ਫੁਫੀ ਨਾਨੀ ਮਾਸੀਆ ਦੇਰ ਜੇਠਾਨੜੀਆਹ ॥
fufee naanee maasee-aa dayr jaythaanrhee-aah.
Aunts, uncles, grandparents and sisters-in-law
ਆਵਨਿ ਵੰਞਨਿ ਨਾ ਰਹਨਿ ਪੂਰ ਭਰੇ ਪਹੀਆਹ ॥੨॥
aavan vanjan naa rahan poor bharay pahee-aah. ||2||
- they all come and go; they cannot remain. They are like boatloads of passengers embarking. ||2||
Translation by Dr. Sant Singh Khalsa
Everyone we love is like a traveler on a great river — here for the journey, then boarding the boat to move on.
This is not something to fear; it is the way of things. Everyone is a passenger, all of us going somewhere.
Everyone is a traveler on the same great river, and moving on is part of the trip.
Aunts, uncles, grandparents — all aavan vanjan, coming and going, none remaining. The image is tender, not grim: poor bharay pahee-aah, boatloads of passengers embarking. Maaroo often turns to mortality, and here it is met as a shared journey by river, everyone a traveler, rather than as dread.
A Question to Sit With
When someone you know moves far away, what helps you carry the good feeling with you?
Translation by Dr. Sant Singh Khalsa·How we use AI
Use ← → to navigate