Wednesday, July 24, 2013

On The Endless Waiting To Be Understood

Tough love dished out by Anton Chekov to his brother, Nikolai:

"You often complain to me that people 'don't understand' you. But even Goethe and Newton made no such complaints. Christ did, true, but he was talking about his doctrine, not his ego. People understand you all too well. If you don't understand yourself, then it's nobody else's fault."

Find the full text here: http://www.lettersofnote.com/2013/07/every-hour-is-precious.html

******

On a slightly different but related note: The final spoken verse from 'Mori Araj Suno' sung by Tina Sani with Arieb Azhar (Coke Studio Pakistan, Season 3)

Iss surat seh arz sunatay
Dard batatay, Nayya khaitay
Minnat kartay, Rasta taktay
Kitni sadiyaan beet gai hain 
Ab jakar yeh bhaid khulla hai
Jis koh tum ne arz guzari
Jo tha haat pakadnay waala
Jis jaag laagi nao tumhaari
Jis say dukh ka daaroo manga
Toray mandir may joh nahin aaya
Woh to tum heen thay
Woh to tum heen thay


Translation (with some alterations, from here)

With this visage, you plead
Recounting your pain, Rowing your boat
Asking to be blessed
Then waiting expectantly...
Countless centuries have passed this way
Only now to reveal
The one whom you had appealed to

The one who held your hand and guided you
The dock where you anchored your boat
The healer you sought a panacea from
The one who did not visit your temple...
...Was you all along

It was you all along

1 comment:

  1. therapeutic it was.

    although the Coke studio poem is etched in my mind, and I loved the Chekov one.

    To be understood really??

    thanks

    ReplyDelete