Aah, ki meri jaan ko qaraar nahin hai
a Ghazal by
Mirza Ghalib
Mirza Ghalib
Aah, ki meri jaan ko qaraar nahin hai
Taaqat-e-bedaad-e-intezaar nahin hai
Dete hai jannat hayaat-e-dahr ke badle
Nashaa ba-andaazaa-e-khumaar nahin hai
Giryaa nikaale hai teri bazm se mujhko
Hai! Ki rone pe ikhtiyaar nahin hai
Hum se abas hai ghumaan-e-ranjish-e-khaatir
Khaak mein usshaak ki ghubaar nahin hai
Dil se uthaa lutf-e-jalwaa-haa-e-ma’aani
Ghair-e-gul aainaa-e-bahaar nahin hai
Qatl ka mere kiya hai ahd to baare
Vaae agar ahd ustuvaar nahin hai
Tune qasam mai-kashi ki khaaee hai Ghalib
Teri qasam ka kuch aitbaar nahin hai
.
The promise of paradise
a Ghazal translated by
Mustansir Dalvi
Mustansir Dalvi
O, my soul that finds
no peace; nor patience,
for I am indifferent
to the tyranny of waiting.
to the tyranny of waiting.
I am promised paradise
in return for earthly life, and yet
this pledge is not equal
to the intoxication assured
Weeping, I am ejected
from your assembly
O, that I have no control
on my tears
How futile are these
estimations of my own grief
No clouds of love blow
on this parched earth
on this parched earth
Every sense of passion
has been lifted from my heart
What is the mirror of spring
if not the flower itself?
You have found, at last
a time for my slaying
Woe, that you are
not firm on that at all
Ghalib, you may
have sworn to get drunk
But no one really believes
you actually will
Translation and Transliteration © Mustansir Dalvi, 2016,
All rights reserved.
