नर्म लहजा

During the Iraq war, Don Rumsfeld was reported as saying that the US forces in Iraq needed to use soft tones to win the hearts and minds of the people there. This ghazal arose in response to that extraordinarily cynical statement.

आरज़ू है हुक्मरानी की तो लहजा नर्म भी

है तो खुशरू, है मगर हल्क़ा उसी ज़ंजीर का

हुक्मरानी ही है मत्लूबे अमल तो लहजा नर्म

है बस इक पर्दा शरे मक्कारिये शमशीर का 

हमनशीं हों हमनवा हों हम तो कोई बात हो 

कैसे दे दूं तुमको दर्जा साहिबे तक़दीर का

नर्म लहजे से दिलों की यक-रवानी चाहिए 

क्या करें जज़्बाए आलमसर का आलमगीर का

कसमसाहट हुक्मरां होने की तज मेरे हबीब 

साथ चल मेरे करें आग़ाज़ नव तामीर का 

aarzoo hai hukmaraanee kee to lahjaa narm bhee

hai to khushroo, hai magar halqaa usee zanjeer kaa

hukmaraanee hee hai matloobe amal to lahjaa narm

hai bas ik pardaa share makkariye shamsheer kaa

hamnasheen hon hamnavaa hon ham to koyee baat ho

kaise de doon tum ko darjaa saahibe taqdeer kaa

Narm lahje se dilon kee yakravaanee chaahiye

kyaa karein jazbaaye aalamsar kaa aalamgeer kaa

kasmasaahat hukmaraan hone kee taj mere habeeb

saath chal mere karein aaghaaz nav tameer kaa

If your desire is to dominate, then the soft tones

might look good, but they are links of the same chain

If domination is the object of your actions, then soft tones

are merely a disguise for the mischievous duplicity of the sword

Sitting together, thinking together, we might make something happen

But you want control of my destiny. How can I give you that?

Soft tones are a path to hearts flowing together

What use the sentiment of world conquest and subjugation?

Abandon, my loved one, the aspiration of ruling over me

Walk by my side instead and let us begin the building of the new.

उल्टी हो गईं

As I walk amidst the dispossessed and the disenfranchised, I often wonder how they see the world around themselves. And even as I bow to their resilience and spirit in face of insurmountable odds, I wonder if, at times, this sentiment does not cross their hearts...


वह क़ातिल है सितमगर है गुनाहगार नहीं है
आईने शहर तेरा ऐतबार नहीं है|

यह दार-ओ-रसन किसके भरोसे रखें सर-ए-दस्त
अब ग़म को मेरी जान ही दरकार नहीं है|

नादारी-ए-क़िस्मत का करें क्या कि मुफ़्लिसी
अब रुक्के-दाखिला-ए-ख़ुल्द यार नहीं है|

वह आके मेरी गोर पे दो बूँद रो ले बस
अब हमसुखन-ओ-हमनवा दिलदार नहीं है|

woh qaatil hai sitamgar hai gunahgaar naheen hai

aayeene shahar teraa aitabaar naheen hai 

yeh daar-o-rasan kis ke bharose rakhein sar-e-dast

ab gham ko meree jaan hee darkaar naheen hai

naadaariye qismat ka karein kyaa ki muflisee

ab rukk-e-dakhilaye-khuld yaar naheen hai

woh aake meree gor pe do boond ro le bas

ab hamsukhan-o-hamnavaa dildaar naheen hai.

He is a murderer and an oppressor, but not a transgressor in your eyes

What trust can I have in you, O law of the land

To what purpose shall I keep the noose and the scaffold at hand

For the sorrow of separation doesn't even want to claim my life now

What extraordinary depths my ill-luck has that the poverty I counted on

Is no longer a passport to the kingdom of heaven

All I ask is that he come and shed two tears at my grave

for no longer do I have any expectation of communion from the beloved

एहसासे उल्फ़त

यकरवानी इन दिलों की मोजज़ा लगता है क्यों,

यह तो फ़ितरत  है तेरी फिर जीने से डरता है क्यों।

राज़-ए-उल्फत यह है मैं तू हूँ, तेरा दम मुझमें है,

अपनी सांसें मेरी साँसों में नहीं सुनता है क्यों।।

Yak-ravaanee in dilon kee mojaza lagtaa hai kyon?
yeh to fitrat hai teree phir jeene se dartaa hai kyon?
raaz-e-ulfat yeh hai main too hoon, teraa dam mujh mein hai,
apnee saansein meree saanson mein naheen sunta hai kyon?


Why does the flowing-together of our hearts seem like a miracle to you?
It is your nature for it to be so, so why are you afraid to live life fully?
The mystery of love is that I am you and you live inside me,
Why, then, do you fail to hear the oneness of our breath?

मेरी धड़कन की सदा

मेरी धड़कन की सदा पास से आती है यह देख,

हर खुशी झूम के तुझ ही को बुलाती है यह देख|

तेरे आंसूं भी निकलते हैं मेरी आँखों से, 

 ख़त्म होने को यह शामे जुदाई है यह देख।।

Meree dhadkan kee sadaa pas se aatee hai yeh dekh
har khushee jhoom ke tujh hee ko bulaatee hai yeh dekh
tere aansoon bhee nikalte hain meree aankhon se
khatm hone ko yeh shaame judaaee hai yeh dekh


The sound of my heart-beat arises close to you
Every one of my joys seeks you for completion
Your tears, too, flow from my eyes
The long night of separation is about to end.