1/50: Featured

apni saari kaavishon ko

raaegaan main ne kiya

mere andar jo na tha

us ko bayaan main ne kiya

all my efforts and strivings

i have rendered futile

i tried giving expression to

what is not within me

Theme:Miscellany (44)

2/50: Featured

aashiqi se

milegaa, aye zaahid

bandagi se

khuda nahin milta

through love,

you will find, o priest

through worship,

you won't find god

Theme:Religion, Reason & Tradition (49)

3/50: Featured

dil jalta hai to jalne de

aansu na baha, fariyaad na kar

tu parda-nasheen ka aashiq hai

yuun nam-e-wafa barbaad na kar

if the heart burns, let it burn

do not shed tears, do not complain

you are in love with someone hidden

do not waste the name of loyalty like this

Theme:Loneliness, Solitude & Grief (93)

4/50: Featured

jise anjaam

tum samajhte ho

ibtidaa hai

kisi kahaani ki

that which you think

is the ending

is perhaps the start

of another story

Theme:Life, Living & Dying (106)

5/50: Featured

aur bhi dukh hain zamaane mein

mohabbat ke siva

rahatein aur bhi hain

wasl ki raahat ke siva

there are other sorrows

in this life than love’s longing

there are other comforts too

than the union with the beloved

Theme:Life, Living & Dying (106)

6/50: Featured

hum na maanenge khamoshi hai

tamanna ka mizaaj

haan bhari bazm mein

woh bol na paayi hogi

i do not concede silence is

the temperament of desire

yes, maybe she couldn’t

speak out in a crowded gathering

Theme:Voice, Expression & Language (60)

7/50: Featured

har rang har aahang

mere saamne aajiz

main koh-e-maani ki

bulandi pe khada hoon

every color, every melody

stands humbled before me

as i stand on top of

the mountain of enlightenment

Theme:Creativity, Philosophy & Enlightenment (30)

8/50: Featured

guzar ja aqal se aage

ki ye noor

charaagh-e-raah hai

manzil nahin

go past the intellect

for this light

is but an illumination of the path

not the destination

Theme:Creativity, Philosophy & Enlightenment (30)

9/50: Featured

mustaqil bolta hi

rahta hoon

kitna khaamosh hoon

main andar se

i keep talking

constantly

but how silent

i am within

Theme:Voice, Expression & Language (60)

10/50: Featured

har ek daur ka mazhab

naya khuda laaya

karen to hum bhi magar

kis khuda ki baat karen

each era brought in

a new religion, a new god

if we were to chat

about which god shall we talk?

Theme:Religion, Reason & Tradition (49)

11/50: Featured

kiska kaaba? kaisa qibla?

kaun haram hai? kya ehraam?

kooche ke us ke baashindon ne

sab ko yahin se salaam kiya

which sanctum? what holy direction?

what is sacred? which rituals?

we from the lane of the beloved

greeted everyone from here itself

Theme:Religion, Reason & Tradition (49)

12/50: Featured

yeh nanhi si jaan

yeh nanhi si muskurahat

khuda ki rehmat hai

khuda ki inaayat hai

this tiny life

this hint of a smile

is god's mercy

and the gift of providence

Theme:Friends, Family & Community (109)

13/50: Featured

kabhi kabhi to woh

itni rasaayi deta hai

woh sochta hai to

mujhko sunaayi deta hai

sometimes, he

grants such access

when he thinks

i can hear him

Theme:Friends, Family & Community (109)

14/50: Featured

teri majbooriyan

durust magar

tu ne vaada kiya tha

yaad to kar

your constraints

are understandable, but...

you made a promise

please remember that

Theme:Friends, Family & Community (109)

15/50: Featured

muskuraahat hai

husn ka zevar

muskuraana na

bhuul jaaya karo

smile is

beauty’s treasure

don’t forget

to keep smiling

Theme:Miscellany (44)

16/50: Featured

abhi zinda hai ma meri

mujhe kuchh bhi naheen hoga

main ghar se jab nikalta huun

dua bhi saath chalti hai

my mother is still alive

nothing bad can happen to me

whenever i leave the home

her blessings accompany me

Theme:Friends, Family & Community (109)

17/50: Featured

aapki tasveer thi

akhbaar mein

kya sabab hai

aap ghar jaate nahi

saw your photo

in the newspaper

what is the reason

you don’t seem to go home

Theme:Life, Living & Dying (106)

18/50: Featured

sun raha hun abhi tak

main apni hi aawaz ki baazgasht

yaani is dasht mein zor se

bolna bhi akaarat gaya

i keep hearing just

the echo of my shouts

in this desolation, it is futile

no matter how loud i scream

Theme:Oppression, Rebellion & Freedom (41)

19/50: Featured

shaayad unka aakhri ho

yeh sitam

har sitam ye soch kar

hum seh gaye

perhaps, this is the

last cruelty

thinking so, i endured

every cruelty

Theme:Oppression, Rebellion & Freedom (41)

20/50: Featured

maloom jo hota hame

anjaam-e-mohabbat

lete na kabhi bhool ke ham

naam-e-mohabbat

had i known the

consequences of love

even by mistake, i wouldn’t have

uttered the name of love

Theme:Love, Passion and Longing (89)

21/50: Featured

bulandiyon pe pahoonchna

koyi kamaal nahi

bulandiyon pe teherna

kamaal hota hai

there is nothing great

in reaching the heights

but staying there…

yes, that’s remarkable

Theme:Grit, Resilience & Courage (36)

22/50: Featured

khudi ka raazdaan ho kar

khudi ki daastaan ho jaa

jahaan se kya gharaz tujh ko

tuu aap apnaa jahaan ho jaa

by being your own confidant

you become your own story

why so obsessed with this world

you become your own universe

Theme:Life, Living & Dying (106)

23/50: Featured

kalkatte ka jo zikr kiya

tu ne hum-nasheen

ek teer mere seene

pe mara, ke hai

when you mentioned Kolkata

oh my dear friend

you shot an arrow

straight into my heart

Theme:Home, Country & Belonging (23)

24/50: Featured

ghalib chhuTi sharaab

par ab bhi kabhi kabhi

peeta hoon

roz-e-abr-o-shab-e-mahtaab mein

ghalib has given up drinking

but, still, once in a while

i enjoy a drink

on cloudy days and moon-filled nights

Theme:Nature, World & Universe (44)

25/50: Featured

tere aansu saare

mere ho sakte hain

aisa hai to tere khaatir

hum bhi ro sakte hain

all your tears

could be mine

then, for you

i can cry

Theme:Loneliness, Solitude & Grief (93)

26/50: Featured

pa ke ik tera tabassum

muskuraayi kayenaat

jhoom uTTha vo bhi

dil jeene jo bezaar tha

just one smile from you…

the whole world rejoiced

those hearts, weary of living,

sprung to life to celebrate

Theme:Nature, World & Universe (44)

27/50: Featured

woh chaand keh ke gaya tha

ki aaj niklegaa

to intezaar mein baiTha

huaa huun shaam se main

that moon told me this and left

that she will come out today

i am here all evening

waiting in anticipation

Theme:Nature, World & Universe (44)

28/50: Featured

gham aur khushi mein

farak na mehsoos ho jaha

main dil ko us mukaam

pe laata chala gaya

where the difference between

joy and sorrow is not felt

i kept taking my heart to

that place again and again

Theme:Life, Living & Dying (106)

29/50: Featured

teri adaaon ki saadgi mein

kisi ko mehsoos bhi na hoga

abhi qayaamat ka ik karishma

haya ke daaman mein pal rahaa hai

in the simplicity of your manners

no one can even sense

the miracle of an apocalypse being

nurtured in the lap of your modesty

Theme:Beauty, Charm & Union (85)

30/50: Featured

thi woh ik shakhs ke

tasavvur se

ab woh

raanaai-e-khayaal kahaan

that was triggered by

imagining a person

where is that

fantasy now?

Theme:Creativity, Philosophy & Enlightenment (30)

31/50: Featured

dekh

raftaar-e-inquilab 'firaq'

kitni aahista

aur kitni tez

watch

the pace of revolution, firaq

how deliberate

and, yet, how swift

Theme:Oppression, Rebellion & Freedom (41)

32/50: Featured

ajeeb shakhs hai

naaraaz ho ke hanstaa hai

main chaahtaa huun

khafa ho to woh khafa hi lage

what a strange man

who smiles though upset inside

i wish he looks angry

when he is angry within

Theme:Friends, Family & Community (109)

33/50: Featured

zakhm jhele, daagh bhi

khaye bahut

dil laga kar hum to

pachhtaaye bahut

many wounds i bore,

many scars did i sustain

getting my heart entangled

i regretted a lot

Theme:Heart, Mind & Memory (58)

34/50: Featured

tu munda bilkul desi hai

main katrina ton sohni ve

main fed up ho gaiyaan mundeya

sun sun ke tere dukhde ve

you’re just a country bumpkin

and i am lovely like katrina

i am fed up, you fellow,

listening to your sob stories

Theme:Beauty, Charm & Union (85)

35/50: Featured

waqt ki aandhi mein bhi

roshni ka diya jalaata raha

mera qalam mera saathi

mera humraaz banta raha

even during the storms of time

i kept lighting the lamp of brightness

my pen remained my friend,

my confidant all through

Theme:Creativity, Philosophy & Enlightenment (30)

36/50: Featured

bheeD tanhaaiyon

ka mela hai

aadmi aadmi

akela hai

a crowd is just

a bazaar of solitudes

each person

is all alone

Theme:Loneliness, Solitude & Grief (93)

37/50: Featured

yaad teri kabhi dastak

kabhi sargoshi se

raat ke pichle pehar

roz jagati hai hamen

your memory, sometimes as a knock

and sometimes as a whisper

wakes me up

in the wee hour, every night

Theme:Heart, Mind & Memory (58)

38/50: Featured

tu sirf dashna-e-nafrat

hi laharaata raha

tu ne kabhi dushman se

lipaT kar nahi dekha

you have only been waving

this dagger of hate

you haven't tried ever

embracing your enemy

Theme:Friends, Family & Community (109)

39/50: Featured

baad marne ke

meri qabr pe aaye woh ‘mir’

yaad aayi mere isa ko

dawa mere baad

my beloved came to my grave

after i am dead

my healer remembered the cure

after i am gone

Theme:Loneliness, Solitude & Grief (93)

40/50: Featured

suni hikayat-e-hasti

to darmiyan se suni

na ibtida ki khabar hai

na inteha maaloom

heard the story of life

but from the middle

don’t know how it started

nor know where it will end

Theme:Nature, World & Universe (44)

41/50: Featured

peeDa nu mai seene laavan

dard da mai naachDa jaavan

TooT gayi duniya meri

main ni darda jaavan

i embrace all the pain

i dance with the sorrow

my world has broken

i am not afraid

Theme:Grit, Resilience & Courage (36)

42/50: Featured

main bhi na thi kalaam mein

itni faraakh-dil

kuchh woh bhi ikhtisaar se

aage na jaa saka

i too was not generous

in my conversing

he too couldn't

get past his reticence

Theme:Voice, Expression & Language (60)

43/50: Featured

main bhi graduate huun

tum bhi graduate

ilmi mubaahise ho

zara paas aa ke leT

i am a graduate

you are one too

let our intellects debate

come, lie down next to me

Theme:Beauty, Charm & Union (85)

44/50: Featured

ye qayaam kaisa hai raah mein

tere zauq-o-shauq ko kya hua

abhi chaar kaante chhube nahin

tere sab iraade badal gaye?

how come this stalling in the path?

what happened to your will and zeal?

not even four thorns have pricked you

and all your intentions have changed?

Theme:Grit, Resilience & Courage (36)

45/50: Featured

ab dil ki tamanna hai to

aye kaash yahi ho

aansu ki jagah

aankh se hasrat nikal aaye

if there is just one desire of the heart

maybe...it's just this

instead of tears

dreams flow from my eyes

Theme:Hopes, Aspirations & Dreams (33)

46/50: Featured

har ik shikast-e-tamanna pe

muskuraate hain

woh kya karen jo

musalsal fareb khaate hain

at every broken dream

they smile

what can they do who

always suffer deceit

Theme:Hopes, Aspirations & Dreams (33)

47/50: Featured

meri khaleja mein teer Daalke

bismil karte hai

aur tabeeb bankar

khudi marham lagaate hai

(s)he hurts me, piercing

arrows into my heart

and then (s)he heals it,

applying the balm

Theme:Friends, Family & Community (109)

48/50: Featured

na poocho

husn ki tareef hum se

mohabbat jis se ho

bas wo haseen hai

don’t look to me

for praise of beauty

whoever i am in love with

my beloved is beautiful

Theme:Beauty, Charm & Union (85)

49/50: Featured

hum labon se keh na paaye

un se haal-e-dil kabhi

aur woh samjhe nahin

ye khaamoshi kya cheez hai

i couldn’t get the words out,

telling her of my heart’s state

nor could she understand

what my silence meant

Theme:Voice, Expression & Language (60)

50/50: Featured

key woh aisa muskuraaye

hum hosh gawa baithe

abhi hum hosh mein aane waale the

woh phir muskuraa baithe

she smiled in such a way

i lost my consciousness

as i was about to gain my senses

she smiled again

Theme:Beauty, Charm & Union (85)