Bahadur Shah Zafar
baat karni mujhe mushkil kabhi aisi to na thi
jaisi ab hai tiri mahfil kabhi aisi to na thi
conversing has never been so diffficult for me
your company now is no more as it used to be
le gaya chhin ke kaun aaj tira sabr o qarar
be-qarari tujhe ai dil kabhi aisi to na thi
who is it that’s spirited your peace and calm away
O heart you never were perturbed as you are today
us ki ankhon ne khuda jaane kiya kya jaadu
ki tabiat miri maail kabhi aisi to na thi
Lord knows what enchantment her eyes have cast on me
never was my temperament inclined to this degree
aks-e-rukhsar ne kis ke hai tujhe chamkaya
taab tujh men mah-e-kamil kabhi aisi to na thi
reflection of whose face is it that causes you to glow?
O full moon, you’ve never shone this brightly before
ab ki jo rah-e-mohabbat men uthai taklif
sakht hoti hamen manzil kabhi aisi to na thi
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——–
pa-e-kuban koi zindan men naya hai majnun
aati avaz-e-salasil kabhi aisi to na thi
in jail some lover, newly crazed, is stomping all around
never did the clamour of the chains produce this sound
nigah-e-yar ko ab kyuun hai taghaful ai dil
vo tire haal se ghafil kabhi aisi to na thi
O heart why is my loved one’s glance neglectful today?
unmindful of your state, it has never been this way
chashm-e-qatil miri dushman thi hamesha lekin
jaisi ab ho gai qatil kabhi aisi to na thi
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——–
kya sabab tu jo bigadta hai ‘zafar’ se har baar
khu tiri hur-shamail kabhi aisi to na thi
what reason zafar’s every act you do now deplore
houri-face! your nature never was like this before
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