ye na thee hamaree qismat ke wisaal-e-yaar hota
it was not in my fate to meet my lover
agar aur jeete rehte yahee intezaar hota
had I lived longer, this would still be my only desire
tere waade par jiye ham to ye jaan jhoot jaanaa
to live on your promise is to make my life a lie
ke khushee se mar na jaate agar 'eitabaar hota
would I not have died of happiness if i trusted it
teree naazukee se jaana ke bandha tha 'ehed_booda
from your frailty I learnt that the promise was delicate
kabhee too na tor sakta agar oostuwaar hota
it would not stand broken had you been determined
koee mere dil se pooche tere teer-e-neemkash ko
someone ask me about your half-drawn arrow
ye khalish kahaan se hotee jo jigar ke paar hota
would i even feel this pain if it had pierced my heart
ye kahaan ki dostee hai ke bane hain dost naaseh
what kind of friendship is this, that friends are now advisers
koee chaarasaaz hota, koee ghamgusaar hota
someone should ease my pain, someone sympathize with me
rag-e-sang se tapakta wo lahoo ki phir na thamta
from every nerve drips blood without restraint
jise gham samajh rahe ho, ye agar sharaar hota
as if that which you think is anguish is but a spark
gham agarche jaan_gulis hai, per kahaan bachain ke dil hai
threatening as love is, there is no deliverance from the heart
gham-e-ishq gar na hota, gham-e-rozgaar hota
if not the torment of love, it would be the torment of life
kahoon kis se main ke kya hai, shab-e-gham buree bala hai
whom shall I narrate the pangs of these evenings of sorrow
mujhe kya bura tha marna agar ek baar hota
i would have not resented this death, had it come only once
hue mar ke ham jo ruswa, hue kyon na gharq-e-dariya
that I died and was disgraced, why was I not just drowned
na kabhee janaaza uthata, na kaheen mazaar hota
never was there a funeral, no where was a tomb erected
usay kaun dekh sakta ke yagaana hai wo yaktaa
who can see him since his Oneness is without peer
jo dooee ki boo bhee hotee to kaheen do chaar hota
even the scent of his duality would be an introduction
ye masaail-e-tasawwuf, ye tera bayaan 'Ghalib'!
this mysticism, these statements of yours Ghalib
tujhe ham walee samajhate, jo na baada_khwaar hota
you would be a saint, if only you were not inebriated
[Mirza Asad Ullah Khan Ghalib - Translated in English by Ayesha Khanna]
paRh paRh ilm hazaar kitaabaN
qaddi apnay aap nou paRhiya naee
jaaN jaaN waRhday mandir maseedi
qaddi mann apnay wich waRhiya naee
aa-vaiN laRda aye shaitan de naal bandeaa
qaddi nafss apnay naal laRiya naee
English Translation:
you have read thousands of books
but you have never tried to read your own self
you rush into Mandirs and Mosques/Masaajid
but you have never tried to enter your own heart
futile are all your battles with Satan
for you have never tried to fight your own desires
[Baba Bhuley Shah]
Sujjen bin raatan hoiyan wadyan
Ranjha jogi, main jogiani, kamli kar kar sadian
Maas jhurey jhur pinjer hoyya, karkan lagiyan hadiyan
Main ayani niyoonh ki janan, birhoon tannawan gadiyan
Kahe Husain faqeer sain da, larr tairay main lagiyaan
Nights swell and merge into each other as I stand a wait for him.
Since the day Ranjha became jogi, I have scarcely been my old self and people every where call me crazy. My young flesh crept into creases leaving my young bones a creaking skeleton. I was too young to know the ways of love; and now as the nights swell and merge into each other, I play host to that unkind guest - separation.
[Madho Lal Shah Hussain]
Main wi janan dhok Ranjhan di, naal mare koi challey
Pairan paindi, mintan kardi, jaanan tan peya ukkaley
Neen wi dhoonghi, tilla purana, sheehan ney pattan malley
Ranjhan yaar tabeeb sadhendha, main tan dard awalley
Kahe Husain faqeer namana, sain senhurray ghalley
Travelers, I too have to go; I have to go to the solitary hut of Ranjha. Is there any one who will go with me? I have begged many to accompany me and now I set out alone. Travelers, is there no one who could go with me?
The River is deep and the shaky bridge creaks as people step on it. And the ferry is a known haunt of tigers. Will no one go with me to the lonely hut of Ranjha?
During long nights I have been tortured by my raw wounds. I have heard he in his lonely hut knows the sure remedy. Will no one come with me, travelers?
[Madho Lal Shah Hussain]
This poem was written by Faiz Ahmed Faiz in 1974 regarding his departure from Dhakka.
Ham ke Thehre ajnabi itni mulaaqaatoN ke baad
phir baneiN ge aashna kitni madaaraatoN ke baadkab nazar meiN aaye gi be daaGh sabze ki bahaar
khoon ke dhabe dhuleiN ge kitni barsaatoN ke baadthe bahut bedard lamhe khat’m-e-dard-e-ishq ke
theiN bahut bemeh’r subheiN meh’rbaaN raatoN ke baaddil to chaaha par shikast-e-dil ne moh’lat hi na di
kuchh gile shikwe bhi kar lete manaajaatoN ke baadun se jo kehne gaye the “Faiz” jaaN sadqe kiye
an kahi hi reh gayi woh baat sab baatoN ke baad
Agha Shahid Ali’s English Translation:
After those many encounters, that easy intimacy,
. we are strangers now –
After how many meetings will we be that close again?When will we again see a spring of unstained green?
After how many monsoons will the blood be washed
. from the branches?So relentless was the end of love, so heartless –
After the nights of tenderness, the dawns were pitiless,
. so pitiless.And so crushed was the heart that though it wished
. it found no chance –
after the entreaties, after the despair — for us to
. quarrel once again as old friends.Faiz, what you’d gone to say, ready to offer everything,
. even your life –
those healing words remained unspoken after all else had
. been said.
By Him whose House the loving pilgrims visit,
The friendly cow, all red and white,
I love with all my heart:
She gives me cream with all her might,
To eat with apple tart.
She wanders lowing here and there,
And yet she cannot stray,
All in the pleasant open air,
The pleasant light of day;
And blown by all the winds that pass
And wet with all the showers,
She walks among the meadow grass
And eats the meadow flowers.
Those who call me Syed,
Are destined to hell made for them.
Those who call me Arain,
Have the swings of heaven laid for them.
The low-caste and the high-caste,
Are created by God who is all-powerful;
He casts away the fair ones,
And clasps to His heart the meritless ones.
[Baba Bhuley Shah]
Alif Allah chambe di booti, murshad man vich laai hu
Nafi asbaat da paani mileyo, har ragge har jaai hu
Andar buti mushk machaiya, jaan phulaan te ayi hu
Jeeve murshad kaamil bahu,
[Sultan Bahu]
