· aaj aakhaN waris shah nuuN, kitoN kabraaN vichchoN bol,
· te aaj kitab-e ishq daa koii aglaa varkaa phol

· ik roii sii dhii punjaab dii, tuuN likh likh maare vaen,
· aaj lakhaaN dhiiaaN rondiaa, tainuN waris shah nuN kahen

· uTh dardmandaaN diaa dardiaa, uth takk apnaa punjaab
· aaj bele lashaaN bichhiaaN te lahu dii bharii chenab

· kise ne panjaN paniaN vichch dittii zahar ralaa
· te unhaaN paniiaaN dharat nuuN dittaa paanii laa

· is zarkhez zamiin de luun luun phuttia zaher **
· gitth gitth charhiaaN laaliaN fuuT fuuT charhiaa kaher**

· veh valliissii vha pher van van vaggii jaa, **
· ohne har ik baaNs di vanjhalii ditti naag banaa **

· pehlaa dang madaariaN, mantar gaye guaach, **
· dooje dang di lagg gayii, jane khane nuN laag **

· aagaaN kiile lok muNh, bus phir dang hi dang, **
· palo palii punjaab de, neele pae gaye ang.**

· gale`oN tutt`e giit phir trakaleon tuttii tand, **
· trinjanoN tuttiaaN saheliaaN, chaRakhRre ghuukar band**

· sane sej de beriaaN, luddaN dittiaaN rohr, **
· sane daliaan peengh aj, piplaaN dittii toR **

· jitthe vajdii sii phuuk pyaar dii, ve oh vanjhalii gayii guaach
· raanjhe de sab viir aaj, bhul gaye usadii jaach

· dhartii te lahuu varsiyaa, kabraaN paiaaN chon,
· preet diaaN shaahzaadiaaN, aaj vichch mazaaraaN ron

· aaj sabh `Qaido` ban gaye, husn ishq de chor
· aaj kitthoN liaaiye labbh ke waris shah ik hor

· aaj aakhaN waris shah nuuN, kitoN kabraan vichchoN bol,
· te aaj kitaab-e ishq daa, koii aglaa varkaa phol

· ** verses marked with ** are at best approximations as a result of which their literal translations are unreliable. I am unable to find my copy of Amrita Pritam`s original and hope to check and correct the original if I remember, January 22, 2001

1. Waris Shah wrote the celebrated Punjabi classic Heer Ranjha
2 Qaidon, the uncle of Heer, was the villain in the story

· I Ask Waris Shah, Today

· I ask Waris Shah today to speak up somewhere from the graves
· And to turn to a new page of the book of love

· Once, when one daughter of Punjab wept, you had hit out by writing (1)
· Today a million daughters weep and implore you, Waris Shah:

· Arise, O friend of the distressed! Arise, see the plight of your Punjab
· Corpses lie strewn in the fields and Chenab is filled with blood

· Someone has mixed poison into the waters of the five rivers
· And that water is now irrigating the land

· This fertile land is sprouting poison,**
· the horizon has turned scarlet-red and the curses fly to the sky**

· The poisonous wind that passes through the forest**
· Has transformed each bamboo-shoot into a cobra**

· The first snake-bite made the snake-charmer forget his spell**
· And the subsequent bites have addicted the people**

· They have been bitten again and again**
· And in no time, the limbs of Punjab have turned blue**

· Silenced are the songs in the streets, the thread of the spinning-wheels snapped
· The girls have fled the courtyards, the whirr of the spinning wheels halted

· The wedding beds and the boats have been thrown away
· Today the branch with the swing on the Pipal has broken

· The flute through which blew the breath of love is lost
· All the brothers of Ranjha today have forgotten this art

· Blood rained on the earth and the graves are leaking
· And the princesses of love are crying amidst the tombs

· All have become Qaidon (2) today, thieves of beauty and love
· Today, wherefrom shall we get yet another Warish Shah?

· I ask Waris Shah today to speak up somewhere from the graves
· And to turn to a new page of the book of love