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.

औसान वो कहां हैं (Ausaan Wo Kahan Hain) -- Bahadur Shah Zafar

[Urdu Couplet #33]

थे कल जो अपने घर में, मेहमान वो कहां हैं

जो खो गए हैं यारब, औसान वो कहां हैं

The kal jo apne ghar me, mehman wo kahan hain

Jo kho gaye hain yarab, ausaan wo kahan hain

Bahadur Shah Zafar
(1775 - 1862)

मेहमान (mehman) = guest; यारब (yarab) = Oh God; औसान (Ausaan) = senses, presence of mind

[English Meaning]

Yesterday those who were in our house, where are those guests

Those that are lost Oh God, where are those senses

or

The guests, who were there in our house yesterday, where are they (now)

Oh, God! The senses that were lost, where are they (now)

Note on possible implied meaning: Keeping in mind the political situation during Bahadur Shah Zafar's era and his helplessness under the patronage of the British rule, this couplet can also have an implied meaning. It can also mean the guests (the British rulers) who entered the house (the country) or the guests who won the trust as friends so much so that the senses of the householder (or the poet/the emperor) were lost forever to make a sound judgement.

About the Poet

Bahadur Shah Zafar (बहादुर शाह ज़फर) was the last Mughal emperor in India. A poet by heart and a ruler by birth, he is famous as one of the prominent poets but faced great difficulties as the ruler under the British rule in India. The British were instrumental in his coronation as an Emperor of Delhi sultanate after the death of his father. However, due his involvement in the 1857 uprising, the first battle for India's Independence, the British turned against. He was seized and imprisoned him. Though he was the Emperor, he never had the freedom to rule and had to function within the limits of the British Empire's patronage. This helplessness reflects in his sensitive poetry. Read More...

हर मज़हब का तत (Har Majhab ka Tat) -- Allama Iqbal

[Urdu Couplet #32]

जान जाये हाथ से जाये न सत।

है यही इक बात हर मज़हब का तत।

Jaan jaye haath se jaye na Sat

Hai yahi ikk baat har majhab ka Tat

Allama Muhammed Iqbal
(1877-1938)

जान (jaan) = life;  सत (Sat) = truth, reality (here, it can 'beliefs' - reality believed by each religion); मज़हब (majhab) = religion; तत (Tat) = supreme

[English Meaning]

Even if life is lost, the hand should not let go of the beliefs

This is the only thing in every religion supreme

or

Even at the cost of life, one should not let go of the beliefs 

This is the only supreme thought in every religion

Notes: This is a satirical remark of the poet on all religions. In this, he makes it evident that the religions don't care for life. For them their beliefs have become their God for whom they will give or take life. It can be the poet's take on the communal conflicts during his time.

हर अजनबी हमें महरम (Har Ajnabi Hame Mahram) -- Faiz Ahmed Faiz

[Urdu Couplet #31]

हर अजनबी हमें महरम दिखाई देता है 

जो अब भी तेरी गली से गुजरने लगते है 

Har ajnabi hame mahram dikhayi deta hai

Jo ab bhi teri gali se gujarne lagte hai

Faiz Ahmed Faiz
(1911-1984)

अजनबी (ajnabi) = stranger; गली (gali) = lane or alley; गुजरना (gujarna) = to pass; महरम (mahram) = confidant, close relative or friend (who is allowed to escort a woman or visit her house anytime) 

[Notes about the word: Mahram are usually the ones with whom marriage is prohibited. In early days and in orthodox muslim families, women use to live in purdah before outsiders (gayr) especially men. Thus, not everyone was allowed to visit her room or meet her without purdah.]

[English Meaning]

Every stranger appears to me a confidant (of yours)

When I still pass through your lane (means, the lane near your house)

जो दिल तेरे ग़म का निशाना (Jo Dil Tere Gam ka Nishana) -- Asrar ul Haq Majaz

[Urdu Couplet #30]

जो दिल तेरे ग़म का निशाना भी है 

क़तीले-जफ़ाएं-ज़माना भी है 

Jo dil tere gam ka nishana bhi hai

Qatiil-e-jafaa-e-zamana bhi hai

Asrar ul Haq Majaz

(1911-1955)

ग़म (gam) = sorrow; निशाना (nishana) = target; क़तील (qatiil) = killed; ज़माना (zamana) = world; क़तीले-जफ़ाएं-ज़माना (  ) = troubled by the atrocities of the world

[English Meaning]

The heart that is your target for sorrow

Is also troubled by the atrocities of the world

It can also mean:

The heart that gets pain from you

Is tortured even by the cruel world

About the Poet
असरारुलहक़ मजाज़ Asrar ul Haq Majaz popularly known as Majaz was a revolutionary romantic poet of his time. The central theme in many of his poems is pain and pathos of a lover. Read More

आये उश्शाक़ गये वादा-ए-फ़र्दा (Aaye Ushshaaq Gaye Vaada-e-Fardaa) -- Allama Muhammad Iqbal

[Urdu Couplet #29]

आये उश्शाक़ गये वादा-ए-फ़र्दा लेकर 

अब उन्हें ढूंढ चिराग़े-रूखे-ज़ेबा लेकर 

Aaye ushshaaq gaye vaada-e-fardaa lekar

Ab unhe dhondh chiraage-rukhe-zebaa lekar 

Allama Muhammad Iqbal
(1877 - 1938)

उश्शाक़ (ushshaaq) = lovers; वादा (vaada) = promise; वादा-ए-फ़र्दा (vaada-e-fardaa) = promise to meet again (the word is usually used in the reference where the promises which are unfulfilled); ढूंढ (dhondh) = search; चिराग  (chiraag) = lamp; ज़ेबा (zebaa) = beautiful; चिराग़े-रूखे-ज़ेबा (chiraage-rukhe-zebaa) = light of the beautiful face

[English Meaning]

Lovers came and left making promises to meet again

Now go and search them in the light of your beautiful face

Notes: The couplet is from Iqbal's poem शिकवा Shikvaa. The central theme of the poem is the complaint of a distraught lover, who has been shunned by a disloyal beloved. The beautiful beloved's reason for rejecting him is the attention that she gets from other lovers. After expressing his resentment, the poet (or the distraught lover) uses sarcasm to mock his beloved for choosing temporary admirers over him. He ridicules her by saying her admirers come to spend time with her (a night with her) and in the morning they leave forever making a fake promise to return. The second sentence in the couplet is written on the lines of the idiom 'चिराग लेकर ढूंढना' 'chiraag lekar dhondh na' which means to search for something with great difficulty (in the dark). The poet uses the analogy between the chiraag (lamp) and his beloved's beautiful face to pass another caustic remark in the last line of this couplet. 

About the Poet

अलामा मुहम्मद इक़बाल Allama Muhammad Iqbal (popularly known only as Iqbal) is one of the most celebrated Urdu poets of all time. He was a prominent voice in the progressive writer's movement in pre-partition India. His contribution was not just in poetry but also in shaping the pre-partition political thought both in India and Pakistan. Apart from Urdu poetry, he is credited for writing the patriotic song 'सारे जहाँ से अच्छा हिन्दोस्तान हमारा' 'Sare Jahan se Accha Hindostan Hamara'. Read More

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.