LIFE…….
A French Poem by
LEON DE MONTENAEKEN (1902)
La vie est vaine,
Un peu d’ amour
Un peu de haine,
Et puis–bon jour
La vie est breve
Un peu d’ espoir
Un peu de reve,
Et puis–bon soir !!
Hindi Translation:by J S Broca
Zindagi bus yoon hee hai,
Thoda sa pyaar,
Thodi see nafrat,
Aur phir–shubh prabhat !
Zindagi chhoti see hai,
Thodi see aasha,
Thodey sey sapney
Aur phir–shubh ratri !!
English Translation by J S Broca :
Life is vain
A little love
A little hate
And then– Good Day !
Life is short
A little hoping
A little dreaming
And then–Good Night !!
Dear Readers, this was a poem I recall having learnt in Class IX or X ( 1964,1965 )in school,when I had taken up French as an additional language.The translations into English and Hindi were done later in 1971-1972 when I was in M S University Baroda, studying in III or IV year of Engineering.I have loved the poem ever since,because of its simplicity. I recently searched it out from my old diary for MUSE when I saw others contributing poems in other languages (eg Gujarati) so that others can share it. Hope the effort is worth it.
J S BROCA
New Delhi
28th June 2009
Great!
Absolutely charming poetry.
Cheers,
Mouli.
28th June 2009
Dear Jatinder ji,
It’s , in deed, a pleasant experience to turn pages of diaries we wrote long back.Even letters received years ago kindle the spark of affectionate feelings in us. Very pleasurable way of enjoying the present looking back into past days.I love the way you retrieve gems from your treasure trove of poems, anecdotes, diaries etc and share your happiness with us, ur friends. We are lucky.
Yes, I love the song oye lucky lucky oye.
A one year old child in our ground floor named Nishika dances when I sing oye nicky nicky oye.
Aur kya hai sir.Farmayiye.
It is always a pleasure to receive and read your mails .
The fragrance of love they carry and radiate cheer is unmistakable, unforgettable.
cheers,
mouli.
A very simple and profound expression. The translation has come out very well. Enjoyed the piece much. Regards
Varanasi Ramabrahmam, Pondicherry
Jun 29, 2009
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