Random sher - ilm ka sauda

अश्आर मेरे यूँ तो ज़माने के लिए हैं
कुछ शेर फक़त उनको सुनाने के लिए हैं

ये इल्म का सौदा, ये रिसाले, ये किताबें,
एक शख्स की यादों को भुलाने के लिए हैं.

Shayri: Allama's ghazal

Long, long time ago in a different continent, I bought an audio cassette titled "Qawwalis from Films". I do love Urdu Shayri and Qawwalis are a really fun, enjoyable medium of singing the ghazals. There have been many, many qawwali's in Hindi films, some of them based on real Urdu Shayri while others were written just for the film.

This cassette had several of them like "Chaandi ka badan, sone ki nazar", "Yeh mana meri jaan mohabbat saza hai" and of course the famous "Yeh ishq ishq hai" from Barsaat ki Raat.

Sandwiched between two great qawwali's was one that was so slow and boring that I would press fast forward every time it started. Not only was it slow and boring, the music was very uninteresting and the words were in tough Urdu, it just didn't mean anything to me.

But I used to listen to that cassette very often and sometimes I would be late in pressing the FF button on the player. This way I heard the first few words of it. Then a litte more. And then I got curious some time and let it play a little longer. I still didn't like the music but the words piqued my curiosity even more.

Gradually over the years, I pieced together what the words meant and also learn a bit more about the ghazal. It's Allama Iqbal's ghazal and it is indeed in very tough Urdu, but I really one of the shers from it and that made me like it.

With that much ado, here are the two sher's, the first one and my favourite one.

Kabhi ae haqiqat-e-muntzir nazar aa libaas-e-majaaz meiN
Ke hazaaroN sajde tadap rahe haiN meri zabeen-e-niyaaz meiN


कभी ऐ हक़ीक़त-ए-मुंतज़िर नज़र आ लिबास-ए-मजाज़ में,
कि हज़ारों सजदे तड़प रहे हैं मेरी ज़बीन-ए-नियाज़ में,


I'll explain the literal meaning but I am not yet smart enough to explain the real meaning. Might take me another 10 years or so.

The poet says - O much awaited reality, show yourself in the fabric of practical some time, for a thousand prostrations are eagerly waiting in my worshipful forehead.

Yes, of course it sounds a thousand times better in Urdu and I like it even without understanding it fully. But my favourite sher is this:


मैं जो सर-बसजदा कभी हुआ तो ज़मीन से आने लगी सदा,
तेरा दिल तो है सनम-आशना तुझे क्या मिलेगा नमाज़ में.


This one is easier to understand. The shayar says, whenever I prostrated in prayer, the earth started to say, "Your heart is filled with your beloved, what do you hope to get from prayer?"

This of course, has as many meanings as you can get from it. One is that prayer is not real if your mind is not in it along with your body. Another meaning is (as I see it) that when you have found love, you don't need prayer, only love.

In any case I love this sher and I am reminded of it any time someone mentions namaaz or roza or things like that.

And that's enough for a literary discussion. :)

Jagjit Singh - Koi Chaudhvi Raat Ka

Koi Chaudhvin raat ka chaand bankar, tumhare tassavvur mein aaya to hoga.
Kisi se to ki hogi tumne mohabbat, kisi ko gale se lagaya to hoga.


कोई चौदहवीं रात का चाँद बनकर तुम्हारे तसस्व्वुर में आया तो होगा,
किसी से तो की होगी तुमने मोहब्बत, किसी को गले से लगाया तो होगा


It's a wistful ghazal. And a little bit vindictive. The poet is addressing a proud beauty who has been admired and proposed to by many including, presumably, by the poet himself. But the poet says that even she must have loved someone. Someone must have been on the receiving end of her hugs.

This is a ghazal from Jagjit Singh's album Mirage. And I will never forget that name because I had to hunt long and hard to find the name of the album from the song. And after that I had to hunt to find the song itself. All for this last sher:

NigahoN mein shamm-e-tamanna jalakar, taki hongi tumne bhi raahen kisi ki,
Kisi ne to waada kiya hoga tumse, kisi ne tumheN bhi rulaaya to hoga.


निगाहों में शम्म-ए-तमन्ना जलाकर, तकी होंगी तुमने भी राहें किसी की,
किसी ने तो वादा किया होगा तुमसे, किसी ने तुम्हें भी रुलाया तो होगा.

With the light of hope in your eyes you must have waited for someone.
Someone must have made a promise to you, someone must have made you cry.

Goes without saying that it's a million times more beautiful in the original Urdu. But the beauty of this ghazal is in the words that create an image in your mind. Just the words are enough to put you in a wistful mood but when sung by Jagjit Singh in his smooth, velvety voice, they come to life and become a thousand times more powerful!.

Finally, the video.

Shayri 101 - Ghalib - Koi din ghar zindgaani

Once again I have picked a favourite ghazal of mine. (The image contains the same ghazal in Urdu)

This is written by Ghalib and it's very popular as expected. It is one of his simple-language ghazals, but still has a few tough words. Let's get into it.

koii din gar zi.ndaganii aur hai
apane jii me.n hamane Thaanii aur hai

Meaning: This is very simple. The poet says that if he has any more days to live, he has some different plans for his life. Don't we all do that? We keep making plans for our life. After every mistake or every adverse event, we make some different plans. I think it's a good habit.

aatish-e-dozaKh me.n ye garmii kahaa.N
soz-e-Gamhai-nihaanii aur hai
[dozaKh=hell; soz=passion/heat; nihaanii=hidden ]

Meaning: The fires of hell don't have the same heat as the burn of the hidden pain. So true man, so true!

The beauty of this sher, IMHO, lies in the long word - soz-e-ghamha-e-nihaani. It's a compound word, joining 3 words together. Soz = burn or fire. Gham = sorrow and ghamhae = plural of gham, sorrows. Nihaani comes from the word nihaaN meaning hidden. So the whole word means fire of the sorrow that is hidden. The hidden pain is more painful because the world doesn't see it but it eats awat at you inside. And because it's hidden, you do not get any sympathy from your friends and family just bear the pain in silence. You see why it's worse than the fires of hell?

baarahaa dekhii.n hai.n unakii ra.njishe.n
par kuchh ab ke sar_giraanii aur hai
[sar_giraanii=pride]

Meaning: I have seen her angry mood many times, but this time her anger seems very different. Sar giraani literally means heavy head, but it's expression for anger, naraazgi.

deke Khat muu.Nh dekhataa hai naamaabar
kuchh to paiGaam-e-zabaanii aur hai
[naamaabar=messenger]

Meaning: This is my favourite sher. "The messenger is watching my face after handing me the letter. There is something she has said to be delivered verbally. "
Even though the literal meaning is quite clear the hidden meaning has to be derived from it. I mean, why is the messenger watching his face, what is he waiting for? His expression on reading the letter? His reaction? What is that verbal message and in what condition will the messenger deliver it? For example, consider the following scenario. when she wrote the letter, she was not free to say what she wanted, written under duress, you know. But then she was able to whisper something to the messenger before he left. And now the messenger is waiting to see his reaction before delivering the real message.

I should mention that all these things only make sense in the context of Indian culture.


ho chukii.n "Ghalib" balaaye.n sab tamaam
ek marg-e-naagahaanii aur hai
[balaaye.n=calamities; marg=death; naagahaanii=sudden/accidental]

Ghalib says that he has seen faced all the trials and tribulations of life except one. The unseen, unexpected trouble of death, that's the only one he's waiting to face now.

The beauty of this sher is that it can be interpreted in two radically different ways. It can be interpreted as a show of confidence. The poet has handled all the problems of life and is ready to face even death. Or it can be interpreted as the sigh of a man who is tired from life after being subjected to all the troubles in his life and is just waiting for the final trouble - death, that would deliver him of all the other pains and sorrows.

I have tried my best to translate and interpret it, but it's Ghalib's poetry, research scholars work on things like these and thesis are written on each of Ghalib's sher's. So, my humble attempt may leave a lot to be desired. Still, if you have any comments or questions, feel free to put them in the comments.

Kabhi Kabhi Mere Dil Mein..

The original nazm by Sahir Ludhianvi a part of which you have heard in Amitabh's voice in the film Kabhi Kabi.

Kabhii kabhii mere dil me.n Khayaal aataa hai..
.
ke zindagii terii zulfo.n kii narm chaao.n me.n
guzarane paatii to shaadaab ho bhii sakatii thii
ye tiirgii jo merii ziist kaa muqaddar hai
terii nazar kii shuaao.n me.n kho bhii sakatii thii

ajab na thaa ke mai.n begaanaa-e-alam ho kar
tere jamaal kii raanaaiiyo.n me.n kho rahataa
teraa gudaaz badan terii niim-baar aa.Nkhe.n
i.nhii.n hasiin fasaano.n me.n maaho rahataa

pukaaratii.n mujhe jab talKhiyaa.N zamaane kii
tere labo.n se halaawat ke ghuu.NT pii letaa
hayaat chiikhatii phiratii barahanaa-sar, aur mai.n
ghanerii zulfo.n ke saaye me.n chhup ke jii letaa

magar ye ho na sakaa aur ab ye aalam hai
ke tuu nahii.n, teraa Gam, terii justajuu bhii nahii.n
guzar rahii hai kuchh is tarah zi.ndahii jaise
ise kisii ke sahaare kii aarazuu bhii nahii.n

zamaane bhar ke dukho.n ko lagaa chukaa huu.N gale
guzar rahaa huu.N kuchh a.njaanii guzar_gaaho.n se
muhiib saaye merii simt ba.Date aate hai.n
hayaat-o-maut ke pur_haul Khaarazaaro.n se

na koii jaadaa na manzil na roshanii kaa suraaG
bhaTak rahii hai Khaalaao.n me.n zindagii merii
i.nhii.n Khalaao.n me.n rah jaauu.Ngaa kabhii khokar
mai.n jaanataa huu.N merii ham-nafas magar yuu.N hii
kabhii kabhii mere dil me.n Khayaal aataa hai

Beautiful, isn't it?

I am not going to translate it as I myself don't understand all the words exactly, and because it's so poetic it'll be hard to translate exactly, and even then it'd lose all its beauty and depth of emotion.

My addiction can kick your addiction's ass

"Do you know they remove rust with that thing?", my colleague says incredulously
"So what, at least my insides will be rust-free. Rust is not a good thing you know?", was my flippant reply.

The topic under discussion was Diet Coke which my colleague couldn't believe that I even touched. An intelligent, sensible guy like me? Drinking Diet Coke? Ugh! That was the gist of his reaction.

And this same guy doesn't count 2 beers as drinking, actually he just doesn't like to count when he's drinking. I wondered what they remove with that!

The point I am trying to make is that none of us is free from addiction, though we do have our own choices and we think that those are okay while the rest of the world has gone mad.

Now that I have given up Diet Coke and all other sources of caffeine, (mostly because of my biphasic sleep) I don't understand how people can have those big glasses of strong coffee! And I have always wondered about how can  people smoke when there is a clear warning right on the pack! Even some doctors smoke! I mean, come on!

But I still eat sugar, love ice cream and oh chocolate..mmm, don't even ask me about chocolates! I don't drink alcohol at all and try not to judge the people who do drink.

The funny thing in all this is that while we all have our sinful addictions, we don't usually give them a second thought and are very quick to judge others who are also human like us.

Reminds me of an old joke,

A political leader is delivering a speech in a college and he says: "...so my dear students, you must resolve to stay pure and serve your country...repeat after me, you will not drink and smoke."

Students repeat: "We don't drink and smoke."

Leader: "Repeat after me, you will not gamble."

Students: "We will not gamble."

Leader: "You will not chase girls."

Student: "We will not chase girls."

Leader: "And you will give you life for your country."

One student: "Sure why not, what's left to live for anyway."

The whole point is that we need to find a balance between an addiction-riddled life and a meaningless existence. I am sure we are smart enough to figure out a way to enjoy life without ruining it completely with our weaknesses.

Think about it, having an icecream once a weak could be something you could live with but how can you tell your teenage son to not smoke when you smoke a packet a day?

There are harmless (less harmful) alternatives available for most of the common addictions these days, caffeine-free drinks, menthol cigarettes, non-alcoholic beverages...everything is there, but somehow because it's not sinful, it doesn't taste so good. I think we are tempted not by the actual product but its allure as a guilty pleasure.

Enough lecturing, let's finish with a sher:

ए शेख न कर इस तरह रिन्दों को नसीहत 

सब नेक बनेंगे तो खता कौन करेगा?

हम तेरे मिटाने से तो मिट जायेंगे लेकिन, 

फिर तेरी अदाओं पे मिटा कौन करेगा? 

शेख is teetotaller, रिंद is a kind of bad guy, addict, नसीहत of course, means advice.

The second sher has nothing to do with addiction but is one my favourite sher and belongs to the same ghazal so why not. :) 

Random Ghazal from my favourites

एक पल में एक सदी का मज़ा हम से पूछिए  

दो दिन की ज़िंदगी का मज़ा हम से पूछिए 

भूलें है रफ़्ता रफ़्ता उन्हें मुद्दतों में हम 

क़िस्तों मे ख़ुदकुशी का मज़ा हम से पूछिए 

आगाज़-ए-आशिक़ी का मज़ा आप जानिए

अंजाम-ए-आशिक़ी का मज़ा हम से पूछिए  

वो जान ही गये कि हमें उनसे प्यार है

आँखों की मुखबरी का मज़ा हम से पूछिए 

जलते दिलों मे जलते घरों जैसा ज़व कहाँ

सरकार रौशनी का मज़ा हम से पूछिए 

हँसने का शौक हम को भी था आप कि तरह 

हँसिए मगर हँसी का मज़ा हम से पूछिए 

हम तौबा कर के मर गए कब्ल अज़ल-ए-क़ुमार

तौहीन-ए-मैकशी का मज़ा हम से पूछिए  

How is your index finger?

दुनिया ने तेरी याद से बेगाना कर दिया, 

तुझसे भी दिल-फरेब हैं ग़म रोज़गार के 

                                                              फैज़ अहमद फैज़ 

These Urdu shayars are called ustaad not because they were a master of Urdu poetry (which they were) but because they were masters of human psychology and behaviour. 

Let me translate the sher first then we'll come to my actual topic. Faiz says that the world actually made me forget your memory, because the hassles of work are even more attractive (?) than you. Here Faiz uses the word Dil-Fareb. Dil of course is heart, and fareb means deception. I think Faiz uses "Dil-fareb" to mean "attractive" in the case of the beloved and "distracting" in case of the hassles. So, in short, "Dear Love, you are so attractive that you have taken my heart but these hassles of employment are so distracting that they have made me forget everything including you." Of course, it's a thousand times more powerful in the original Urdu. :)

Now, to my topic. If you read it in Faiz's words it sounds callous to forget a loved one for practical matters of the world, but is it not true in the case of each and everyone of us? 

When the boss's call comes on the call waiting, do you not hang up with the girlfriend with, "I'll call you back, baby." Do the family matters not get pushed back when the project hits "urgent"? 

The weird thing about it is that projects have a "red" or "urgent" indicator, personal relationships don't. They hit red when you find out your wife is having an affair or your girlfriend dumps you, or the friend you never got around to emailing, is no longer in a position to receive emails.....

By then it's too late. You can't put more manpower on that project, you can't make people work in shifts, and you can't increase the budget....

Interesting, no?

Let's be fair, work is important, projects do need time and attention, but so do family and friends, and life partners.

How often have you heard this from a friend when you called them, "Arre yaar, so sorry I haven't called you in so long, but I have been so busy!" And how often have you said it yourself?

Sometimes it is indeed true that one is simply swamped with work and personal stuff that takes up all their time, but more often than not, it's just a question of sorting out your priorities and managing your time effectively in order to achieve them. I mean, really, how long does it take to shoot off a two-line email or a one line text message?

I am sure at one point or another you have sorted out your work things and created a to-do list. May be even for your personal "business" stuff. Ever made a grocery list? I bet you have. Well, surely a friend who lends you his ear, supports you in bad times, amuses you in good times and loves you despite yourself cannot be less important than a carton of milk?

मुद्दतें गुजरीं कि तेरी याद भी आई न हमें 

और हम भूल गए हों तुझे ऐसा भी नहीं 

One question I am sometimes forced to ask my friends is, "How is your index finger these days?"

And once he/she says, it's okay, I demand, "Then why the hell didn't you use it to dial my number?"

So, look at that index finger, if it's fine, use it for something other than picking your nose. 

And with the delightful image I will leave you to do with it as you like. 

Shayri 101 - Faiz - Dono jahaan teri mohabbat mein

A ghazal from Ustaad Faiz this time. 

दोनों जहान तेरी मोहब्बत में हार के

वो जा रहा है कोई शबे-ग़म गुज़ार के

[शब्-ए-ग़म = दुःख की रात]

Dono jahaan of course refers to this world and the world of heaven and hell. When a man is in love, he cares nothing for the pleasures of the Earth or Heaven, other than the love of his beloved nothing else matters to him. And this man, poet says has lost both the worlds in one night, a night of sorrow. The lover knows only one sorrow - of not having his love returned by the object of his affections. So, he gives up Earth and Heaven in order to gain the love of his life but as the reference to the night of sorrow indicates, he doesn't receive that love from his beloved. 

इक फुर्सते-ए-गुनाह मिली वो भी चार दिन

देखे हैं हम ने हौंसले परवरदिगार के

This one literally amounts to blasphemy. The poet says that the God gave us life to enjoy, he calls it a leisure to commit sins (anything and everything that's considered pleasure by the people is usually classified as "sin" by a majority of the religions). But, according to the poet, this window of opportunity is so short like 4 days. That's a popular expression to call the human life four days long. I am reminded of another sher:

मेरे महबूब ने वादा किया है पांचवें दिन का, 

किसी से सुन लिया होगा कि दुनिया चार दिन की है 

Back to Faiz's sher. The poet says that God gave us time to enjoy ourself but only such a brief one and that in the poet's view shows the God's courage in entrusting the world to Man. God was afraid of what chaos Man might create on Earth if he had more time, so he gave him only a short lifespan. The synonym used here for God is "parvardigaar" which means the one who provides everything, think about the word "Parvarish" and you'll see what I mean. One of my favourite shers even though the whole ghazal is my favourite. 

वीरां है मैकदा खुम-ओ-सागर उदास है 

तुम क्या गए कि रूठ गए दिन बहार के

[मैकदा = शराबखाना, खुम =घड़ा, सागर=गिलास]

The bar is deserted, the pitcher and the glass are sad. Ever since you left the Spring has left. Pretty simple once you know the difficult words. 

दुनिया ने तेरी याद से बेगाना कर दिया

तुझ से भी दिल-फरेब हैं ग़म रोज़गार के

Another one of my favourites. Even though I love you dearly, the work of the world must be done and such absorbing and distracting is this work in fact that it has made me forget even you. 

भूले से मुस्कुरा तो दिए थे वो आज 'फैज़' 

मत पूछ वलवले दिल-ए-नाकर्दाकार के 

Faiz says that today she smiled by mistake and I cannot describe how many desires and passions that one smile stirred up in my useless heart. Why is the heart useless? Because its one job is to attract and entice the one I love and it's not able to do that. Hence dil-e-nakardakaar or useless heart. 

Well, that concludes the second lesson in Shayri :). Your comments and questions are welcome as always. 

PJ Shayri - My Style

I have seen this sort of thing on Comedy Circus, but they don't really pay attention to the rhythm or length, just the rhyming of last words. I thought I could do better, so here are some samples for you.

उसके  प्यार  में दिल ने हमको यूँ काँटों में घसीटा, 

तन की शक्ति, मन की शक्ति, Bournvita

बिना तुम्हारे नींद न आये दिन भी नहीं ढलता

तुम्हारी त्वचा से तुम्हारी उम्र का पता ही नहीं चलता

साथ तुम्हारा प्रियतमे छूटेगा नहीं

फेविकोल का मज़बूत जोड़ है टूटेगा नहीं 

नेताओं को लग गई बेईमानी की खाज

बुलंद भारत  की बुलंद तस्वीर...हमारा बजाज 

हम को तो पैसे से मतलब देश का  जो कछु होय 

She's a complan girl, I am a complan boy

जैसा कि रिवाज है आखिरी शेर में शायर का नाम ज़रूर आना चाहिए, तो अर्ज़ है कि..

बेईमानों की BMW, सच्चों की खडखडिया है 

वाह सुनील बाबू, बढ़िया है 

As usual, your comments are welcome. :) 

Shayri 101 - Khumar - Haale-dil unko sunaate jaaiye

I have been interested in Shayri from early childhood. Things that rhymed just fascinated me. Then as I grew up the interest grew and I began to get the meaning and emotion behind the sher's, even the non-rhyming ones. Now after years and years of enjoying Urdu Shayri I have come to realize that not only do I enjoy reading or listening to shayri, I also enjoy explaining the sher's to those friends who don't understand that much Urdu even though they are interested in Shayri. 

I have done some posts where I posted a sher and then explained it but mostly for my English-speaking readers. It occurred to me that I could do a series of posts for kind of teaching this sort of thing. But I was afraid it might come off as patronizing or showing off my knowledge. Recently, it was pointed out to me that my readers might enjoy that kind of posts. People who like Urdu shayri but haven't had the background to understand a lot of it are not in minority. And modest as I am, even I have to admit that my knowledge of shayri is above average at least. :) 

So, here we go, take from it what you like, but I am going to do a series of posts where I'll post from my favourite sher's and explain their meaning including the deeper meaning as I see it. 

Let's tackle a nice ghazal today, one of my very favourites. The name of the shayar is खुमार बाराबंकवी, a famour shayar with many very popular ghazals to his credit. 

हाले-दिल  उनको  सुनाते  जाइए 

शर्त  ये  है  मुस्कुराते  जाइए 

Translation: When you pour your heart out to her, the condition is that you keep smiling. 

Meaning. Haale-dil, the things that are in your heart, when a lover wants to tell this to his beloved, it's usually things like "I can't sleep, I can't eat, I can't live without you" etc. etc. So, the shayar says that when you tell her all this, keep a smile on your face. Why? Because you want to keep her interested, and you want to put on a brave front, because nobody likes a whiner. 

आप को जाते न देखा जाएगा 

शम्मा को पहले बुझाते जाइए

Translation: I cannot see you go, so please douse the candle before you go. 

Meaning: The Urdu shayri deals in very delicate emotions. Shayar says that I cannot bear to see you go, so douse the candle so that it's dark when you leave. The implication is that even though I know you are leaving, and I know I cannot stop you, at least I will not have to see you walk out of my life. Anyone who has ever said goodbye to a loved one would understand this sentiment. 

And this was the first sher I ever heard from this ghazal: 

दुश्मनों से प्यार होता जाएगा 

दोस्तों को आजमाते जाइए

Translation: You will start falling in love with your enemies when you start testing your friends. 

Meaning: This is a cynical sher. The shayar is talking about the ways of the world that once you start testing your friends you will find that you cannot rely upon them and it might sour you on your friends, making you love your enemies more. As I said it's a very cynical sher but unfortunately bears a grain of truth and I think we can all understand from our own experiences where the poet is coming from. 

The last sher, the Makta as it is called, contains the name of the shayar. When I told Fazil the above sher, he told me the next one, and the name of the poet. 

रौशनी महदूद हो जिनकी "खुमार"

उन चिरागों को बुझाते जाइए

Translation: The shayar says that we should douse the lamps that have a limited circle of light. 

Meaning: The purpose of a lamp is to give light, and the purpose of a human being is to do good. But those lamps whose circle of light is very limited (mehdood comes from हद which means limit) or the people who do good things only to help themselves or their family, are useless in this world, their existence is meaningless. The implication here is that we should be selfless and generous to all our fellow beings and should encourage that kind of culture in the world. 

I have deliberately selected a relatively easy to understand ghazal for this post. In the future I will tackle progressive more complicated language and concepts. 

I will wait for your comments to know if this was useful at all. 

Ghazal from Shamim Jaipuri

कितनी राहत है दिल टूट जाने के बाद
ज़िंदगी से मिले मौत आने के बाद


लज़्ज़त-ए-सजदा-ए-सन्ग-ए-दर क्या कहें (उसकी चौखट पर सर झुकाने का मज़ा)
होश ही कब रहा सर झुकाने के बाद


क्या हुआ हर मसर्रर्त (खुशी) अगर छिन गई
आदमी बन गया गम उठाने के बाद


रात का माजरा किस से पूछें "शमीम"
क्या बनी बज़्म पर मेरे आने के बाद

The image is another ghazal by Shamim Jaipuri.

Edit: My apologies. Now that I read the ghazal fully (my speed is pathetic) the Shayar's name is Hasan. But it's a lovely ghazal so I am gonna leave the image unharmed.

Kabhi kitaabon mein phool rakhna kabhi darakhton pe naam likhna,
Hamein bhi hai yaad aaj tak wo nazar se harf-e-salaam likna.

Ustad Faiz ki Ghazal

Just something from Ustad Faiz Ahmed Faiz since I am in a shayrana mood today.

अब ये होगा शायद अपनी आग में खुद जल जाएँगे
तुम से दूर बहुत रह कर भी क्या पाया क्या पाएँगे


दुख भी सच्चे सुख भी सच्चे फिर भी तेरी चाहत में
हम ने कितने धोखे खाए कितने धोखे खाएँगे


कल के दुख भी कौन से बाक़ी आज के दुख भी कै दिन के
जैसे दिन पहले काटे थे ये दिन भी कट जाएँगे

And my favourite: 

अक़्ल पे हम को नाज़ बहुत था लेकिन ये कब सोचा था

इश्क़ के हाथों ये भी होगा लोग हमें समझाएँगे 

[The image is another sher by Faiz.]

Random Sher - Wounds of past - No relevance

ऐ नये दोस्त मैं समझूंगा तुझे भी अपना,
पहले माज़ी का कोई ज़ख़्म तो भर जाने दे


Actually there is relevance. I was thinking about my next planned bike (motorbike) trip. And it reminded me of the mark from the wound of the last accident I had on a bike. Hence the sher.

Letters in Urdu Shayri

The topic was just on my mind, so I decided to post some good shers on it. The range of emotions in the various sher's is amazing. And as always I am quite fascinated by how cleverly the Urdu shayars have expressed these things.

I have included some shers from the same ghazal where I could, to make the rhyming more meaningful if you haven't heard that ghazal before.

Namabar, qasid and payaami are all names for the letter carrier.

We'll start with my most favourite one:

नामाबर तू ही बता, तूने तो देखे होंगे,
कैसे होते हैं वो खत जिनका जवाब आता है?

******
कब से हूँ क्या बताऊँ जहाने-खराब में
शबहा-ए हिज्र को भी रखूं घर हिसाब में

[शबहा-ए हिज्र=]

क़ासिद के आते आते खत एक और लिख रखूं,
मैं जानता हूँ जो वो लिखेंगे जवाब में.

दोनो का एक हाल है ये मुद्द्आ हो काश
क्यों फिर वही खत भेज दिया उसने जवाब में

    [मिर्ज़ा ग़ालिब]


****
ना आते हमें इसमे तक़रार क्या थी
मगर वादा करते तुम्हें आर क्या थी

त_अम्मुल तो था उनको आने में क़ासिद,
मगर ये बता तर्ज़-ए-इनकार क्या थी

****

मेरे क़ासिद जब तू पहुँचे मेरे दिलदार के आगे
अदब से सर झुकाना हुस्न की सरकार के आगे
ज़बान से गर ना कह पाए आंखों से बयाँ करना
मेरे गम का हर एक क़िस्सा मेरे गम-ख्वार के आगे

****

क़ासिद पयाँ-ए-शौक़ को देना बहुत ना तूल
कहना फकत ये उन से कि आँखें तरस गईं
****

खत के पुर्ज़े आए हैं, क़ासिद का सर, तस्वीर-ए-गैर
ये है भेजा उस सितमगर ने मेरे खत का जवाब
****

क्या जाने लिख दिया क्या उसे इज़तराब में
क़ासिद की लाश आई है खत के जवाब में
****

वो और वादा वस्ल का क़ासिद नहीं नहीं
सच सच बता ये लफ्ज़ उन्हीं की ज़्बाँ के हैं

****


नामा गया कोई ना कोई नामाबर गया
तेरी खबर ना आई ज़माना गुज़र गया

****

मगर लिखवाए कोई उसको खत तो हमसे लिखवाए

हुई सुबह और घर से कान पर रख कर क़लम निकले

****

जिस पर हमारी आँख ने मोती बिछाए रात भर

भेजा वही काग़ज़ उसे हम ने लिखा कुछ भी नहीं

****

वो भी शायद रो पड़े वीरान काग़ज़ देख कर

मैने उसे आख़िरी खत में लिखा कुछ भी नहीं

****

कोई दिन गर ज़िंदगानी और है,

अपने दिल में हम ने ठानी और है,

देके खत मुँह देखता है नामाबर

कुछ तो पैग़ाम-ए-ज़ुबानी और है

*****

Namabar tu hi bata, tune to dekhe honge, 
Kaise hote hain wo khat jinka jawab aata hai?
[Qamar]

****

Kab se hoon kya bata_oon jahane-kharab mein
Shabha-ye hijr kjo bhi rakhoon ghar hisab mein

[Shabha-ye hijr=nights of separation]

Qasid ke aate aate khat ek aur likh rakhoon, 
Main jaanta hoon jo wo likhenge jawaab mein. 

Dono ka ek haal hai ye mudd_aa ho kaash
Kyon phir wahi khat bhej diya usne jawaab mein

[Mirza Ghalib]

****

Na aate hamein isme taqraar kya thii
Magar vaada karte tumhein aar kya thii

I also love this one:

Ta_ammul to tha unko aane mein qasid, 
Magar ye bata tarz-e-inkaar kya thii?

[Allama Iqbal]
****
Mere qasid jab tu pahunche mere dildaar ke aage
Adab se sar jhukaanaa husn ki sarkaar ke aage
ZabaaN se gar na keh paaye aa.Nkho.n se bayaa.N karanaa
Mere Gam kaa har ek qissaa mere Gam-Khvaar ke aage

****
qaasid payaam-e-shauq ko denaa bahut na tuul
kahanaa faqat ye un se ki aa.Nkhe.n taras ga_ii.n

[Jaleel Manakpuri]
                ****
Khat ke purze aaye hai.n, qaasid ka sar, tasviir-e-Gair
ye hai bhejaa us sitamgar ne mere Khat kaa javaab

****

kyaa jaane likh diyaa kyaa use izteraab me.n
qaasid kii laash aa_ii hai Khat ke javaab me.n
[Momin]

vo aur vaadaa vasl kaa qaasid nahii.n nahii.n
sach sach bataa ye lafz unhii.n kii zabaa.N ke hai.n
[Amir Meenai]

****

naamaa gayaa ko_ii na ko_ii naamaabar gayaa
terii Khabar na aa_ii zamaanaa guzar gayaa

[Seemab Akbarabadi]
****
This is from the famous ghazal "Hazaron khwahishen aisi"...

Magar likhavaa_e koii usako Khat to hamase likhavaae
Huii subah aur ghar se kaan par rakh kar qalam nikale
` [Mirza Ghalib]

****
jis par hamaarii aa.Nkh ne motii bichhaye raat bhar
bhejaa vohii kaaGaza use ham ne likhaa kuchh bhii nahii.n
[Bashir Badr]
****
vo bhii shaayad ro pa.De viiraan kaaGaz dekh kar
mai.n ne use aaKhirii Khat me.n likhaa kuchh bhii nahii.n

[Zahur Nazar]
****
We'll end with another one of my favourites, I love this ghazal, I think I'll post it in its entirety as a different post:

Ko_ii din ghar zindgaani aur hai,
Apne dil mein hum ne thaani aur hai,

Deke Khat muu.Nh dekhataa hai naamaabar
Kuchh to paiGaam-e-zubaanii aur hai

[Mirza Ghalib]


Feel free to comment or add any sher's that you may like on this topic.

The Beauty of Shayri

चाँद सा मिसरा अकेला है मेरे कागज़ पर,

छत पे आ जाओ मेरा शेर मुकम्मल कर दो.

Chaand sa misra akela hai mere kaagaz par,
chhat pe aa jao mera sher mukammal kar do.

I was listening to the recording of a nashisht (a recital of Urdu poetry) from the time when I was in India, in my friend's village. This sher was quoted in that.

Let me see if I can explain this beautiful thing in English.

A "sher" is a couplet, two lines that need to say something meaningful, and a "misra" is one line, so a complete sher needs to have two "misra"s. In Indian poetry beauty of a girl is often compared to the beauty of the Moon. So, this sher says, "This single line is lonely on my paper like Moon in the sky. If you come out on the roof my sher will be complete!" Of course, it's about a million times more beautiful in original Urdu.

O des se aane waale bata!

So I mention this song again. Well, it's only my all-time favourite. But this might be the last time I mention it.

Tonight I found the soundtrack so I thought I'd tell you. Actually, after looking high and low for this MP3 I found it on Amazon UK and was once again amazed at how much of Indian content is available on Amazon and other UK sites. Good for me, eh?

I am used to buying Audio CDs but buying MP3, I think this was the first experience. Buying MP3 from Amazon is quite a nice experience, you can sample a few seconds of each song in the album and buy either individual songs or the whole album, with a single-click if you are logged in. You can download the purchased MP3 immediately, which is what I really wanted.

I just heard the song after buying, it's well worth the small price.

Before the song Muzaffar Ali speaks in in his baritone voice,
गुलाम तुम भी थे यारो, गुलाम हम भी थे

नहा के खून में आयी थी फ़स्ले आझादी

मज़ा तो तब था के मिलकर इलाज-ए-जाँ करते
खुद अपने हाथ से तामीर-ए-गुलसिताँ करते

हमारे दर्द मे तुम, और तुम्हारे दर्द मे हम
शरीक होते तो जश्न-ए-आशियाँ करते

तुम आओ गुलशन-ए-लाहोर से चमन बरदोश
हम आयें सुबह-ए-बनारस की रोशनी लेकर,
हिमालयों की हवाओं की ताजगी लेकर,
और इसके बाद ये पु्छें, कौन दुष्मन हैं?

(Ali Sardar Jaffery)

Then Abida starts singing in her powerful voice and you forget everything else -

ओ देस से आने वाले बता, ओ देस से आने वाले बता
किस हाल मे है यारां-ए-वतन, वो बाग-ए-वतन, फिरदौस वतन
ओ देस से आने वाले बता, ओ देस से आने वाले बता

क्या अब भी वहाँ के बागों में मस्ताना हवाएं आती हैं
क्या अब भी वहाँ के पर्बतपर घनघोर घटाएं छाती हैं
क्या अब भी वहाँ की बरखायें वैसे ही दिलों को भाती है
ओ देस से आने वाले बता, ओ देस से आने वाले बता

(Akhtar Sheerani)

वो शह़र जो हमसे छुटा है, वो शह़र हमारा कैसा है
सब लोग हमें प्यारे हैं मगर, वो जान से प्यारा कैसा है;
कैसा है?
ओ देस से आने वाले बता, ओ देस से आने वाले बता

(Ahmed Faraz)

क्या अब भी वतन मे वैसे ही सरमस्त नज़ारे होते है
क्या अब भी सुहानी रातों मे वो चांद-सितारे होते है
हम खेल जो खेला करते थे, अब भी वो सारे होते है
ओ देस से आने वाले बता, ओ देस से आने वाले बता

(Akhtar Sheerani)

शब बज्म-ए-हरीफ़ां सजती हैं या शाम ढलें सो जाते है
यारों की बसर औकात है क्या, हर अंजुमन आरा कैसा है;
कैसा है?
ओ देस से आने वाले बता, ओ देस से आने वाले बता

(Ahmed Faraz)

क्या अब भी मेहकते मंदिर से नाकूस की आवाज आती है
क्या अब भी मुकदस मस्जिद पर मस्ताना अज़ान थर्राती है
क्या अब भी वहाँ के पनघट पर पनहारियां पानी भरती है
अंगडाई का नक्शा बन बन कर, सब माथे पे गागर धरती है
और अपने घरों को जाते हुएं हसती हुयीं चुहलें करती है
करती है?
ओ देस से आने वाले बता, ओ देस से आने वाले बता

(Akhtar Sheerani)

मेहरान लहू की धार हुआ, बोलान भी क्या गुलनार हुआ
किस रंग का है दरिया-ए-अटक, रावी का किनारा कैसा है;
कैसा है?
ऐ देस से आने वाले मगर तुमने तो इतना भी पुछा
वो कवी जिसे बनवास मिला, वो दर्द का मारा कैसा है?
कैसा है?
ओ देस से आने वाले बता, ओ देस से आने वाले बता

(Ahmed Faraz)

क्या अब भी किसीके सीने मे बाकी हमारी चाह बता
क्या याद हमे भी करता है अब यारों में कोई आह बता
ओ देस से आने वाले बता, ओ देस से आने वाले बता
लिल्लाह बता, लिल्लाह बता, लिल्लाह बता, लिल्लाह बता…

(Akhtar Sheerani)

Lyrics stolen from the original link I posted on the last post on this ghazal. Here it is again: http://ramblings2reflections.wordpress.com/2007/09/07/o-des-se-aane-wale-bata/

The Power of One!

Never say you couldn't achieve anything because noone was there to support you. Did you dare to start?

It reminds me of this sher from Allama Iqbal -
"Main akela hee chala tha jaanib-e-manzil magar,
Log saath aate gaye, kaarvaaN ban.ta gayaa".

(I had started alone towards the destination,
People kept falling in step with me and procession was thus built.)

(Originally seen here - http://sagargoswami007.blogspot.com/2008/09/great.html)

Friendship - How close, how true....er...how long?

This is a well known ghazal by Ahmed Faraz, and it's always been on my list of favorites especially the last sher, the maq'ta, but just read it again and found a couple of sher's I hadn't heard before.

Dost ban kar bhii nahii.n saath nibhaanevaalaa

dost ban kar bhii nahii.n saath nibhaanevaalaa

vahii andaaz hai zaalim kaa zamaanevaalaa 

ab ise log samajhate hai.n giraftaar meraa 

saKht nadiim hai mujhe daam me.n laanevaalaa 

kyaa kahe.n kitane maraasim the hamaare is se 

vo jo ik shaKhs hai muu.Nh pher ke jaanevaalaa 

tere hote hue aa jaatii thii saarii duniyaa 

aaj tanhaa huu.N to ko_ii nahii.n aanevaalaa 

muntazir kis kaa huu.N TuuTii hu_ii dahaliiz pe mai.n 

kaun aayegaa yahaa.N kaun hai aanevaalaa 

mai.n ne dekhaa hai bahaaro.n me.n chaman ko jalate 

hai ko_ii Khvaab kii taabiir bataanevaalaa 

kyaa Khabar thii jo merii jaan me.n ghulaa hai itanaa 

hai vahii mujh ko sar-e-daar bhii laane vaalaa 

tum taqalluf ko bhii iKhalaas samajhate ho 'Faraz' 

dost hotaa nahii.n har haath milaanevaalaa 

I love this one - 

"mai.n ne dekhaa hai bahaaro.n me.n chaman ko jalate 

hai ko_ii Khvaab kii taabiir bataanevaalaa"

I'll translate just one, it's very melancholy/downright sad, 
[I have seen the garden burning down in springtime, 
now, who can interpret this dream for me? ]

Don't say it, I know it's much more beautiful in the original.