Translation by Dr. Sant Singh Khalsa
Little black koel bird, what made you so dark?
"The fire of missing my Beloved colored me through."
Without the Beloved, how can a heart find peace?
When the One is kind, the One brings us together.
This verse asks a little black bird why it is so dark, and the bird answers: from missing the one it loves.
The ko-il (koel) is a songbird of India with a sweet, sad call, often heard in summer. Kaalee ko-il too kit gun kaalee: black koel, what made you black? Apnay preetam kay ha-o birhai jaalee: missing my Beloved has colored me. Birhaa is the ache of being apart from someone you love.
Think of a kid at camp who misses home so much that even the fun feels a little gray. Longing that deep is really love, turned inside out.
Pireh bihoon kateh sukh paa-ay: without the Beloved, where is peace? Jaa ho-ay kirpaal taa prabhoo milaa-ay: when the One is kind, the One brings us together. Longing like this is always answered in the end by grace.
Have you ever missed someone so much it colored your whole day? What helped?
Translation by Dr. Sant Singh Khalsa·How we use AI