These are the hands
Michael Rosen’s poem honoring the hands of NHS healthcare workers who care for patients from first touch to last, translated into Punjabi.
ਇਹ ਗੀਤ ਨਹੀਂ ਮਰਦੇ: ਲਾਲ ਸਿੰਘ ਦਿਲ / These Songs Do Not Die: Lal Singh Dil
Translated poems by Lal Singh Dil about caste oppression, labor, and the enduring power of songs and words.
ਫ਼ਿਰਕੂ ਦੰਗੇ ਅਤੇ ਉਨ੍ਹਾਂ ਦਾ ਇਲਾਜ / Communal Riots and Their Solutions
Bhagat Singh’s essay analyzing the causes of Hindu-Muslim communal riots and arguing that economic reform and class consciousness are the real solution.
ਸਿੱਖਣੀ ਫ਼ਾਤਿਮਾ ਬੀਬੀ ਉਰਫ਼ ਜਿੰਦਾਂ / Sikhni Fatima Bibi Alias Jindan
A poem recounting the Partition-era abduction and forced conversion of a young Sikh woman, Jindan, who came to be known as Fatima.
Tobha Tek Singh by Saadat Hasan Manto
A repost introducing Saadat Hasan Manto’s short story ‘Tobha Tek Singh’, about an asylum inmate caught in the absurdity of Partition.
देश कागज पर बना नक्शा नहीं होता/ ਦੇਸ਼ ਕਾਗ਼ਜ਼ ਤੇ ਬਣਿਆ ਨਕਸ਼ਾ ਹੀ ਨਹੀਂ ਹੁੰਦਾ
A poem arguing a nation is more than a map on paper, that violence against any citizen wounds the whole country, and urging that murderers never be forgiven.
The Station of the Blind / ਅੰਨ੍ਹਿਆਂ ਦਾ ਸਟੇਸ਼ਨ
A poem condemning a crowd of bystanders' willful blindness and complicity in witnessing a mob killing without intervening.
Tomorrow someone will arrest you/ ਕੱਲ੍ਹ ਨੂੰ ਤੁਹਾਨੂੰ ਕੋਈ ਗ੍ਰਿਫਤਾਰ ਕਰ ਲਵੇਗਾ
A Meena Kandasamy poem, translated into Punjabi, depicting the escalating tactics states use to arrest, brand, and silence dissenters.
ਮਕਬੂਲ ਫਿਦਾ ਹੁਸੈਨ / Maqbool Fida Hussain
A poem celebrating painter M.F. Hussain’s life and art, and the borderless, timeless freedom of colors.
ਤੂੰ ਨਹੀਂ ਆਇਆ
A poem by Amrita Pritam about longing and unfulfilled waiting for a lover who never arrives, even as spring blossoms all around.
kujh unj vi rahwan aukhiaN san
Munir Niazi’s poem, given with two English translations, reflects on a hard, sorrowful life journey among harsh people and a lingering wish for death.
ਧਰਮੀ ਬਾਬਲ ਪਾਪ ਕਮਾਇਆ / Honorable father committed a sin
An excerpt from Shiv Kumar Batalvi’s poem Loona retelling the Puran Bhagat legend from Loona’s viewpoint, defending her against being branded characterless for her forced, mismatched marriage.
Saadi jithe laggi aai / let me be
A Sufi-inspired Gurdas Mann song about seeking the divine across all faiths while staying devoted to one’s beloved despite others' judgment.
ਮੇਰੇ ਕੋਲ ਪੜ੍ਹਨ ਆਉਂਦੇ ਬੱਚੇ/ The children who come to learn from me
A poem by Gurpreet Mansa about a rural Punjab teacher’s mix of affection and frustration toward his poor, mischievous, dreaming students.
ਫਿਰ ਆਈ ਹੈ/Again, She has Come
A Kartar Singh Duggal poem comparing a worn, repeatedly rejected bureaucratic file to a weary, disgraced woman.
ਬੁਰਕੀ / bait
A poem on how the powerful use flattery and small favors, rather than force, to tame their enemies, and on resisting being bought.
ਆਪਣੀ ਅਸੁਰੱਖਿਅਤਾ ‘ਚੋਂ / अपनी असुरक्षा से / Lines to Our Own Insecurity
A Paash poem arguing that the state’s version of national security and peace, built on conformity and suppression, is itself a threat to the people.
ਅਸਮਾਨ ਤੇ ਧੁੱਪ / the sky and sunshine
A poem in dialogue between the sky and sunshine about the longing of separation and the joy of reunion.
ਅੱਗ ਨੂੰ ਹਵਾ/spreading fire
A Punjabi translation of Gorakh Pandey’s poem giving voice to the ancient, simmering anger of the oppressed despite fears it stokes rebellion.
ਕਮਜ਼ੋਰੀਆਂ/Weaknesses
A Punjabi translation of Bertolt Brecht’s short poem about unrequited, one-sided love.
ਉੱਕ ਗਿਆ ਸੁਪਨਾ/ A Dream Deferred
A Punjabi translation of Langston Hughes' poem asking what becomes of a dream that is deferred.
spill overs / ਪਾਣੀਆਂ ਦੇ ਵਹਿਣ
A bilingual Punjabi-English poem about rain, memory, and longing for words and feelings that were never expressed.
ਜੋ ਲੜਨਾ ਨਹੀਂ ਚਾਹੁੰਦੇ/Those who do not want to fight
A short Lal Singh Dil poem asserting that those who do not know or want to fight are the ones turned into slaves, on resistance and liberty.
ਆਜ਼ਾਦੀ ਦਾ ਡਰਾਮਾ/Freedom Show
A poem satirizing hollow patriotism and political hypocrisy amid terror attacks and turmoil across South Asia, translated from Punjabi to English.
ਥੈਲਾ ਬੋਰੀ / Bag
A poem imagining wishing to be a gunny sack instead of a man, so one could be turned inside out and freed of pent-up burdens.
Kujh Palan Dee Saanjh/ਕੁਝ ਪਲਾਂ ਦੀ ਸਾਂਝ
A poem reflecting on how a brief romantic bond was reduced to a fleeting acquaintance because of caste differences.
ਜ਼ੀਰੋ/Zero
A poem using the mathematical zero as a metaphor for a civilization that has lost its own path and merely follows others, invoking Guru Nanak’s legacy.
ਇੱਕ ਫੱਟ ਡੁੰਘੇਰਾ / ikk phatt dhunghera
A Punjabi translation of an English poem about a deep, dark wound of thought that finds no peace or solace even in heaven.
ਜਿੰਦਗੀ ਕਦੇ ਹਾਰ ਨਹੀਂ ਮੰਨਦੀ/jindagi kade haar nahin manndee
A translated anonymous Vietnamese poem about life’s resilience in rebuilding after the destruction of war.
ਮਨੁੱਖ,ਖੁਸ਼ੀ ਤੇ ਆਜ਼ਾਦੀ / manukh,khushi te azadi
A poem exploring how humanity’s pursuit of love, wealth, and fame ends up costing it true freedom and happiness.
ਨਾਨਕ /Naanak - ਜਸਵੰਤ ਸਿੰਘ ਜ਼ਫਰ
A poem by Jaswant Singh Zafar contrasting the raw, radical true image of Guru Nanak with the sanitized portrait society prefers to worship.
ਮੈਂ ਕੰਡਿਆਲੀ ਥੋਹਰ - ਸ਼ਿਵ ਕੁਮਾਰ ਬਟਾਲਵੀ
Translation of Shiv Kumar Batalvi’s poem where a woman likens herself to a lonely, unwanted thorny cactus scarred by ill-fated love.
ਮਿੱਟੀ ਦਾ ਬਾਵਾ/mitti-da-baava
A Punjabi folk song about a lonely woman fashioning a clay doll into a child, lamenting her husband’s long absence abroad.
ਸਿਤਾਰੋਂ ਸੇ ਆਗੇ ਜਹਾਂ ਔਰ ਭੀ ਹੈਂ
Muhammad Iqbal’s Urdu poem urging the soul to rise like a falcon beyond worldly limits toward higher goals and the trials of love.
Sab toN Khatarnak / ਸਭ ਤੋਂ ਖ਼ਤਰਨਾਕ / सब से ख़तरनाक
Avtar Singh Paash’s revolutionary poem ‘The Most Dangerous’, given in Punjabi, Hindi and English, on complacency and the death of dreams as the ultimate danger.
ਸੁਰਜੀਤ ਪਾਤਰ- ਮੇਰੀ ਖੁਦਕੁਸ਼ੀ ਦੇ ਰਾਹ ਿਵੱਚ ਮੇਰੀ ਖੁਦ…
Surjeet Patar’s Punjabi adaptation of Jean Giraudoux’s play, a poem listing the beauty and small joys that stand as obstacles on the path to suicide.
ਮੌਤ ਦੇ ਅਰਥ
A poem adapted from Lorca’s Blood Wedding on how nature and grieving mothers understand the meaning of death and bloodshed differently.
Na Chhat Hai, Na Deewaarna
A poem lamenting the dismal state of rural government schools in India, corrupt officials misusing funds, and its cost to poor children’s futures.