Taj Mahal
taj might be the epitome of love for you
it might be the world to swear by for you
but my love, meet me somewhere else
all this splendour, what will a poor do with that
the path that bears the footprints of the riches
how can the souls dressed in love walk on that
my love, beneath this veiled advertisement of love
imprints of oppressed lives you should have seen
enchanted with tombs of dead kings and queens
the dimly lit homes of ours you should have seen
so many people in the world had been in love
who says that their emotions were not pious
but they didn’t have the means to flaunt it
just because they were also poor like us
these tombs, these castles and these courtyards
these remnants of the whims and fancies of kings
the blots these are on the surface of our earth
buried in them is the blood of my and your kins
my love, they also would have been in love
whose labours had gifted taj this beauty
tombs of their love are nowhere to be seen
nameless they are as if cursed with poverty
this garden this riverbank and this palace
this archway and an imposing dome above
a king with the help of the wealth he had
has mocked us poor, made fun of our love
oh my love, meet me somewhere else
Translation of ‘Taj Mahal’ by Sahir
