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1 / 25 : Featured

woh bhi sar-e-maqtal haiki sach jis ka tha shaahid

aur waaqif-e-ahvaal-e-adaalat

bhi bahut thi

even they were at the site of execution

who bore witness to the truth

and she too was familiar

with the system of justice

Parveen Shakir (19)
sar (m) (10)

front, top, head

sach (m) (8)

truth

shaahid (m) (3)

witness

waaqif (m) (3)

aware of, familiar

ahvaal (m) (2)

condition, state

adaalat (f) (1)

court of law

Theme: Oppression, Rebellion, & Freedom (70)

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2 / 25 : Featured

be-naqaab

hote hain

people

don’t change, ghalib

they become

unmasked

Anonymous

be-naqaab (1)

unveiled, unmasked

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3 / 25 : Featured

dard jab

jaan-nawaaz ho jaaye

who would seek

the favor of the healer

when the pain itself

becomes a life-giver

Faiz Ahmad Faiz (22)
dard (m) (22)

pain

minnat (f) (1)

favor, plea

jaan-nawaaz (m) (1)

life-giving

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4 / 25 : Featured

raat kaT thi hai

baDi mushkil se

day is but a day,

it passes fast

it is the night that

is difficult to bear

guzar (m) (13)

pass through, spent

raat (f) (14)

night

badi (f) (2)

hatred

mushkil (m) (8)

difficult, hard

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5 / 25 : Featured

lekin ek safar par ai dil

ab jaana to hoga

i too feel frightened

by the lonely quietness of the path

but my heart is set on this journey

i have no choice but to go

2007: Padma Bhushan

2013: Sahitya Akademi Award

Dar (m) (2)

fear

raaste (m) (4)

path, paths

sannaate (m) (1)

silence, quietness

safar (m) (28)

journey, travel

par (22)

wings / upon / however

dil (m) (119)

heart

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6 / 25 : Featured

dil-e-sitam-zada ko hum ne

thaam thaam liya

when someone mentioned

your name in front of me

i held and grasped my

tormented, afflicted heart

kisu (m) (1)

someone (same as kisi)

dil (m) (119)

heart

sitam (m) (13)

tyranny, cruelty

zada (1)

afflicted, tormented

thaam (4)

hold, grasp

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7 / 25 : Featured

mein un aankhon se

duniya dekhta hoon

those eyes through

which you see me

through those eyes

i see the world

Anonymous

duniya (m) (28)

world

aankhon (m) (13)

eyes

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8 / 25 : Featured

ye log kyon mere

zakhm-e-jigar ko dekhte hain

may no evil eye fall

on her hands and arms

why do these people

keep gazing at my heart’s wounds

zakhm (m) (18)

wound, injury

dasto (m) (1)

hands

baazoo (m) (1)

arms

jigar (m) (8)

heart

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9 / 25 : Featured

hai wahi meri khushi

jo mere sayyaad ki hai

neither complaint nor grievance

i have against the tyranny

my happiness is exactly

what pleases my captor

gila (m) (9)

fault, complaint

shikaayat (f) (6)

complaint, protest

bedaad (m) (1)

oppression

khushi (f) (8)

happiness

sayyaad (m) (8)

captor, hunter

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10 / 25 : Featured

tamanna raqs karti hai

takhayyul gungunaata hai

when this someone called to

wish me a new year on the phone

desire dances around me

my imagination stars to sing

1997: Jnanpith Award

1967: Padma Shri

tamanna (m) (13)

wish, desire

raqs (m) (3)

dance

tahneeyat (f) (1)

wishes, greetings

takhayyul (m) (1)

imagination

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11 / 25 : Featured

qurbaton mein bhi

faasla nikla

in love too

politics arose

in even closeness

distances emerged

ishq (m) (35)

love

siyaasaten (f) (1)

politics

qurbaton (m) (2)

closeness, proximity

faasla (m) (7)

distance

nikla (12)

turned out, came out

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12 / 25 : Featured

aur us ke lafz bhi thay

chaandni mein bikhre hue

he was smiling and

saying something, ‘shumar’

and his words too…

were scattered with moonlight

smile

lafz (m) (6)

word, syllable

chaandni (f) (4)

moonlight

bikhre (1)

scattered, dispersed

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13 / 25 : Featured

vo aaj le hi gaya, aur

'zafar' se kuchh na hua

i will not give her my heart,

i kept telling myself

she walked away with it today,

and zafar was helpless

always

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14 / 25 : Featured

ki is ke baad ye duniyaa

kahaan se laaunga main

i wish for all decisions

be made right here

for, after this, where will i

find such a world again

faisle (m) (1)

decision

baad (13)

breeze / after

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15 / 25 : Featured

ek musaafir bhi

qaafila hai mujhe

need a companion

not a crowd

one such person

is a caravan for me

humsafar (m) (5)

companion

hujuum (m) (4)

crowd, throng

musaafir (m) (8)

fellow traveler

qaafila (m) (4)

caravan

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16 / 25 : Featured

zindagi mein

zindagi jaisa koi to kaam ho

declare your love

regardless of the outcome

let there be in life

something that resembles life

izhaar (m) (5)

express, announce

anjaam (m) (7)

result, end

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17 / 25 : Featured

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

rang (m) (16)

color, colors

aahang (m) (1)

melody

saamne (13)

in front of, opposite

aajiz (1)

humbled

koh (m) (4)

mountain

maani (f) (4)

meaning

bulandi (f) (1)

height

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18 / 25 : Featured

mazaa har ek leta hai

mohabbat karta hai kaun

what is urdu

but a courtesan in a brothel

everyone has fun with her

but who loves her really?

mohabbat (f) (44)

love

kothey (m) (1)

brothel

tawaif (m) (1)

prostitute, courtesan

mazaa (m) (5)

fun, delight

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19 / 25 : Featured

barg-e-gul ki tarah

har naakhun moattar ho gaya

what body it must be

when i untie the drawstrings

like the petals of a flower

my nails smell of perfume too

badan (m) (5)

body

jaame (m) (1)

clothing

band (7)

string, hostage, captive

barg (m) (1)

leaf, petal

gul (m) (22)

flower

naakhun (m) (1)

nails

moattar (m) (2)

fragrant, perfumed

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20 / 25 : Featured

kitni zaalim hai

teri angDaayi

with both hands

you have looted me

how cruel it is when

you raise your arms to stretch

1959: Sahitya Akademi

donon (m) (5)

both

luTTi (f) (1)

rob, plunder

zaalim (m) (8)

oppressor, tyrant

angDaayi (f) (2)

tired stretching of limbs

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21 / 25 : Featured

jo din guzar gaye

unko ginaa na kar

count on the seasons

yet to come

and count not

the days that have passed

Anonymous

mausam (m) (6)

weather, season

shumaar (m) (2)

count, tally

guzar (m) (13)

pass through, spent

ginaa (m) (1)

count

Theme: Miscellany (44)

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22 / 25 : Featured

nazar aate hain

muskuraaye huye

even without a smile

those lips

seem to be smiling

all the while

muskuraaye (m) (2)

smiling

without

honT (m) (1)

lips

nazar (f) (36)

perspective, sight

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23 / 25 : Featured

ik zara aaina

dikhaane mein

how angry

friends became

when just shown

the mirror

naaraaz (m) (3)

angry, anger

aaina (m) (8)

mirror

dikhaane (m) (3)

shown

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24 / 25 : Featured

gulaab apni hi khushbu se

darne lagte hain

tormenting often are

the times of youth

the rose starts to fear

its own fragrance

aksar (7)

often

shabaab (m) (6)

youth

khushbu (f) (11)

fragrance

azaab (m) (2)

torment, punishment

ghadiyan (f) (1)

times, hours

gulaab (m) (5)

rose

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25 / 25 : Featured

wo jo ek teri taraf se tha

ishaara na raha

even now, the same sorrow

the same deprivation

the signs from you

are no more

mehroomi (f) (2)

deprivation

ishaara (m) (3)

sign, signal, gesture

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Ashaar (couplets) on other themes

Friends, Family, & Community (151)

Ashaar (couplets) by others

Alfaaz Ki Mehfil is a curated space for timeless poetry celebrating words, emotions, and the enduring beauty of expression. From classic Urdu couplets to modern reflections, it brings together generations of poetic voices that speak of love, longing, hope, and the human soul.

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