Lifestyle

The poignant dilemmas of Game of Thrones’ fallen heroes—expressed in Urdu poetry

For the throne.
For the throne.
By
Itika Sharma Punit
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HBO’s wildly popular epic fantasy show Game of Thrones (GoT) has found fans across the over 170 countries where it airs. In many of these places, the show is dubbed in local languages for non-English speaking viewers.

In India, too, several vloggers helped locals understand the show by explaining or reviewing each episode in Hindi.

Now, Rekhta Foundation, a non-profit that works for the preservation and promotion of Urdu language, literature, and culture, has linked GoT with Urdu poetry.

In an Instagram series, Rekhta has posted photos from some of the key scenes of the final season of GoT, which ended today (May 20), with Urdu couplets that best describe the emotion. These couplets are from the poems of famous Urdu poets Nida Fazli, Mir Taqi Mir, and Faisal Fehmi, among others.

Below are Rekhta’s images and loose translations of the poetry :

“My journey is not of my own choice. I take the direction that the wind favours.”
“My journey is not of my own choice. I take the direction that the wind favours.”
Image: Rekhta.
“See if this smoke is arising out of my heart or, is it from the soul I have?”
“See if this smoke is arising out of my heart or, is it from the soul I have?”
Image: Rekhta.
“Here I am, face-to-face with you, looking for revenge. I will take you down with me to drown in the river of fire.”
“Here I am, face-to-face with you, looking for revenge. I will take you down with me to drown in the river of fire.”
Image: Rekhta
“At the beginning of love, we were fire. Now we are dust.”
“At the beginning of love, we were fire. Now we are dust.”
Image: Rekhta
“On one side is thought, and feeling on the other. I’m split between two groups.”
“On one side is thought, and feeling on the other. I’m split between two groups.”
Image: Rekhta.
“The cheat discloses my condition to others. My conscience-keeper reveals all my secrets to others.”
“The cheat discloses my condition to others. My conscience-keeper reveals all my secrets to others.”
Image: Rekhta.