The Lord's Prayer, from the Sermon on the Mound, in the Gospel According to Matthew, King James Bible:
Our Father which art in heaven, Hallowed be thy name. Thy kingdom come, Thy will be done in earth, as it is in heaven. Give us this day our daily bread. And forgive us our debts, as we forgive our debtors. And lead us not into temptation, but deliver us from evil: For thine is the kingdom, and the power, and the glory, for ever. Amen.
My translation:
ए स्वर्गमा बस्ने हाम्रा बा ! तिम्रो नामको जय जय होस् ! तिम्रै राज्य आओस्, स्वर्गमा भएसरि नै धरती पनि तिम्रै इच्छा अनुसार चलोस् ! आजको एक छाक आहारा पुर्याइदेउ । हामीले तिर्न पर्ने पैँचो मिनाहा गरिदेउ – हामीले पनि त अरूलाई पैँचो मिनाहा गरिदिएका छौँ । ए बा ! हामीलाई लोभलालचातिर नडोर्याउ बरु त्यता बोलाउने दुष्टहरूबाट टाढै राखिदेउ ! यो तिम्रै राज्य हो । यहाँ तिम्रै मात्र शक्ति छ, तिम्रै मात्रै भक्ति रहनेछ, सधैँ सधैँका लागि ! यही सत्य रहिरहोस् !
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But why, Prawin? Why?
A young woman handed me a booklet with Everest and a Red Rose. I was hoping it was some racy little self-published romance. It turned out to be the Gospel According to John. Badly translated -- not inaccurate, just a tedious read, lacking all music. It disappointed. So I searched for the Lord's Prayer in Nepali. They all disappointed.
The Konkani translation of the Bible was such a big hit that it led to the Portuguese extracting enormous amount of wealth from the Malabar coast over nearly four centuries, mostly in the form of spices. The Bible has been in Nepali translation for at least 200 years now. But the language is still so stilted and awkward.
That is why I thought I'd try my hand at it.
Now the nerdy duo of Upadhyaya & Mainali can try their hands at it :)
