तुम आये हो न शबे-इंतज़ार (Tum aaye ho na shab-e-intezaar) -- Faiz Ahmed Faiz

[Urdu Couplet #40]

तुम आये हो न शबे-इंतज़ार गुज़री है 

तलाश में है सहर, बार-बार गुज़री है

Tum aaye ho na shab-e-intezaar guzri hai 

Talash me hai sahar, baar-baar guzri hai

Faiz Ahmed Faiz
(1911-1984)

शब (shab) = night; शबे-इंतज़ार (shab-e-intezaar) = the night of awaiting; तलाश (talash) = search; सहर (sahar) = morning

[English Meaning]
Neither you came nor did this night of awaiting has passed
In search (of you), the dawn has passed by again and again

Notes:
In this couplet, the poet narrates pathos of the lover who is waiting indefinitely for his beloved. The lover spends his night longing for his beloved and spends his day searching for her. He keeps waiting but neither the night seems to end nor does his beloved comes back. In the first line, the poet appears to talk of one night but in the second line, his reference "baar baar guzri hai" reveals that the poet (the lover) has been pining for his beloved for several days. It also accentuates his longing and distress.

दोनों जहान तेरी मोहब्बत (Dono Jahaan Teri Mohabbat) -- Faiz Ahmed Faiz

[Urdu Couplet #39]

दोनों जहान तेरी मोहब्बत में हार के 

वो जा रहा है कोई शबे-ग़म गुज़ार के 

Dono jahaan teri mohabbat me haar ke

Wo ja raha hai koi shab-e-gam guzaar ke

Faiz Ahmed Faiz
(1911-1984)

जहान (jahaan) = world; दोनों जहान (dono jahaan) = both the worlds, i.e. the earth and the heaven; मोहब्बत (mohabbat) = love; हारना (haarna) = lose; शब (shab) = night; शबे-ग़म  (shab-e-gam) = sorrowful night; गुज़ारना (guzaarna) = spend

[English Meaning]
After losing both the worlds in your love
Look someone's going after spending a sorrowful night

Notes:

The couplet has the opening lines of the poem "Dono jahaan teri mohabbat me haar ke" from the book "Nuskha Hai Wafa" by Faiz Ahmed Faiz. In the poem, the poet laments the separation from his beloved and describes the state of his grief-stricken heart. In this couplet, the poet highlights that inspite of sacrificing everything for love, he had to suffer the pain of separation. 

The poet uses analogical terms to emphasize his expressions. The first analogical term is "dono jahaan" (both the worlds), which means both the earth and the heaven. The term "earth and heaven" includes everything a person can think of before and after life. Thus, the poet uses hyperbolic expression to explain the extent of sacrifice he did for love. 

In the second phrase, the word "shab-e-gam" can be considered as an analogy for sorrow due to hopelessness. Here, night can have two meanings - literal and symbolic. In the literal sense, the phrase means "someone is sadly passing by after the night when he separated from his beloved". In a symbolic way, it points to the night (i.e. darkness, sadness, hopelessness) that follows after separation. 

By the third person usage in the second phrase, the poet adds a generalization to the state of any lover who suffers heart break. It can also mean that the poet is referring himself as a stranger whose plight has changed him beyond recognition. Hence, the poet says "koi" (someone).

गुलों में रंग भरे (Gulonme Rang Bhare) -- Faiz Ahmed Faiz

[Urdu Couplet #38]

गुलों में रंग भरे बादे-नौबहार चले 

चले भी आओ की गुलशन का कारोबार चले 

Gulonme rang bhare baade-naubahaar chale

Chale bhi aao ki gulshan ka karobaar chale

Faiz Ahmed Faiz
(1911-1984)

गुल (gul) = flower; रंग (rang) = colour; बादे-नौबहार (baade-naubahaar) = The air of a new spring (season); गुलशन (gulshan) = garden; कारोबार (karobaar) = business, affair, trade

[English Meaning]

Filling the colour in flowers, the air of a new spring passes by

You come so that the garden can continue with its business (of blooming)

or

The air of the new spring passes by giving the flowers their colour

(Atleast now) you come so that the garden can keep blooming

Notes:
The couplet is an ardent request of a lover to his beloved to come to meet him. The couplet describes the state of a lover who is waiting for his beloved to enjoy the beautiful spring together. To emphasize the lover's condition, the poet uses the exaggeration by using an example of garden. By saying that "you come so that the garden can continue to bloom", the poet establishes the beloved's importance in his (lover's) life. The lines also convey that without the beloved, spring is not spring and even the blooming garden holds no charm.

Symbolically, the couplet can also mean that the lover's life is at halt without his beloved. Here, the garden means the lover's life, spring means youth which adds colours to the desires (related to the romantic feelings), wherein desires are depicted by flowers.

आए तो यूं कि जैसे (Aaye To Yun Ki Jaise) -- Faiz Ahmed Faiz

[Urdu Couplet #37]

आए तो यूं कि जैसे हमेशा थे मेहरबां 
भूले तो यूं की गोया कभी आशना न थे 

Aaye to yun ki jaise hamesha the mehrbaan

Bhoole to yun ki goyaa kabhi aashnaa na the

Faiz Ahmed Faiz
(1911-1984)

हमेशा (hamesha) = always; मेहरबां (mehrbaan) = kind (or someone who favours); गोया (goyaa) = as if; आशना (Aashnaa) = acquaintance

[English Meaning]
(You) came as if (you) always favoured (me)
(You) forgot as if there was never an acquaintance (between us)

Notes:

In the couplet, Faiz uses sarcasm to put forth the feeling of a distraught lover, who is deeply hurt by the callousness of his beloved. The poet conveys his message in first person and in a way says, "When you came in my life, you made me feel I am the special one but when you left, you forgot me as if you don't even know me." Here, the context of beloved can also be applied to the close friends and relatives.

तेरे दस्ते-सितम का (Tere Dast-e-Sitam Ka) -- Faiz Ahmed Faiz

[Urdu Couplet #36]

तेरे दस्ते-सितम का अज्ज़ नहीं 

दिल ही काफ़िर था जिसने आह न की 

Tere dast-e-sitam ka ajj nahi

Dil hi kaafir tha jisne aah na ki

Faiz Ahmed Faiz
(1911-1984)

दस्ते-सितम (dast-e-sitam) =  hand of tyranny (or tyrannical hand); अज्ज़ (ajj) = humility, modesty, civility; काफ़िर (kaafir) = unbeliever, non-believer (the word is derived from the reference in Quran for anyone who doesn't believe in Allah or God); आह (aah) = sigh, moan or painful cry

[English Meaning]

Your hand of tyranny (tyrannical hand) knows no humility

(yet my) heart, an ardent lover, didn't let out a sigh

Notes:
In the couplet, the poet highlights that in spite of his lover's immodest tyrannical behaviour towards him, his love-struck heart believed in nothing else but love and bore the torture without letting out a sigh.

Here, the word 'kaafir' is used in a slightly different context where it can mean 'an ardent lover who believes in nothing but the feeling of being in love in spite of the pain'. The regular political or religious usage of the word 'kaafir' is to refer a non-Muslim who doesn't follow Quran or Allah.

इलाही दुनियामें और कुछ दिन (Illahi Duniyame Aur Kuch Din) -- Bismil Saeedi

[Urdu Couplet #35]

इलाही दुनियामें और कुछ दिन अभी क़यामत न आने पाये 

तेरे बनाये हुए बशरको अभी मैं इन्साँ बना रहा हूँ 

Illahi duniyame aur kuch din abhi qayamat na aane paaye

Tere banaye huye basharko abhi mein insaan bana raha hun

Bismil Saeedi
(1901-1977)

इलाही (illahi) = God; क़यामत (qayamat) = doomsday, resurrection; बशर (bashar) = man; इन्साँ (insaan) = human; अभी (abhi) = at present

[English Meaning]

God! In the world, for few more days, the doomsday should not come

The man you created, I am making him a human at present

or

God! Let not the world's doomsday come for few more days

At present, I am making your creation 'the man' a human

Notes:
In the couplet, the poet highlights his effort in spreading humanity. The underlying meaning also suggests that God created man but our efforts are needed to become a human (some one who practises humanity) else the doomsday is not far. Thus, in the couplet, the poet is praying to the God to delay resurrection (or doomsday) and give more time (or a chance) because he (the poet) is trying to make the people more humane. The couplet also highlights the poet's pathos on lack of humanity in the world created by the God and his realisation that doomsday is nothing but a world with people without humanity.

About the Poet
Bismil Saeedi (बिस्मिल सईदी) was the twentieth century poet. He expressed traditional topics in a new style apt for his era. Primarily, he was a ghazal writer. His native was Tonk the state of Rajasthan while he was settled in Delhi. Most of the poets who hailed from Tonk, followed Momin's style of poetry writing and Bismil Saeedi was no exception to this tradition. Read more

अपनी हस्तीको गमो-दर्द (Apni Hastii ko Gham-o-Dard) - Shad Azimabadi 'Shaad'

[Urdu Couplet #34]

अपनी हस्तीको ग़मो-दर्द मुसीबत समझो

मौतकी क़ैद लगा दी है ग़नीमत समझो

Apni hastii ko gham-o-dard musibat samjho

Maut ki qaid laga di hai ganiimat samjho

Shad Azimabadi 'Shaad'
(1846-1927) 

हस्ती (hastii) = existence, life; गमो-दर्द (gam-o-dard) = sorrow and pain; मुसीबत (musibat) = trouble; मौत (maut) = death; क़ैद (qaid) = imprisonment, restraint, confinement ; ग़नीमत (ganiimat) = boon, blessing

[English Meaning]

Think of your existence as sorrow, pain and  trouble

Death's confinement has been put, think of it as a boon

Notes:

• The poet has summed up his philosophy about life and death in the verse. He glorifies death as an end to the painful existence. Thus, he considers living as a journey full of troubles that ends only when death comes as a boon to restrain it. The verse also reflects the poet's pessimistic view on the process of living, however, it also reflects his profound views about life & death.

• The word 'qaid': In general usage, the word has a negative tone; a restricting force that stops you from achieving something or that makes you incapable to act. In this verse, this simple word is used in positive sense to portray 'death' as a hero, a saviour, who rescues you from the trouble by the act of imprisoning you in its grip.

About the Poet

Shad Azimabadi 'Shaad' शाद अज़ीमाबादी 'शाद' was one of the prominent pre-modern poets of the 19th century. He hailed from Bihar; born as Syed Ali Mohammad in Azimabad, which is today's Patna. He wrote under the pen name 'Shaad' and is popularly known as Shad Azimabadi. He was a scholar and poet with exceptional talent. He broke the stereotypes of his times and used new and unique ways of expression in his poetry. The central theme in most of his poems was philosophy, mysticism and ethics. He was given a title of 'Khan Bahadur' by the British government for his prowess as a poet and an intellectual.