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!!!