Aaftaab is a beautiful song by the band 'The Local Train', with Urdu lyrics. There are translations existing online which give the meaning of the song verse by verse, but this is my attempt at translating the song into a free-verse poem. It still follows the same sequence of verses and flow of ideas, but it is not a literal translation. I have, instead, tried to convey what the song is trying to say.

Of course, poetry rarely ever translates well to another language, and a language like Urdu is especially hard to translate. That being said, this is a fairly simple song, so I made an attempt.

Original Lyrics, Transliterated

Khaamosh bheed mein,
Phir ho khade gumshuda.
Maujood ho yaha,
Ya gum kahin; kis ko pata?

Jab lage, har ghadi, ke,
Ab iss raat ki naa hai subah koi
Kar yakeen dekh tu ke,
Aaftaab woh haseen, hai chupa yahi kahin...

Chehrey mein tere
Bandh woh kitne sawal.
Puchtey khushi ka pata;
Baki abhi imtehan.
Hai agar raah-guzar par,
Gehra andhera,
Mahtaab so chuka.
Kar yakeen, hamnashi ke,
Aaftaab woh haseen
hai chupa yahi kahi...

Kahin dur shor se,
Ek naya daur hai,
Mohtaaj na kisike,
Naa puchey koi tera naam
Hi le jahan, bas khushi -
Falsafa bas yahin:
Toh kar yakin.

Jab lage, har ghadi, ke,
Ab iss raat ki naa hai subah koi
Kar yakeen dekh tu ke,
Aaftaab woh haseen, hai chupa yahi kahin...

Kahin dur shor se,
Ek naya daur hai,
Mohtaaj na kisike,
Naa puchey koi tera naam
Hi le jahan, bas khushi -
Falsafa bas yahin:
Toh kar yakin.

Poetic Translation

Standing silent in the crowd,
You look present, but seem lost.

When it feels, every moment, that
This night has no end -
Have faith; just you wait,
the sun is right there
below the horizon.

Every question behind those eyes,
asks
"Where is the road to happiness?"
"Why has dawn not broken yet?"

The road may seem dark on
moonless nights, but
Have faith, my friend,
the sun is right there
below the horizon.

A sunrise which will bring
a new era, far
away from the noise;
a new era, waiting for you,
where you
depend on no-one,
where
nobody questions you,
but
they all revere your name;
where
you feel
nothing but joy...

When it feels, every moment, that
This night has no end,
Have faith; just you wait,
the sun is right there
below the horizon.

A sunrise which will bring
a new era, far
away from the noise;
a new era, waiting for you,
where you
depend on no-one,
where
nobody questions you,
but
they all revere your name;
where
you feel
nothing but joy...