Lucknow: A Muslim youth in Uttar Pradesh has now translated Hindu prayer Hanuman Chalisa into Urdu after noted Urdu poet Anwar Jalalpuri came out with his rendition of Shrimad Bhagwad Gita.
"I have translated Hanuman Chalisa in 'musaddas' style which comprises six lines. Like a 'chuapai' has four lines, 'musaddas' has three 'shers' and six lines," Abid Alvi, who carried out the translation, said.
The youth, who hails from Jaunpur, said he was planning more such works, including translation of Shiv Chalisa prayer, as he felt that it will help people from the two communities to understand each other's cultre and beliefs.
He said the translation has a total of 15 "bandhs", each containing six lines. "I always wanted both communities (Hindus and Muslims) to know each other's culture. Therefore, I want that Urdu books are translated into Hindi and vice versa," he said.
"It is because people should know each other. This will strengthen brotherhood, unity and love. Therefore, I did this work," he explained.
"The idea (to do the translation) came to my mind during Varanasi visit where some foreigners asked people to recite Hanuman Chalisa," he said. Alvi said though he was a student of Hindi, it took him three months to translate Hanuman Chalisa into Urdu to do justice to the work and avoid any mistake.
On whether he faced any opposition, Alvi said, "When I asked several persons whether there would be any problem in doing it they said Quran preaches to maintain communal harmony at any cost."
He felt that though people read religious books, many do not understand its true meaning. "My father used to make me understand the meaning of each and every word of holy Quran," he said. Alvi said he also intends to translate Shiv Chalisa into Urdu.
"Likewise, I intend to translate Urdu books into Hindi so that Hindi-speaking people can understand them," Alvi said, adding he has support of his family and friends in his mission.
"People are happy that I have done something good," Alvi said.
Last year, noted Urdu poet and author Anwar Jalalpuri had translated the 700 verses of Shrimad Bhagwad Gita into over 1,700 Urdu couplets.
Jalalpuri has described Gita as the biggest literature on worldly education. "Urdu Shayari Mein Gita" was released by Uttar Pradesh Chief Minister Akhilesh Yadav.
Anwar Jalalpuri not only translated 'shlokas' (verses) in chaste Urdu 'shers' (couplets), but also made an effort to recapture the essence of the sacred text.
"The book is an effort to present the message of worldly education of Lord Krishna in its spirit through simple Urdu couplets," the author-poet said.
The Gita is set in a narrative framework of a dialogue between Pandava prince Arjuna and his guide Lord Krishna. Faced with the duty to fight his relatives and cousins, Arjuna undergoes a dilemma and inner conflict, to which Lord Krishna exhorts him to stop hesitating and fulfil his duty as a warrior.
Jalalpuri said while some verses were completed in a single couplet, others were spread in more couplets keeping in mind the "nazakat" (nicety) and "nafasat" (beauty) of Urdu poetry.
