I had no heart left at all. I kept focus over a long period of time - in fact finishing it has been my finest achievement, irrespective of it getting published or not. But now it doesnt figure anywhere on top of the list of my important things. Does this then prove the rhetorical question posed above? The answer, I believe, is not really straightforward.

To answer this question, I have to start from the other end - i.e. the source, the root. And in my case (as also in most other cases, I believe) the source is passion for someone or something. To give an idea, how passion works, imagine passion as a lake - a finite fount of water, from where flows a stream of thought and feelings which drive us in a particular direction. If, one were to be free and relaxed, then the flow of passion acts on its own propelling a person towards its object and passion is always well-directed.

As long as one relies on the flow of the stream, its fine - the involvement in something passionate is one of the most satisfying experiences, believe me! Sometimes, like torrential waterfalls in a rainy season - the flood of thought and feelings could be overwhelming, but then sometimes it can peter down to a thin streak of water. In the latter case, if you are desperate to make things happen, when the flow itself doesnt suffice, then you try to invoke passion. One forces oneself to be passionate and thats when one starts using up that finite fount. Its like pushing water in thousands of gallons out from the lake and trying to create a torrential flow, which is nothing but artificial. One can continue doing this only so much and for so long for soon one would scratching the sand of the lake bed. Something similar happened with my book writing. By the time I finished up with it, I was as tired as Pheidippidis was after running the Marathon and like Pheidippidis, my passion for book-writing died soon after this Marathon.

But as lakes can be replenished by fresh water from rains or from some new source or channel of water feeding into it, similarly passion can be rejuvenated. After all, all it requires is water - the flow of thoughts and feelings in one specific direction. While I am not much inspired to start writing a book, nowadays I do have this occassional strong flow of thoughts and feelings like days of yore - when I am not restful until I write down what I feel or think.

While the analogy seems okay - what does it tell about my character, which, in fact, was what the original question sought to understand. This dependance on an inconsistent passion doesnt flatter me about myself. I admire a guy like Tendulkar who has played the same game since he was 4 years old and professionally for the last 20 years. Would such long-term commitment come without a deep, abiding passion? And yet how can one have such a Pacific Ocean full of passion is mindboggling! I got fizzled out after writing one book and here is this guy, as greedy as ever, even after scoring nearly 30,000 runs at international level!

Tendulkar, also seems to be a person, who is committed to his family and relations - the ideal family man. There could be a relation between these two, which links to the kind of man he is. But would this also mean that someone who is not committed on professional field would be similar on the personal relationships? No, I dont think so...Its because with people, unlike inanimate things - there is whole lot of different dimension called reciprocity involved. Books dont react, people do! And their reactions affect us in ways we can neither understand nor foresee. And though passion may be a starting point - with regards to people, over a period of time there are lot of other parameters like attachment, comfort, compatibility that come into reckoning, which create new channels to fill that fount.

So while our founts of professional and personal passions could be related, but they are entirely different.

To summarize the answer to the original question - firstly I believe that valuing "someone" and valuing "something" are wholly different questions. You can never be attached to an inanimate thing as a book as you can be to a person. People reciprocate, they are unpredictable, they can move you by their show of care and concern - none of which a book or any other "thing" can do. Also passions towards things, depending upon the nature of a person, can fizzle out, while sentiments towards people, once arisen do not die out as easily - they continuouly get augmented by interactions. Have we not faced situations where someone makes us notice them, simply by the attention they shower on us - we may enjoy it or we may even get irritated - but we cannot be indifferent to it. Secondly - whether it be person or thing - when we start forcing ourselves into feeling for something or someone, instead of allowing our nature to prevail, thats when we start killing that passion, attachment or whatever, by drying up that feeding fount.

"Dil jo keh na saka
wahi raaz-e-dil
kehne ki raat" kab aayegi
- yehi sochte hain hum!

Kya woh sahi waqt
kabhi aayega bhi ya nahi
Kya us ghadi mein
woh dabi baatein keh sakege hum

Jab itna kuch hai dil mein
Itne umadte armaan qaid hain yehan
To kya kya jata sakege hum
Kya kya kehna theek hoga
Aur kya hamesha ke liye
chupa le apne seene mein hum

Dost poochte hai humse
ki kahi ishq ke samundar mein doob toh nahi gaye

Par jab jhulasne lagege tabhi samjhenge ki pyar huwa hai
Abhi toh bas hum jal rahe hai

It makes me so happy to see
the happiness on your face
I am lost in another world,
lost in your adoring gaze

Nothing brings me greater cheer, than
listening to your cheerful voice
And that I could be the cause for it
leaves me breathless, bedazed

Pursuit of Happiness

Poochne ke liye hazaar sawaalat hai dil mein
Par jawab seh na paoon, isliye poochtha nahin hoon

The maddening uncertainties are yet a cozy comfort
When compared to the certainty of a harsh reality

Log kahenge ki yeh asliyat na jhel saka
Isliye apni dhun mein deewana ho chala
Par bas do pal ki khushi hi mil jaaye,
Khushiyon se zaroori aur kya hai bhala

So why should I not live in my own world of dreams
If in a dead soul, this can infuse a spirit anew.
And then perhaps there's the slimmest chance
that this happiness faked may turn out to be true.