Monday, August 03, 2026

Kya kisi se kam thha, Ishq beimaan apna?

Transcribed an old Urdu ghazal by my grandfather, Ali Jawad Zaidi, into roman letters for those who are into this sort of thing but don't know the Urdu script. 


Kya kisi se kam thha, ishq beimaa.n apna?
Intizaar kyun karti marg e nagahaa.n apna?

Jab Tahu ke deta hai dard e bekaraa.n apna
Gungunaane lagta hai shauq e naghmakhwa.n apna

Jis jagah havaon se shole baat karte hain
Bas vahin kahin par tha gosha e imaa.n apna

Manzilon mein shabkhoon hain, raaston mein rahzan hain
Hum ko phir bhi chalna hai leke kaarwaa.n apna

Uske saare taaqon par rang o buu ki devi hai
Dair e khush-navaayi hai sang e aastaa.n apna

Dost agle waqton ke daude bahr e hamdardi
Kaash main bhi sun sakta shor "Ala maa.n" apna

Sau payaam ulfat ke kaanpte hain hothon par
Ajnabi si galiyon mein kaun hum-zabaa.n apna

Zindagi ki mahroomi tohfa e mohabaat hai
Humne inse paaya hai dard e raigaa.n apna

Daastaa.n faroshi to shaayri nahin Zaidi
Fan kahin na ban jaaye zeb e daastaa.n apna

- Ali Jawad Zaidi (page 37, Naseem-e-dasht-e-aarzu)



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