एक अच्छी माँ के दिल के गणित में न तो कोई भाग होता है और न ही कोई घटाव। वहाँ केवल जोड़ और गुणा होते हैं।
There is no division nor subtraction in the heart-arithmetic of a good mother. There are only addition and multiplication.
There is no division nor subtraction in the heart-arithmetic of a good mother. There are only addition and multiplication.
आपको ज़मीन से जुड़े रखने के लिए एक छोटे शहर की ज़रूरत होती है।
It takes a small town to keep you humble.
It takes a small town to keep you humble.
आपको चीज़ों के सपने देखने होते हैं। यह आपके सामने एक आदर्श बनाए रखता है। आप इसे पहले अपने मन में देखते हैं और फिर उस आदर्श को साकार करने में जुट जाते हैं। यदि आप एक बगीचा चाहते हैं, तो—मुझे लगता है, आपको एक बगीचे का सपना देखना ही होगा।
You have to dream things out. It keeps a kind of an ideal before you. You see it first in your mind and then you set about to try and make it like the ideal. If you want a garden,-why, I guess you’ve got to dream a garden.
You have to dream things out. It keeps a kind of an ideal before you. You see it first in your mind and then you set about to try and make it like the ideal. If you want a garden,-why, I guess you’ve got to dream a garden.
ईश्वर की दृष्टि में भले ही हमारी आत्माएँ समान हों, लेकिन हमारी सूझबूझ और रचनात्मकता एक जैसी नहीं होतीं। इसलिए मनुष्य के परिश्रम का परिणाम कभी एक जैसा नहीं हो सकता।
Our souls may all be equal in the sight of the Lord, but our gumption and ingenuity ain’t. So the results of man’s labor will never be equal.
Our souls may all be equal in the sight of the Lord, but our gumption and ingenuity ain’t. So the results of man’s labor will never be equal.
जब मैं युवा था तब मेरे पास साधन या समय नहीं था, और अब जब मेरे पास साधन और समय है, तो मेरी जवानी नहीं रही।
When I was young I had no means or time, and now I have the means and time, I have no youth.
When I was young I had no means or time, and now I have the means and time, I have no youth.
दुख के लिए दुनिया में सबसे बड़ी अचूक दवा काम है, और काम की अनिवार्यता।
The greatest antidote in the world for grief is work, and the necessity of work.
The greatest antidote in the world for grief is work, and the necessity of work.
उसने सोचा, यह सच है कि बड़ी चीज़ें हमें विस्मित करती हैं लेकिन छोटी चीज़ें हमें छू जाती हैं।
It was true, she thought, that the big things awe us but the little things touch us.
It was true, she thought, that the big things awe us but the little things touch us.
वह हैरान थी कि वह खुद हमेशा इतनी छोटी-छोटी चीज़ों से क्यों भावुक हो जाती थी। उनका अपनापन और साधारण होना ही शायद अतीत को वर्तमान से और अधिक गहराई से जोड़ रहा था। उसने सोचा, यह सच है कि बड़ी चीज़ें हमें विस्मित करती हैं लेकिन छोटी चीज़ें हमें छू जाती हैं।
She wondered why she, herself, was always touched by such infinitesimal things. Their very homeliness and lack of worth seemed connecting the past with the present all the more. It was true, she thought, that the big things awe us but the little things touch us.
She wondered why she, herself, was always touched by such infinitesimal things. Their very homeliness and lack of worth seemed connecting the past with the present all the more. It was true, she thought, that the big things awe us but the little things touch us.
यदि सभी माताओं का विश्वास अपने पूर्ण रूप में खिल सके, तो इस धरती पर कोई भी पुरुष असफल नहीं होगा।
If the faith of all the mothers could blossom to its full fruition, there would be no unsuccessful men in the land.
If the faith of all the mothers could blossom to its full fruition, there would be no unsuccessful men in the land.
प्रेम वह प्रकाश है जिससे आपको सब कुछ दिखाई देता है।
Love is the light that you see by.
Love is the light that you see by.
हमारी उच्च बुद्धि को छोड़कर हम ज़मीन के नीचे के उन छोटे छछूंदरों की तरह हैं जो अंधेरे में टटोलते हुए खोदने का काम करते हैं, और यह सोचते हैं कि हमारे अपने ये अंधेरे रास्ते ही पूरी दुनिया हैं।
Except for our higher order of minds we are like the little moles under the earth carrying out blindly the work of digging, thinking our own dark passage-ways constitute all there is to the world.
Except for our higher order of minds we are like the little moles under the earth carrying out blindly the work of digging, thinking our own dark passage-ways constitute all there is to the world.
उस समय की लोकप्रिय साहित्यिक प्रवृत्ति की परवाह किए बिना, वही लिखिए जो आपके दिल के सबसे करीब हो।
Regardless of the popular literary trend of the times, write the thing which lies close to your heart.
Regardless of the popular literary trend of the times, write the thing which lies close to your heart.
चीज़ें इंसानों से कहीं ज़्यादा लंबे समय तक टिकती हैं।
Things last so much longer than people.
Things last so much longer than people.
और वहाँ खड़े होकर... बूढ़ी एबी डील रोने लगीं। ये दुनिया के सबसे दर्दनाक आँसू होते हैं... बुजुर्गों के आँसू... क्योंकि ये उन सूखे झरनों से निकलते हैं जहाँ भावनाएँ बहुत पहले ठंडी पड़ चुकी होती हैं।
And standing there... old Abbie Deal began to cry. They are the most painful tears in the world... the tears of the aged... for they come from dried beds where the emotions have long burned low.
And standing there... old Abbie Deal began to cry. They are the most painful tears in the world... the tears of the aged... for they come from dried beds where the emotions have long burned low.
यह बेहतर है कि हम अपने प्रेम को वैसे ही याद रखें जैसा वह वसंत ऋतु में था।
It is better to remember our love as it was in the springtime.
It is better to remember our love as it was in the springtime.
इसमें कोई आश्चर्य नहीं कि ऐसे हालातों में प्यार टूट जाएगा। उस मिट्टी के घर (सॉडी) के दरवाजे पर खड़ी वह दो अलग-अलग व्यक्तित्वों सी लग रही थीं। एक तरफ यह तीखा तर्क था कि जब भविष्य की कोई उम्मीद ही न हो तो प्यार को बनाए रखना असंभव है, और यह सुझाव था कि इसे बनाए रखने की कोशिश करने का कोई फायदा नहीं है। दूसरी तरफ यह सख्त बात थी कि शादी किसी जुनून की पूर्ति नहीं है, – शादी तो प्रेम की पूर्ति है। और प्रेम कभी खुशी है तो कभी कर्तव्य।
Small wonder that love would break under circumstances like these. Standing there in the soddie door, she seemed two personalities. One argued bitterly that it was impossible for love to keep going when there was no hope for the future, suggested that there was no use trying to keep it going. The other said sternly that marriage was not the fulfillment of a passion, – marriage was the fulfillment of love. And love was sometimes pleasure and sometimes duty.
Small wonder that love would break under circumstances like these. Standing there in the soddie door, she seemed two personalities. One argued bitterly that it was impossible for love to keep going when there was no hope for the future, suggested that there was no use trying to keep it going. The other said sternly that marriage was not the fulfillment of a passion, – marriage was the fulfillment of love. And love was sometimes pleasure and sometimes duty.
श्रीमद्गामान का जीवन का सिद्धांत यह था कि धरती पर ऐसा कोई दुख नहीं है जिसे खाना ठीक न कर सके...
Mrs. Schneiderman’s theory of life was that earth held no sorrow that food could not heal...
Mrs. Schneiderman’s theory of life was that earth held no sorrow that food could not heal...
बूढ़े होने की यही मुसीबत थी। आपका शरीर अब आपकी बात नहीं मानता था। वह मनमानी और अजीब हरकतें करता था। अचानक एक पल के लिए आँख से दिखना बंद हो सकता था। आपके घुटने गलत समय पर जवाब दे सकते थे, ताकि जब आपको लगे कि आप उत्तर दिशा में चल रहे हैं, तो आप खुद को थोड़ा उत्तर-पश्चिम की ओर जाते हुए पा सकते थे। आपका दिमाग भी यही चंचल चाल चलता था। आप किसी बात को कह रहे होते और अचानक उसे भूल जाते—आपका मन भी मान लीजिए थोड़ा उत्तर-पश्चिम की ओर भटक जाता।
That was the trouble of being old. Your body no longer obeyed you. It did unruly and unreasonable things. An eye suddenly might not see for a moment. Your knees gave out at the wrong time, so that when you thought you were walking north, you might find yourself going a little northwest. Your brain, too, had that same flighty trick. You might be speaking of something and forget it temporarily, – your mind going off at a little to the northwest, too, so to speak.
That was the trouble of being old. Your body no longer obeyed you. It did unruly and unreasonable things. An eye suddenly might not see for a moment. Your knees gave out at the wrong time, so that when you thought you were walking north, you might find yourself going a little northwest. Your brain, too, had that same flighty trick. You might be speaking of something and forget it temporarily, – your mind going off at a little to the northwest, too, so to speak.
क्योंकि भले ही प्रेम का मज़ाक उड़ाया गया हो और उसे कलंकित किया गया हो, उसका सौदा किया गया हो और उसे अदालतों में घसीटा गया हो, तीस चाँदी के सिक्कों में बेचा गया हो, फिर भी इसकी चमकती, स्थिर लौ अनगिनत घरों के चूल्हों पर आज भी चमकती है...
For though love has been ridiculed and disgraced, exchanged and bartered, dragged through the courts, and sold for thirty pieces of silver, the bright, steady glow of its fire still shines on the hearth-stones of countless homes...
For though love has been ridiculed and disgraced, exchanged and bartered, dragged through the courts, and sold for thirty pieces of silver, the bright, steady glow of its fire still shines on the hearth-stones of countless homes...
और इस तरह रात का अधिकांश समय लॉरा ने अपने मुलायम सफेद तकी पर आँसू बहाते हुए बिताया। उनमें से कुछ आँसू बूढ़े ऑस्कर लुट्ज के लिए थे... कुछ आँसू इस आम और दुखद सच्चाई के लिए थे कि समय पंख लगाकर उड़ जाता है और फूल मुरझा जाते हैं। लेकिन उनमें से अधिकांश आँसू इस अचानक और पक्के एहसास के कारण बहे थे कि भले ही नए दिन और नए तौर-तरीके आ जाएँ—प्यार हमेशा बना रहता है।
And so a greater share of the night, Laura shed tears into her soft white pillow. Some of them were for old Oscar Lutz... Some of them were for the general sad fact that hours fly and flowers die. But most of them were shed because of her own sudden and definite realization that even though there come new days and new ways, – love stays.
And so a greater share of the night, Laura shed tears into her soft white pillow. Some of them were for old Oscar Lutz... Some of them were for the general sad fact that hours fly and flowers die. But most of them were shed because of her own sudden and definite realization that even though there come new days and new ways, – love stays.
“इसमें इतनी मीठी खुशबू क्यों आती है?” वे जानना चाहते थे। “क्योंकि हर चीज़—हर एक छोटा जंगली बेर का फूल, हर एक नन्हा क्रोकस, एनिमोनी और वॉयलेट, और हर एक पेड़ की कोंपल और घास का तिनका—प्रहरी को सुंदर बनाने में मदद करने के लिए काम कर रहा है।
What makes it smell so sweet?” they wanted to know. “Because everything, – every little wild plum-blossom, every little tiny crocus and anemone and violet and every tree-bud and grass-blade is working to help make the prairie nice.
What makes it smell so sweet?” they wanted to know. “Because everything, – every little wild plum-blossom, every little tiny crocus and anemone and violet and every tree-bud and grass-blade is working to help make the prairie nice.
कुछ लड़कियाँ ज़ाहिर तौर पर जन्म से ही डेट्स (पार्टनर) के साथ पैदा होती हैं; कुछ अपनी बहुत कोशिशों से उन्हें हासिल करती हैं; लेकिन कुछ अन्य ऐसी होती हैं जिन पर ज़रूरत के तहत डेट्स थोप दी जाती हैं।
Some girls are apparently born with dates; some through much personal activity, achieve them; but others seem by necessity to have dates thrust upon them.
Some girls are apparently born with dates; some through much personal activity, achieve them; but others seem by necessity to have dates thrust upon them.
अपनी ज़िंदगी में कभी न कभी, हर कोई घर वापस जाना चाहता था।
Sometime in their lives, everybody wanted to go home.
Sometime in their lives, everybody wanted to go home.
और अब एबी के सामने किसी दूसरे व्यक्ति में हिम्मत बनाए रखने का एक नया अनुभव आया। यह अपने खुद के हौसले को बनाए रखने से कहीं ज़्यादा मुश्किल था। उसे हमेशा दूसरों के लिए मज़बूत क्यों होना पड़ता था?
And now Abbie had the new experience of attempting to keep another person courageous. It was more trying than to keep up her own spirits. Why must she always be strong for other people?
And now Abbie had the new experience of attempting to keep another person courageous. It was more trying than to keep up her own spirits. Why must she always be strong for other people?
एबी डील एक बच्चा बाहों में और दूसरा अपनी स्कาล से लिपटा हुआ, खुशी-खुशी अपने काम में लगी रहती थीं; हिम्मत उनका ध्रुव तारा थी और प्रेम उनका मार्गदर्शक—होंठों पर एक गीत और हाथ में एक लालटेन।
Abbie Deal went happily about her work, one baby in her arms and the other at her skirts, courage her lode-star and love her guide, – a song upon her lips and a lantern in her hand.
Abbie Deal went happily about her work, one baby in her arms and the other at her skirts, courage her lode-star and love her guide, – a song upon her lips and a lantern in her hand.
ओह, वे क्यों नहीं समझ सके? ऐसा क्यों लगता था कि एक बूढ़ी औरत हमेशा से ही बूढ़ी थी? एबी बिग वुड्स के पास वाली टीले पर वापस पहुँच गई थीं, गाते हुए... अपना सिर पीछे की ओर झुकाए हुए... उनके घने बाल उनकी मलाईदार सफेद कंधों पर लहरें लेते हुए बिखर रहे थे। वे यह क्यों नहीं समझ सके कि कभी उन्होंने भी जवानी से मुलाकात की थी? उन्हें यह अहसास क्यों नहीं हुआ कि किसी न किसी दिन, उन्हें भी बुढ़ापे से रूबरू होना ही पड़ेगा?
Oh, why couldn’t they know? Why did an old woman seem always to have been old? Abbie was back on the knoll near the Big Woods, singing... her head thrown back... her thick hair curling and rippling over her creamy white shoulders. Why couldn’t they understand that once she had kept tryst with Youth? Why didn’t they realize that some day, they, too must hold rendezvous with Age?
Oh, why couldn’t they know? Why did an old woman seem always to have been old? Abbie was back on the knoll near the Big Woods, singing... her head thrown back... her thick hair curling and rippling over her creamy white shoulders. Why couldn’t they understand that once she had kept tryst with Youth? Why didn’t they realize that some day, they, too must hold rendezvous with Age?
घर सिर्फ लकड़ी और प्लास्टर का ढेर नहीं होता। आप अपने विचारों को उसके ढाँचे में ढालते हैं। आप पेड़ों और झाड़ियों के साथ अपने दिल का थोड़ा सा हिस्सा भी रोप देते हैं।
Home was something besides so much lumber and plaster. You built your thoughts into the frame work. You planted a little of your heart with the trees and the shrubbery.
Home was something besides so much lumber and plaster. You built your thoughts into the frame work. You planted a little of your heart with the trees and the shrubbery.
एबी अपने काम के बीच में रुक जातीं और उसके लिए एक प्रार्थना करतीं—और एक माँ की watchful care (सतर्क देखभाल) के धनुष से छूटे हुए, माँ के प्रेम के धागे से बंधे हुए, उस छोटे से पंखों वाले तीर ने अपनी उड़ान में ज़रूर किसी को, कहीं न कहीं छू लिया होगा।
Abbie would stop in her work and utter a prayer for him, – and, sent as it were from the bow of a mother’s watchful care, bound by the cord of a mother’s love, the little winged arrow on its flight must have reached Some one, – Somewhere.
Abbie would stop in her work and utter a prayer for him, – and, sent as it were from the bow of a mother’s watchful care, bound by the cord of a mother’s love, the little winged arrow on its flight must have reached Some one, – Somewhere.
1846 में ओक रिवर का वह prairie (घास का मैदान) शहर केवल एक बसने वाले के सपने में अस्तित्व में था।
In 1846 the prairie town of Oak River existed only in a settler’s dream.
In 1846 the prairie town of Oak River existed only in a settler’s dream.
उसकी संवेदनशील कल्पना में वह पूरा दौर जैसे जीवित हो उठा—उस समय के लोग, मजबूत और साहसी, उसके साथ चल रहे थे और बातें कर रहे थे। पहली बार उसे अपने ही मिडवेस्ट (मध्य-पश्चिम) की आबोहवा में एक अनोखा रोमैंस और अपने ही लोगों के जीवन में एक सम्मोहन महसूस हो रहा था। वह चाहती थी कि इस पलक झपकते अहसास को तब तक अपने दिल में थामे रहे जब तक उसे कागज़ और पेंसिल न मिल जाए। वह चाहती थी कि वह इसे पकड़कर किसी किताब के पन्नों के बीच हमेशा के लिए कैद कर सके।
The whole period seemed to come alive to her sensitive imagination, – the people of the times, substantial and courageous, walked and talked with her. For the first time she was sensing to-day a romance in her own Midwest, a glamour over the lives of her own people. She wished she could hold to her heart the fleeting sensation until she could get pencil and paper. She wished she could catch it and hold it between the covers of a book.
The whole period seemed to come alive to her sensitive imagination, – the people of the times, substantial and courageous, walked and talked with her. For the first time she was sensing to-day a romance in her own Midwest, a glamour over the lives of her own people. She wished she could hold to her heart the fleeting sensation until she could get pencil and paper. She wished she could catch it and hold it between the covers of a book.
अगर मैं अपने आस-पास के लोगों की कहानियों में गहराई नहीं देख सकती, तो समझ लीजिए कि मैं दुनिया में कहीं नहीं देख सकती। यदि मैं अपने करीबियों के जीवन में कोई ड्रामा या संघर्ष नहीं पहचान सकती, तो शायद दूर के इंसानों में भी कभी नहीं भाप पाऊँगी।
If I can’t see stories in the lives of the people around me, – I just couldn’t see them anywhere. If I can’t see drama in humanity near me, I guess I couldn’t detect it in humans far away.
If I can’t see stories in the lives of the people around me, – I just couldn’t see them anywhere. If I can’t see drama in humanity near me, I guess I couldn’t detect it in humans far away.
आप न तो हवाओं को रोक सकते हैं और न ही वक्त को थाम सकते हैं। यह तो बस चलता जाता है—चलता ही जाता है।
You could not stop the winds and you could not stop Time. It went on and on,-and on.
You could not stop the winds and you could not stop Time. It went on and on,-and on.
आंटी ग्रेस जा रही थीं... उन्हें थोड़ी देर तक जाते हुए देखने के बाद, लौरा के मन में उनके प्रति एक बार फिर कोमलता और अपनापन उमड़ आया। हम कैसे उन लोगों के साथ अपनी जिंदगी बिता देते हैं जिन्हें हम कभी जान ही नहीं पाते और न ही कभी समझ पाते हैं।
Aunt Grace was leaving... Looking after her a moment, Laura had another feeling of tenderness toward her. How we live our lives side by side with those whom we never know or understand.
Aunt Grace was leaving... Looking after her a moment, Laura had another feeling of tenderness toward her. How we live our lives side by side with those whom we never know or understand.
एक इंसान पूरी दुनिया घूम सकता है, लेकिन उसका मन केवल अपनी शारीरिक सुख-सुविधाओं तक ही सीमित रहता है। वहीं दूसरा इंसान साठ फीट के एक छोटे से भूखंड पर अपना पूरा जीवन बिता सकता है, और ब्रह्मांड की आवाज़ों को सुन सकता है।
A person may encircle the globe with mind open only to bodily comfort. Another may live his life on a sixty-foot lot and listen to the voices of the universe.
A person may encircle the globe with mind open only to bodily comfort. Another may live his life on a sixty-foot lot and listen to the voices of the universe.