Urdu: نارسائی

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Alfaaz

Senior Member
English
Background: نارسائی : منزل تک نہ پہنچ سکنا۔

جو زخم چاہت نے دے رکھے تھے وہ نارسائی سے سل چکے ہوں

Question: How could this word be translated into English?
 
    • Alfaaz said:
    Background: نارسائی : منزل تک نہ پہنچ سکنا۔

    جو زخم     چاہت نے دے رکھے تھے وہ نارسائی سے سل چکے ہوں

    Question: How could this word be translated into English?
    Click to expand...

    inaccessability
     
    Thanks to both of you for replying!
    Qureshpor said:
    inaccessability
    Click to expand...

    I thought of this, but it really doesn't seem to give the meaning that the Urdu word is giving in the poetry...(more context below)
    panjabigator said:
    Where does this word come from?
    Click to expand...
    Either you are asking about the etymology of this word (doubt this)...that would be Persian; or you are asking for more context than the single verse provided (this is probably the case):

    عجیب     لڑکی ہے...زندگی کے ادھورے پن کو گلے لگائے اداس آنکھوں سے ہنس رہی ہے
    وہ     گھر کے کاموں میں یوں مگن ہے
    کہ     جیسے اس کے بدن کے سارے تقاضے مٹی میں مل گئے ہوں
    جو     زخم چاہت نے دے رکھے تھے...وہ نارسائی سے سل چکے ہوں

    Poet: عاطف وحید

    In the above it seems that the word seems to give the feeling of "inaccessibility" to her lover (both emotionally and physically), which is why the English word didn't seem complete to me (at least), as it makes one picture a physical block....as in a road.....but not really the emotional part...:confused:
     
    It may be of course understood as "inaccessibility", still the expanation from the OP points out to another meaning: not the property of that object which is unaccessible but rather the subject's state of not being able to reach somewhere/something. Other shades of sense include 'unattainableness' 'unreachability', or rather the perception as such by the subject.
     
    Hi Alfaaz,
    I hope you don't mind the interjection, as you are aware رسا is derived from Persian رسیدن/residan "to arrive/reach", which can operate with a specific direction of reference (DoR).

    Please consider these examples:
    1 - او دیروز رسید/he arrived yesterday - DoR, from somewhere to somewhere else, so not specific.
    2 - صدای من به او نمیرسد چون او بسیار دور است/my voice doesn't reach her as she is too far away. - DoR from me(somewhere), to her (somewhere else), so specific.

    In example 2 رسا would mean 'reachable' & نارسا 'unreachable' and we can not say 'my voice is inaccessible to her' or 'she can't access my voice'. Of course 'unreachable' in English can often mean 'inaccessible' but in example 2 it certainly doesn't.
     
    PersoLatin said:
    n example 2 رسا would mean 'reachable' & نارسا 'unreachable' and we can not say 'my voice is inaccessible to her' or 'she can't access my voice'. Of course 'unreachable' in English can often mean 'inaccessible' but in example 2 it certainly doesn't.
    Click to expand...
    Thank you @PersoLatin for this. Your and other friends' input about matters Persian or Arabic connected with Urdu is always appreciated and valued but the language in question is Urdu and languages do tend to develop their own meanings of words borrowed from other sources.
     
    Qureshpor said:
    Thank you @PersoLatin for this. Your and other friends' input about matters Persian or Arabic connected with Urdu is always appreciated and valued but the language in question is Urdu and languages do tend to develop their own meanings of words borrowed from other sources.
    Click to expand...
    I agree with you if you say this word has been used, in the given sense, for a long time and is fully established in Urdu.

    I hope in the future we will keep that point in mind and in similar situations, you or other Urdu speakers can say: "this is the interpretation of this or that word in Urdu." and that will be the end of it.

    However this is a democratic forum and unless the initiator of a thread specifies they don't want any input from Persian speakers then such interjections might prove useful.
     
    PersoLatin said:
    However this is a democratic forum and unless the initiator of a thread specifies they don't want any input from Persian speakers then such interjections might prove useful.
    Click to expand...
    It is always a pleasure to read contributions from speakers of other languages, whether it be Arabic, Persian, Sanskrit, or even Spanish (MonsieurGonzalito often draws interesting comparisons)!

    I unfortunately cannot recall the complete poem now, but I think a major question while creating the thread was going to be if رسائی could be interpreted as an indirect reference to emotional or physical intimacy (similar to وصل) in certain contexts. Since the preceding line mentions بدن کے سارے تقاضے - all needs, demands, etc. of body (had become neglected/overlooked), نارسائی could perhaps indicate lack of physical/emotional intimacy.
     
    Alfaaz said:
    Background: نارسائی : منزل تک نہ پہنچ سکنا۔

    جو زخم     چاہت نے دے رکھے تھے وہ نارسائی سے سل چکے ہوں

    Question: How could this word be translated into English?
    Click to expand...
    Despite the fact that this word means "inaccessibility", I have often heard many people use it for "be rukhii". And in this nazm, this meaning fits very well.
     
    I'd humbly suggest 'inadequacy', though I still couldn't be sure of its, well, adequacy insofar as the Urdu application of the original word is concerned. There is also 'failure'.
     
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