Lyrics Translation Challenge: Nur Kasih by Slam

In case you haven't know, I'm a sucker for good lyrics and as if I haven't made myself clear, I'm a sucker at language though I've never been that good with either. So I'm gonna challenge myself doing a translation for some of the songs I found lyrically intriguing. It's gonna be bad but my kinda bad so eh. The song is nice too.

Nur Kasih {Light of Love} by Slam

Bukan aku tak cinta {It's not that I don't love (you)}

Pada mu semakin kurela {For you, I'm more (than) willing}

Kaulah satu di dunia {You're one in the world}

Tapi kau tak mengerti {But you didn't understand}

Getaran rahsia hati ini {The tremor of the secret in my heart}

Masih ada kucari {I'm still looking for something}

Kau anggap aku berseloka{You thought that I was joking}

Dan asyik dalam misteri {And that I was stuck in a mystery}

Mencari nur dan kasih Nya, pasti {Looking for God's Light and Love for sure}

Akhirnya engkau curiga {In the end you were suspicious}

Katamu aku berdusta {You said I was lying}

Memperduakan cinta {(that I was) unfaithful}

Mentari di tangan bulan {Sun in the hand of the Moon}

Kau serah di genggaman {You put (them) in (my) palms}

Tak kuhirau karna Dia {I ignored (it) for God}

Relalah aku korban {I'm willing to sacrifice}

Andainya satu hukuman {If it's a punishment}

Kau tinggal diriku {You left me}

Tanpa satu pengertian {Without understanding}

Dan sebenarnya cinta kita {Truthfully, our love was..}

Hanya cinta sementara {..just a temporary love}

Kan hilang jua dibawa arus pawana {(it) will eventually be lost with the passing of the wind}

Cinta pada kuterpandang {Love at physical beings}  lit: kuterpandang: things that can be seen =physical being

Kan pudar nafas hilang {Will fade when (I) die} lit: nafas hilang: lost breath=final breath

Hanya Ia menantiku di Azali yang suci {Only God is waiting for me in the holy hereafter}

Mengertilah kau sayang {(Please) understand, Love}

Kita harus rasakan  {We have to feel (it)}
Ke alam tiada mati {to the afterlife} lit: alam tanpa mati: land with no death = afterlife

Dan kita seabadi {And we will (be there) forever}

Dan akhirnya engkau kucup oh tangan ku {And finally, you kiss my hand} *Kissing one's and is an act to show respect/submission, usually towards older people

Marilah ku bisikkan keramat kasih ini {Let me whisper this sacred love} *I believe sacred love might refers to a promise or a vow made to the girl considering the context of the following sentence.

Biar menjadi nadi {Let (it) be (our) heartbeat}

Rahsiakan kalimah ku {Make secret of my words} *keep my promise a secret

Hingga ia menjadi tanda {Until it became a manifestation}

Hidup mati bersama {Life and death together}

Hidup mati bersama {Life and death together}

Book Cover and Its Challenges

Hi guys,

A month back I was approached by a freelance writer, asking me to design a book cover for her self-published travelogue. I was very unsure about this assignment considering I've only ever done one book cover design before for BOTK comic and it was heavily guided by Nub (our boss). Plus, I had a few projects on hand; 2 comic project and 1 very time consuming watercolor illustration project. So I was leaning towards rejecting this one.

Maybe because my client was in a hurry and I was a bit confident when it comes to travel illustration so I said yes at a price I first thought quite expensive (It's not. Demand for more). You see, I asked my mom how much people usually pay their book cover artist and she gave me a range around RM100-RM150. I wasn't thinking straight and I forgot that I'm designing a watercolour book cover. Plus the client was very involved with the creative process. Long story short, I wrongly priced the commission.

We had some hiccup along the way. Most of it stemming from miscommunication. We communicated through e-mail and Instagram Direct Message so it was really-really vague at times on what the client wanted and what I could contribute.

My first two drafts were rejected. I was taken aback by the comments I received. The thing about written communication is that it's not easy to assign the tone to the sentence you are reading. All the comments seemed ill-intentioned, they seemed abusive at times. I was ready to drop the project. The fee didn't seem to worth the effort I was putting in. But it didn't feel right so we set up a meeting. I wanted to know what the client really wanted.

So we met. Lo and behold, the meeting only lasted for 20 minutes. It was clear to me what I had to do. After that, working was easy. I found that my client had a difficulty to explain her needs through written form. She was easy to talk to. Very warm and friendly unlike her online counterpart. I finished the assignment as promised.

From this project I noticed something about myself. I've grown too fond of praise that I couldn't accept criticism. What I lack was patience. I was too eager to start the project without realizing that I don't have all the information needed to even start designing.

To those who are interested in book cover design, do look into book margin, bleed area, cut area and spine design. I was also asked to do a book mock up. (I would have charged extra for this but I was too tired to care).

Anyway, this is the final product of said project. Feel free to share your thoughts.

(This is a book mock-up and I'm so proud of it)

Adieu