Translating Kahani Suno by Kaifi Khalil
One of the most popular Urdu songs in recent times. Translated in English.
Kahani suno — One of the most loved romantic songs of recent times, full of longing and wistfulness in the hypnotic voice of Kaifi Khalil. It was heard, on repeat, from speakers across the subcontinent and Urdu- and Hindi-speaking households worldwide. It inspired many to confess, and even more to reminisce of broken hearts and first crushes.
Here is our translation of the song. As translations go, this is our interpretation. We have tried our utmost to stay true to the poetry; please accept our apologies if the meaning of any of the words has changed in the translation as it is limited to our interpretation of the words and the language of English.
Kahani suno
Zubani suno
Mujhe pyar hua tha
Iqrar hua tha
Hear a story
From me, hear
I fell in love
I confess(ed), my dear
I went crazy
Deliriously so
That your longing;
Fables would sow
The scent you emanate
The sight as you part
You will have to meet
Too long we’ve been apart
Hear the wails
Injustices, hear
I fell in love
I confess(ed), my dear
My heartfelt desire
To make you my bride
Henna on your hands
In my name, I’d write
I’d take away your demons
sacrifice for you
My heartfelt desire
An ‘us’, I construe
Fidelity is not hard
Please look here
In your eyes
My universe, everywhere
Some time do hear
What I couldn’t declare
You are my world
My answered prayer
Listen to my pleas
Retributions, hear
I fell in love
I confess(ed), my dear.
Special shout-out to Nadir F Khan (NadirKhanFeroz) for his help with the translation.
Rawanee tried to reach out to Kaifi’s team with the translation; unfortunately, we weren’t successful. We’re happy to share the English words on Medium for readers.
Are there any other songs or poems Rawanee could translate for you? Please leave a comment.
