Today (Dec 6) is my grandfather's death anniversary. Sharing one of his Urdu ghazals here in Roman script.
Jab bhi rukhsat ka samaa yaad aa gaya
Door take gehra andhera chha gaya
Tez-tar hoti gayi shamm-e-yaqeen
Shola-e-namrood hi bujhta gaya
Usne nazrein pher to li.n bazm mein
Phir bhi maathe par paseena aa gaya
Khud-ba-khud chatki kali ya subah dum
Unke hothon par tabassum aa gaya
Kaun poochhe karobar-e-ishq mein
Jisne sab kuch kho diya, kya pa gaya
Dars-e-haq dete hain shaikh-o-brahman
Jaise sab unki samajh mein aa gaya
Sunte hain Zaidi javaar-e-daar mein
Ik nishaan-e-raah bhi paaya gaya.
- Ali Jawad Zaidi (page 58, Naseem-e-dasht-e-aarzu)
Vocabulary:
Namrood: Nimrod, the Babylonian king who tried to burn the prophet Abraham
Dars-e-haq: Lessons or lectures on truth
Javaar-e-daar: In the vicinity of the gallows
