DIL HE TO HAI NA SANG O KISHIST

Dil he too hai na sang o kishisht dard say bhaar na aaye qayoon
Rooayan gay hum hazar bar koi haumay sataye qayoon.

It’s but a heart, stone nor brick,With pain why would it not over-flow.
We will weep a thousand times,Why should someone tease us so?

(If some one teases, the heart, which is not made of stone, is bound to get hurt.)

Dayar nahin haram nahin dar nahin aastaan nahin
Baithay hain rahguzar pay hum ghair humain uthaye qayoon


Not a temple or house of God. No one’s door or a saint’s abode.
By the wayside we do sit,Pray why! should then, strangers goad?


(Here the poet says he is not disturbing any one, nor is he sitting at some one’s property. He is merely sitting at the cross roads of life. Why should any passerby disturb or trouble him.)


Jub wooh jamal-e dil farooz , surat-e mehare neemrooz
Aap he hoo nazara sooz parday main munh chupayae qayoon


When her radiance is heart enthralling,And appearance like the sun at noon;
Self-exposed and self-adoring,Why then in veil, she hides her bloom?


(In a broader sense the poet is admiring and questioning Nature itself. Note the philosophical probe and enquiry at the end of it.)

Dashna-e ghamza jaanistan nawak-e naaz baypanah
Taira he ux-e rukh sahee samnay taire aaye qayoon

Like shooting arrow your demeanor,And dagger sharp your vanity;
Even your own faces shadow,In front of you why would it be?

(In this verse the poet gives explanation of the reason for the hiding of the deity of the previous verse. He says it is difficult for any one or any thing, to face such a being who is so full of agility, grace, conceit and valor . Note that even its own shadow can not bear to face it for fear of being destroyed.)

Qaid-e hayat O band-e gham asal main doono aik hain
Mauth say phalay aadmi gham say nijaat payae qayoon

The prison of life and human suffering,In reality are the same.
Why then, before death should man,Be free of sorrow and the pain?

(To go through this life is a constant battle and struggle that has to be endured. There is no escape from it till death.)

Husan aur ous pay husan-e zan rah gaie boo alhavis ki sharm
Upany pay eitaymaad hoo to ghair ko aazmaye qayoon

Beauty, and then topped with vanity,
Only remains an envier’s shame. (This is pun at its best)
If one has the self confidence,
Then why test another’s frame?

(The beloved is so beautiful and also conceited, yet is full of jealousy.
There must be some insecurity. For, if one is self confident then why should he/she worry about what others have.)

Wan who ghuroor O Uzz O naaz yan yeh hijab paas e waza
Rah mein hum milayan kahaan, bazam mein who bulaye qayoon

There the pride, vanity, and conceit,Here, the shyness and tradition of the East.
On the way we cannot meet, and why would she call us to her feast?

( Self contained.)

Haan who nahin khuda parast jaayoo who bewafa sahee
Jis ko ho deen O dil azeea yus ki gali mein jayae qayoon

Admitted she’s not God fearing;Yes, she may be unfaithful -- So!
Who holds dear her heart and faith;To her lane then, why should one go?


(The poet knows fully well that the beloved is not God fearing, and consequently may be unfaithful too. This is all very well. For, if she was faithful and held her heart very dear it would be futile to try and woo her.)

Ghalib e khasta kay baghair kon say kaam bund hain
Royiyae zaar zaar qaya kijiyae hai hai qayoon

Without old tattered Ghalib,What work cannot proceed?
Why then weep incessantly, and cry one’s heart out to bleed?

( Simple, self explanatory )