Iranian Prof hailed for 'beautiful', 'faithful' translation of Urdu poems

Dr Rauf Parekh in his article published in Pakistan's Dawn newspaper, appreciated Dr Ali Bayat for translating Urdu poetry of renowned Pakistani poet Iftikhar Arif.

According to IRNA, he said Ali Bayat in his translation, published from Tehran under the title 'Panjereh ee be samt-i-baagh-i-gumshudeh' (The window on the lost garden) has been so careful not to misinterpret or misquote Iftikhar Arif.

“The beauty of Ali Bayat’s translation is that it not only captures the linguistic traits of Arif’s poetry but it is also mindful of Arif’s true colors and his views,” he said. 

“Translating Iftikhar Arif into Persian perfectly is the perfect tribute an Iranian can pay to him. Dr Ali Bayat has just done that,” he said.

The author added Bayat has done his MA and PhD in Urdu from Punjab University and has stayed in Pakistan for years, which has given him, along with the academic knowledge, a native-like command over Urdu.

He went on to say that another reason for a surprisingly good translation is that Urdu has drawn heavily upon Persian, especially for poetic vocabulary and hence sometimes you do not really have to translate something from Urdu into Persian or Persian into Urdu as the same words will suffice. 

He said in fact the overall impact of the Persian language on the Urdu language and literature has been greater than what Urdu got from other languages, and Bayat has got it right when he says in his preface to the book that “Urdu literature during its development was influenced by the Persian language more than any other language. 

“I have courage to even say that the influence of Persian on Urdu in its classical period was even greater than the influence of Arabic literature and language”, he said.