If I am not very mistaken Jagjit Singh sang this as a ghazal. Not sure who gave the tune. Anyways, the poem is memorable..

“Shaam se aankh mein nami si hai
Aaj phir aap ki kami si hai
Dafan kar do hamein ke saans miley
Nabz kuch der se thami si hai
Waqt rehta nahin kahi tik kar
Iski aadat bhi aadmi si hai
Koi rishta nahin raha phir bhi
Ek tasleem, laazmi si hai”

Somebody better than me has to do the proper translation but here is my attempt

“Ever since evening, there is a slight glisten in my eyes
(Since) today I again felt the absence of you
Please bury me now so I can breathe again
My pulse has slowed down for some time anyways
Time cannot seem to sit peacefully for some time
Even it has started to behave like (fickle minded) human beings
There is no more relationship left anymore
Still, I feel the strong need for just one single greeting (from her)”

Errata:
Apr 15, 2023
Note that in the original version, I had written “Ek Tasveer, laazmi si hai”. You will notice in the Comments section that Anu pointed out the right word to be tasleem and not tasveer. I have corrected it. Thank, Anu.

Poem was originally written by the twentieth century poet Abdul Hameed Adam. Born in undivided India, he moved to Iraq, married an Iraqi girl, moved back to India and was eventually transferred (he had a military job) to Pakistan during the separation of India. Died when I was in my ninth grade.

The poet is urging his unwilling partner to indulge in drinking…. quoting a few lines of the poem only…

fasl-e-gul hai sharaab pii leejiye
zid na keejiye janaab pii leejiye
….
aage chal kar hisaab honaa hai
is liye be-hisaab pii leejiye
….
jo piye chhup ke vo munaafiq hai
be-takalluf sharaab pii leejiye
…
dil kaa shiisha hai aur khuluus ki mai
ab to aalii-janaab pii leejiye

Roughly translated…

’tis the season of blooming flowers, ’tis the season of drinking wine
Do not try to be stubborn, go ahead and have a glass of wine
…
Someday in future, on our day of reckoning, we all have to account for everything
Today, therefore, is the day to drink without keeping any accounts
…
(S)he who drinks on the sly, is a total hypocrite
Therefore, you should drink without giving it a second thought
…
If our heart is of glass, then faith is the wine in that glass
Keeping that faith, now you need to drink with me

Ibn-E-Insha was a twentieth century poet. Born in India and expired in London, he spent most of his time in Pakistan. Stylistically, he is often considered to be closer to Amir Khusrau. The following classic poem of his (I have written just the first stanza though) was converted to ghazals and sung in different tunes by many singers. The more famous ones are by Ghulam Ali (slower version) and Jagjit Singh (faster version). The poem itself is unbelievably beautiful.

“Chaudvin Ka Chaand” literally means the moon on the fourteenth night – referring to the full moon…

As a background, imagine a jilted lover whose love has not been requited by his chosen lady.

“Kal chaudvin ki raat thi, sabh bhar rahaa charchaa tera
Kuch ne kaha yeh chaand hai, kuch ne kaha chehraa tera
Hum bhi wohi maujoot the, humse bhi sab poochha kiye
Hum hans diye, hum chup rahe, manzoor tha pardaa teraa”

Roughly translated, it means

“Last night was the full moon night, and everybody was discussing about you
Some said that it surely looked like the moon; some others said that has to be your face
I was also there among the crowd and many asked me about my opinion too
I just smiled, but I kept quiet. I respected your wish (to be apart from me)”

This time describing how confusing love can be…

“Khusrau, dariya prem ka,
Ulti wa ki dhaar,
Jo utra so doob gaya,
Jo dooba, so paar”

Translated, it means:

Oh Khusrau, the river of love
Flows erratically in opposite directions
(S)he who tries to cross it, inevitably drowns in it.
But (s)he who drowns in it, is the one who gets across!!!

Main to piya se / Naina laga aayi ray,
Ghar naari kanwari / Kahay so kahay,
Main to piya se / Naina laga aayi ray.
Sohni suratiya / Mohni muratiya,
Main to hriday ke peechay / Samaa aayi ray;
Ghar naari kanwari / Kahay so kahay,
Main to piya say / Naina laga aayi ray.

This is a poem by Amir Khusrao – one of the most versatile poets from the Indian subcontinent dating back nearly eight centuries. Credited with bringing Qawwalis to the subcontinent, he is often also credited for creating the Ghazal style. He was certainly responsible for creating the percussion instrument “tabla” – that I have played for thirty five years or so. He is called the “Parrot of India”.

This poem was incorporated in Nusrat Fateh Ali Khan’s rendition of the very popular Qawwali “Chhap Tilak”.

The true meaning and impact of this poem is perhaps difficult to appreciate in this age and time when you meet your opposite sex on date.com. In those days society frowned heavily on young men and women getting to meet or know each other. All marriages were arranged by parents or social elders. It is in this context, that this girl (the poem is written from the point of view of the girl) who has softness for a neighborhood boy meets him (although it is translated as “had an affair”, the literal meaning is simply “my eyes engaged with his” ) and then writes about her feelings. She realizes that some neighborhood friend of her will tell on her and there will be dire consequences, but she simply does not care.

I am sure many of my friends growing up with me in India a few decades back can relate to that neighborhood girl or boy (as the case might be) and the trysts on the sly and the painful consequences later 🙂 Wonder what was the parallel situation in USA at around that time. I am sure there was that high school girl or boy that parents did not approve of but my guess is that the retribution was not as harsh, if it was there at all. Maybe I need to go back a century in this country to get a parallel.

In any case, here is the translation:

I have just had an affair with my darling,
I don’t care what the neighborhood girls say;
For I just had an affair with my darling.
Oh, his beautiful face, charming like an idol,
I have just earned a place in the very bottom of his heart.
I don’t care what the neighborhood girls say,
For I just had an affair with my darling.

This has been morphed and modified multiple times over the decades. It is part of the qawwali “Yeh jo halka halka” made memorable by Nusrat Fateh Ali Khan’s rendition

“Main ne un ke saamne awwal ka khanjar rakh diya
Phir kaleja rakh diya,
Dil rakh diya,
Sar rakh diya,
Aur arz kiya ke:
Ab mere baad kisko sataaogey?
Mujhe kis tarha se mitaaogey?
Kahan jaa ke teer chalaaogey?
Meri dosti ki balaayen lo
Mujhe haath utha kar duaaein do
Ke tumhein ek kaatil bana diya”

Very rough translation:

In front of her, I first laid down the dagger
Then I laid down my heart
Then my soul
Finally I laid down my head
And asked:

Now, who are you going to torture after me?
How are you going to take me out of your life?
Where will you go to aim your arrows of glances?

Someday you will value my friendship
And lift your arms in thankfulness
That because of me you became the most charming killer.

(the last line might be alternatively interpreted to refer to her killer instincts)

Stiff cocktail, bright sun, poolside siesta and Nusrat on the Beats…

“ae fana shukr hae, aaj baad-e-fana,
ussne rakhli mere pyaar kee aabruu,
apnay haathon se ussne meri qabr pe ,
chaadar-e-gul charhayee, mazah aa gaya”

Awesome words by Ustad Qamar Jalalvi. Born in India in the late 1800s, he moved to Pakistan after the partition and died there. Most of his life, he earned his livelihood by working at a bicycle repair shop!!

Roughly translated…

“O death, I thank thee that, after my death,
She finally honored my love; with her own hands,
On my grave, she spread a sheet of roses,
And I die very satisfied now”