Mirza Ghalib
dil hi to hai na sang-o-khisht dard se bhar na aae kyuun
roenge ham hazar baar koi hamen satae kyuun
it’s just a heart, no stony shard; why shouldn’t it fill with pain
i will cry a thousand times,why should someone complain?
dair nahin haram nahin dar nahin astan nahin
baithe hain rahguzar pe ham ghair hamen uthae kyuun
neither door nor threshold ’tis, no temple ’tis nor mosque
why should rivals bid me leave? the street’s public domain
jab vo jamal-e-dil-faroz surat-e-mehr-e-nim-roz
aap hi ho nazzara-soz parde men munh chhupae kyuun
when she has a lustrous face, as bright as the sun at noon
a burning spectacle is she, why veiled does she remain?
dashna-e-ghamza jan-sitan navak-e-naz be-panah
tera hi aks-e-rukh sahi samne tere aae kyuun
dagger-like glances, arrow-like airs, fatal well could be
thus even from facing you, your image should refrain
qaid-e-hayat o band-e-gham asl men donon ek hain
maut se pahle aadmi gham se najat paae kyuun
prison of life and sorrow’s chains in truth are just the same
then relief from pain, ere death,why should man obtain
husn aur us pe husn-e-zan rah gai bul-havas ki sharm
apne pe e’timad hai ghair ko azmae kyuun
beauty and its self-esteem did spare my rival shame
when she is self-confident, in testing him what gain?
vaan vo ghurur-e-izz-o-naz yaan ye hijab-e-pas-e-vazaa
raah men ham milen kahan bazm men vo bulae kyuun
she won’t call me to her house, by the wayside I can’t meet
she is proud of name and grace, and I by form refrain
haan vo nahin khuda-parast jaao vo bevafa sahi
jis ko ho diin o dil aziiz us ki gali men jaae kyuun
let her a non-believer be, unfaithful too, and therefore
if you value faith and heart, then from her street abstain
‘ghalib’-e-khasta ke baghair kaun se kaam band hain
roiye zaar zaar kya kijiye haae haae kyuun
In poor Ghalib’s absence say, what tasks are stopped today
then why shed such copious tears, why lament in vain?
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