AAH KO CHAHIYAY EIK UMR ASAR HONAY TAKK

Aah ko chahiyay eik umr asar honay takk
Koan jeeta hai teri zulf kay sir honay takk

A curse needs an age, to show affect to the world.
Who can survive, till your cascade is uncurled.


(The concept of (aah) curse, sigh or silent complaint, is both religious and superstitious in the East. If someone suffers due to inexplicable reasons, it is said that s/he is suffering on account of another’s curse or sigh. Here, Ghalib is saying that though even a curse shows its affect after a time, no one knows the length of time the beloved will take to groom her hair. May well be that he may perish and be consumed in the waiting.)

Daam har mauj mein hai halqa e saad kaam nahang
Dekhain qaya guzray hai quatray pay gohar hunay takk

Each desire takes a hundred effort,Before it can unfurl.
See, what all a drop has to go through,to become a valuable pearl.


(To get fulfillment of a desire one has to make devoted effort and a number of sacrifices, and has to patiently wait to see its achievement. Just like no one knows how difficult or tedious a process a drop of water has to pass through before it changes into a valuable pearl.)


Aashiqi sabr talab aur tamana baytaab
Dil ka kaya rung karoon khoon e jigar honay takk

Love endears patience, but desire is a restless flood.
What shade should I give to the heart, till my soul bleeds blood.


(Love matures slowly, but desire is difficult to control. What should one do to get peace of the heart while the process is being completed.
Eastern poetry has given both the heart and the soul (represented by the liver which is a much more deep rooted organ in the body) much prominence and importance in the human psyche. As, different from animals, man shows supremacy in both possessing and governing his emotions and feelings, and striving towards their fulfillment, in a conscious manner. The heart, though a physical organ, which primarily controls and pumps the flow of blood – the most vital fluid – has been epitomized as the body’s jewel. But where does this blood come from, and what is its origin? It is the liver (inner being). So whereas the heart may hold the key of control; there would be nothing to control if the liver did not produce it in the first place. In Urdu poetry both heart and liver thus go together, hand in hand, with some sort of a love-hate relationship, each envying, yet affirming the other’s position. Something like the chicken and the egg story -- which came first and which holds sway? Overall however, the heart seems to get more attention from poets for it is the embodiment of delicacy and frailty. The heart is the seat of feelings and emotions, which at times shake the very edifice of human existence. The soul (inner being) on the other hand seems to be more enduring and more deep seated. It personifies the physique of man, and perhaps has more resilience. But if pain and sorrow are intense and unbearable, both heart and soul cry out in unison.)


Hum nay maana kay taghaful na karo gay lekin
Khaak hojayangay hum tum ko khabar honay takk

We agree you will not delay in the beckoning.
Yet, we would have turned to dust till your reckoning.

(Although the beloved may not delay and perhaps come quick on getting the news of the illness of the loved one, yet the news may take a long time to reach, and the poet may perish by then)

Partave khur say hai shabnam ko fana ki taleem
Mein bhi hoon eik inayat ki nazar honay takk

The dew learns to vanish, With the onset of sunlight.
I too wait, but just, for a single favour of sight.

(The water droplets of the overnight dew quickly evaporate with the coming of the heat of the sun, even in the shade. The beloved too gets consumed when the lover gives one glance, for which he waits all his life.)

Yak nazar beish nahin fursat e hasti ghafil
Garmi e bazam hai eik rakhs e sharrar honay takk

Not more than a wink is the freedom, to remain oblivious.
Only unto a dance of the spark, Is the warmth of the banquet, obvious.


(The carefree life is very short-lived and fleets by after a moment or two. For then, once again the worldly woes take hold, and remind one of the temporariness of bliss, and the emptiness of life itself.)

Gham e hasti ka Asad kis say ho juzz marg e illajj
Shama her rang mein jalti hai sehar honay takk


What can treat the torment of life, except death, O’ Asad.
The candle keeps vigil till dawn, in all times, -- happy or sad.

(Life’s strife only comes to end with the end of life itself. However, the process of living has to be borne and this life lived in all conditions and circumstance till then.)