# Hindi, Urdu: सरफ़रोशी की तमन्ना sar-faroshii سرفروشی



## Zafar202

*सरफ़रोशी की तमन्ना*

Thanks in advance.


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## nadim

Sarafarōśī kī tamannā
_
The desire to sacrifice life. 
The desire of martyrdom._


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## Alfaaz

Here is an English translation of the Urdu poem by Bismil Azimabadi.


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## nadim

Alfaaz said:


> Here is an English translation of the Urdu poem by Bismil Azimabadi.


they translated it as:
_The desire for revolution is in our hearts_

is it make sense here?


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## Alfaaz

No. I guess I should have mentioned that it is not a literal translation, but it can provide a gist of the main themes.


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## marrish

The meaning of _sar-faroshii_ in Urdu is "courage, bravery". It can be extended by "to sacrifice one's life", "to be brave for a battle and loose life". The given English translation uses "revolution" in the first verse but then it turns to "struggle". I believe such approach is effective in its portraying the extended sense of this word in the context of this poem.


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## Khaanabadosh

The context in which ghazal was written is revolutionary fervour, but literally it doesn't mean revolution. 

Sar-faroshii - is extreme fervour or passion. Literally you are ready to put you head on the line (farosh = sell)


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## Gope

Most interesting, how one can go from the literal to its extended meaning, given the context of the poem.
And thanks to Alfaaz SaaHib for giving the reference.


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## nadim

Gope said:


> Most interesting, how one can go from the literal to its extended meaning, given the context of the poem.
> And thanks to Alfaaz SaaHib for giving the reference.


true, while translating one should strict to the literal. as far as the context or theme is concerned, leave it to the experties of every individual.


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## Zafar202

Thanks for helping me.


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## MonsieurGonzalito

The Urdu Lughat lists _sar farosh_ as an adjectival phrase, something like, "one who has a disregard for his own life".
The Oxford dictionary, similarly.

_sar farosihii_ would be the abstract substantive derived from such an adjective, hence, "heroic fervor, readiness to sacrifice oneself"

There was a popular 1999 Indian movie, also called "Sarfarosh", but curiously it is translated as "Fervour" (while, according to the above, perhaps should have been "Fervorous").

The film's most popular song, "Zindagi Maut Na Ban Jaye", which is quite catchy, is full of terms appealing to patriotic sentiment, and one of its verses goes, similarly to the thread's title:

_sar-faroshshii kii shamaa dil meN jalaa lo,  yārō
Light the flame of heroism/sacrifice in (your) heart, comrades!_

And there was also a recent Netflix series 21 Sarfarosh: Saragarhi 1897 | Netflix, about a Punjabi garrison whose soldiers defended a couple of frontier positions against the Afghans, facing impossible odds.


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## Qureshpor

In a battle or struggle that one believes to be for a right cause, one is prepared to loose one's head (chopped off in a battle, taken to the gallows by the enemy or shot by a firing squad) and that loss of one's head (life) in Urdu poetry is given the terminology of "sar-faroshii" or "head-selling". A "sar-farosh" is a person who is a head-seller or a head-gambler.

One such battle was jaNg-i-aazaadii which began in 1857 and continued until 1947. During this period Urdu served as the language of revolutionary zeal, of both prose and poetry. One such poet who was hanged by the British, was Ram Prasad Bismil Azimabadi/Shahjahanpuri. Another revolutionary poet who was hung with him was Ashfaqullah Khan Shaheed. Most people are only aware of Baghat Singh Shaheed but many many people of all faiths and backgrounds lost their lives during this period.

سرفروشی کی تمنا اب ہمارے دل میں ہے
دیکھنا  ہے زور کتنا  بازوئے قاتل  میں ہے

اے  شہید ملک و ملت تیرے جذبوں پہ نثار
تیری قربانی  کا چرچا غیر کی محفل  میں ہے

sar-faroshii kii tamannaa ab hamaare dil meN hai
dekhnaa hai zor kitnaa baazuu-i-qaatil meN hai

ai shahiid-i-mulk-o-millat tere jazboN pih
nisaar
terii qurbaanii kaa chachaa Ghair kii maHfil meN hai.

Given above are just two couplets of this long Urdu Ghazal.

Desire to be reckless with our lives is set firmly in our hearts
We will see what strength there is in the murderer's arm

O martyr of our land and nation, we offer our selves to your passion.
The talk of your sacrifice is causing a stir in the enemy's camp.


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## marrish

Qureshpor said:


> chachaa Ghair kii maHfil meN hai.


It's of course_ cha_*r*_chaa _(talk), for those who can't read Urdu.


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## Qureshpor

marrish said:


> It's of course_ cha_*r*_chaa _(talk), for those who can't read Urdu.


Thank you for the typo correction. One point worth bearing in mind is that the word charchaa is masculine in Urdu and feminine in Hindi. It is being used as a masculine noun in the Urdu Ghazal here.


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## desi4life

Qureshpor said:


> Thank you for the typo correction. One point worth bearing in mind is that the word charchaa is masculine in Urdu and feminine in Hindi. It is being used as a masculine noun in the Urdu Ghazal here.



Actually, “charchaa” is used as both feminine and masculine in Hindi.  I believe this was mentioned in other threads too.


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## Qureshpor

desi4life said:


> Actually, “charchaa” is used as both feminine and masculine in Hindi.  I believe this was mentioned in other threads too.


Both Macgegor and Chaturvedi Hindi dictionaries give this word as feminine in Hindi. If it is being used also as a masculine
by Hindi speakers or writers, then they must be following Urdu usage as per Bismil's example cited. I don't believe this is one of those nouns which is both masculine and feminine in one and the same language. An example of such a word is saaNs which is both masculine and feminine in Urdu.

If there is a thread on "charchaa" we can continue with this discussion there, if need be.


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## MonsieurGonzalito

Qureshpor said:


> If there is a thread on "charchaa" we can continue with this discussion there, if need be.


*Hindi/Urdu: charchaa चर्चा چرچا*


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