मैं तुझे फिर मिलूंगी (I shall meet you again): Poem by Amrita Pritam

                                 
                             मैं तुझे फिर मिलूंगी (I shall meet you again): Poem by Amrita Pritam


     
          तेरा मिलना ऐसा होता है
          जैसे कोई हथेली पर एक वक़्त की रोटी रख दे।
                     
                        The above lines are written by Amrita Pritam, a prolific poet and writer from Punjab, India. Among her other honours, were the  Jnanpith Award in 1981 and Padma Vibhushan conferred on her in 2005.  Her passionate writing, the way she expresses pain is something beyond words. Bold and courageous woman, she loved two men throughout her life. The famous poet Sahir Ludhianvi and Firoze, an artist and writer, with whom she spent forty years of her life, though they never officially married. A woman way ahead of her time, her genre of writing is described as romantic-progressive. Currently, I am reading her poems and completely awed by her work.
                         As death stared at Amrita, she wrote the poem, ' मैं तैनू फिर मिलांगी ' addressed to Imroze. The poem was originally written in Punjabi, like most of her work was. Subsequently, it was translated in Hindi. I have attempted to to translate in English, tried not to lose the essence of it.
                         A video of my recitation of the poem, in Hindi, is attached too. Lemme know how you guys like it !!

Click on the link below to watch the video :)
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=DWfPF94QVDA&t=50s


I Shall Meet you Again.- Amrita Pritam

I shall meet you again.

Where and how I do not know.

Might just descend on your canvas, as a spark of your imagination.

Or probably appear as a mysterious line on your canvas,
silently, shall keep looking at you.

Much like the passionate and intense flames of sun, shall dissolve myself into you.
Or, I might just embrace all your colours or may be, spread myself across your canvas.

Know not where or how.

But I know for sure,I will meet you.

Perhaps I will turn into a fountain and the little drops of water that splatter around,
Shall rub those little dancing droplets of water,
unto your body, soothing and calming you.
 Shall rest myself tenderly to your chest.

Nothing else do I know, but I am sure of this,

whatever lessons time unravels,

this life (you) shall walk along with me.

As the body perishes everything comes to halt.

But these tiny strands of memories are moments etched in cosmos.
I shall select and pick these moments,
Gather all those strands.
 For I shall meet you again.
Where and how I do not know.

I shall meet you again.