Mirza Ghalib
bazicha-e-atfal hai duniya mire aage
hota hai shab-o-roz tamasha mire aage
just like a child’s playground this world appears to me
every single night and day, this spectacle I see
ik khel hai aurang-e-sulaiman mire nazdik
ik baat hai ejaz-e-masiha mire aage
the throne of mighty Solomon’s a trifle merely
the Messiah’s miracle’s just another thing to me
juz naam nahin surat-e-alam mujhe manzur
juz vahm nahin hasti-e-ashiya mire aage
except in name the world exists, I do not agree
and objects of this life cannot but a delusion be
hota hai nihan gard men sahra mire hote
ghista hai jabin khaak pe dariya mire aage
deserts are interned in sand in my presence see
rivers rub their foreheads in dust in front of me
mat puchh ki kya haal hai mera tire pichhe
tu dekh ki kya rang hai tera mire aage
ask not, in your absence, what my state is apt to be
you see your own condition when you’re in front of me
sach kahte ho khud-bin o khud-ara huun na kyuun huun
baitha hai but-e-aina-sima mire aage
’tis true I preen, why should I not, self indulgently?
when the beauty, mirror-faced, sits in front of me
phir dekhiye andaz-e-gul-afshani-e-guftar
rakh de koi paimana-e-sahba mire aage
only then, my eloquence, will you chance to see
let first a cup of wine be placed there in front of me
nafrat ka guman guzre hai main rashk se guzra
kyunkar kahun lo naam na un ka mire aage
I refrain from envy lest it’s deemed antipathy
how can I ask anyone “don’t speak of her to me”?
iman mujhe roke hai jo khinche hai mujhe kufr
kaaba mire pichhe hai kalisa mire aage
faith restrains me while I am tugged at by heresy
behind me stands the mosque, the church in front of me
ashiq huun pa mashuq-farebi hai mira kaam
majnun ko bura kahti hai laila mire aage
though a lover I seduce my loved ones craftily
Laila speaks ill of Majnuu.n when in front of me
khush hote hain par vasl men yuun mar nahin jaate
aai shab-e-hijran ki tamanna mire aage
although in union happy you don’t die of ecstacy
the wish for night of separation comes in front of me
hai maujzan ik qulzum-e-khun kaash yahi ho
aata hai abhi dekhiye kya kya mire aage
if only did this ocean of blood rage relentlessly
what else lies in store for me I have yet to see
go haath ko jumbish nahin ankhon men to dam hai
rahne do abhi saghar-o-mina mire aage
let the cup and flask of wine remain in front of me
though my hands are motionless, my eyes as yet can see
ham-pesha o ham-mashrab o hamraz hai mera
‘ghalib’ ko bura kyuun kaho achchha mire aage
colleague, coimbiber and my confidante is he
tell me why you criticize Ghalib in front of me
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