मौत माँगू तो मिले (Maut Manguu to Mile) -- Khwaja Hyder Ali 'Aatish'

[Urdu Couplet #28]

मौत माँगू तो मिले आरज़ूए ख़्वाब मुझे 

डूबने जाऊँ तो दरिया मिले पायाब मुझे 

Maut manguu to mile arzoo-e-khawab mujhe

dubane jaaun to dariya mile payaab mujhe

Khwaja Hyder Ali 'Aatish'
(1778 - 1847)

मौत (Maut) = death; आरज़ूए ख़्वाब (arzoo-e-khawab) = desires to have dreams; डूबना (dubana) = to drown, sink, dip, immerse; दरिया (dariya) = sea; पायाब (payaab) = shallow, not deep or a shoal (in relation with a water body like sea)

[English Meaning]

When I ask for death, I get desires to have dreams 

Even when I go to drown myself, I get a shallow sea

About the Poet

ख्वाजा हैदरअली 'आतिश' Khwaja Hyder Ali 'Aatish' was a 19th century poet, thus a poet from the initial days of the modern Urdu language era. He was a poet from Lucknow in the service of Nawaab Muhammad Ali. He was one of the greatest Lakhnawi  poets of his time and considered as one of the iconic poets in Urdu literature because of his unique style in writing poetry. He use to refrain himself from useless embellishment using heavy vocabulary. His style of poetry was simple and lyrical that had a natural flow. He had an ability to express deep emotions through sensitive and simple compositions.

मेरी क़िस्मत से खेलने वाले (Meri Kismat Se Khelne Wale) - Faiz Ahmed Faiz

[Urdu Couplet #26]

मेरी क़िस्मत से खेलने वाले 

मुझको क़िस्मत से बेख़बर कर दे 

Meri kismat se khelne wale

Mujhko kismat se bekhabar kar de

Faiz Ahmed Faiz
(1911 - 1984)

क़िस्मत (kismat) = destiny, fate; खेलना (khelna) = to play; बेख़बर (bekhabar) = ignorant

[English Meaning]

The one who is playing with my destiny

[You] Make me ignorant about my destiny

About the Poet

फ़ैज़ अहमद फ़ैज़ Faiz Ahmed Faiz is one of the most prominent and influential Urdu poet. Read More...

सियाह रात (Siyah Raat) -- Shahryar

[Urdu Couplet #12]

सियाह रात नही लेती नाम ढलने का 

यही तो वक़्त है सूरज तेरे निकलने का

Siyah raat nahi leti naam dhalne ka

Yahi to waqt hai suraj tere nikalne ka 

सियाह (siyah) = dark

[English Meaning]

The dark night is not ready to fade

O, Sun! This is the time for you to come

About the Poet

Akhlaq Mohammad Khan alias 'Shahryar' was a prominent modern Urdu poet and lyricist. One of his acclaimed works as a lyricist are the songs of Hindi film 'Umraon Jaan'. Read more...

दिलफ़रेबीकी अदा (Dil Farebi Ki Ada) -- Faayiz Dehlvi

[Urdu Couplet #06]

दिलफ़रेबीकी अदा उसकी अनूप 

रूपमें थी राधिकासूँ भी सरूप

Dil farebi ki adaa uski anoop

Roop mein thi Radhikasoon bhi saroop

दिलफ़रेब (Dil fareb) = enticing; अदा (adaa) =  coquetry, gesture; अनूप (anoop) = unique; सरूप (Saroop) = beautiful, beauteous (in poetry)

[English Meaning]

Her enticing gesture was unique

Her looks were beautiful than Radhika

About the Poet
Faayiz was a Dehlvi poet from the pre-Mir era (early 18th century). Not much is known about him but he was a contemporary of the poet Wali Deccani. His ghazals were highly influenced by Wali's poetry collection (Deewan). He was primarily a Persian poet, however, adapted Wali's Deccani style of Urdu (which has many local Hindi dialect words) as seen in the couplet presented in this post. 

आता है हर सहर (Aata Hai Har Sahar) -- Siraj-ud-Din Ali Khan 'Arzoo'

[Urdu Couplet #05]

आता है हर सहर उठ तेरी बराबरीको  

क्या दिन लगे है देखो खुरशीदेखावरीको

Aata hai har sahar uth teri barabariko

kya din lage hai dekho khurashid-e-khavri ko

सहर (sahar) = morning; बराबरी (barabari) = competition; खुरशीदेखावरी{khurashid-e-khavri) = the Sun

[English Meaning]

Every morning it comes to compete with you

See what days have come for the Sun

About the Poet
Siraj-ud-Din 'Arzoo' was a poet from early 18th century. He originally hailed from Agra, however, settled in Delhi and later in Lucknow till his death. Most of his creations are in the Persian language but he did write few poems in Urdu. He was the maternal uncle of the poet Mir-Taqi-Mir, and attracted many disciples including Mir.

मेरा अहवाल (Mera ahvaal) -- Mirza Dawood

[Urdu Couplet #04]

मेरा अहवाल चश्मेयारसे पूछ

हक़ीक़त दर्दकी बीमारसे पूछ

Mera ahvaal chasm-e-yaar se pooch

Haqiqat dardki bimaar se pooch

अहवाल (ahvaal) = Condition; चश्मेयार (chasm-e-yaar) = beloved's eyes; हक़ीक़त (Haqiqat) = truth;
दर्द (dard) = pain; बीमार (bimaar) = someone who is ill

[English Meaning]

Ask the beloved's eyes about my condition (See my condition in the beloved's eyes)

Ask a sick person the truth about pain (Know the truth about pain from a sick person)

About the Poet

Mirza Dawood was a 17th-century poet from Aurangabad, a contemporary of the poet Wali. The lines are from his collection इंतक़ादियात भाग २ (Intakadiyaat Part 2). 

ज़िंदगी जामेयेश है (Zindagi Jaam-e-yaish hai) -- Wali Deccani

[Urdu Couplet #02]

ज़िंदगी जामेयेश है लेकिन 

फायदा क्या अगर मुदाम नहीं

Zindagi Jaam-e-yaish hai lekin

Fayada kya agar mudaam nahi

जामेयेश (Jaam-e-yaish) = bowl of joy, मुदाम (Mudaam) = constant, unvarying

[English Meaning]

Life is a bowl of joy but

What is the use if it is not constant

About the Poet: 
Wali was from Deccan (Aurangabad, Maharashtra) Historians consider Wali as the first Urdu poet. He was the one who introduced the Persian poets in Delhi to a new language 'Rekhta' (called Urdu today) from the Deccan plateau. It was from the time of Wali that the language started taking the form as it stands today. Wali started writing ghazals in Urdu as against in Persian like his contemporaries. He was the one who started expressing a man's emotions about love in his poetry breaking the tradition of expressing fragility, vulnerability and emotional love only through a Woman's voice.

Source of Reference:
Compilation Sher-O-Sukhan (Author: Ayodhyaprasad Goyaliya) 

Online Reference:
http://www.urdupoetry.com 
http://www.poemhunter.com/wali-mohammed-wali/  
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Wali_Muhammad_Wali