gaii vo baat to ho guftaguu to kyo.nkar ho

gayii vo baat to ho guftaguu to kyo.nkar ho

kahe se kuchh na huaa, to kaho to kyo.nkar ho

गई वो बात तो हो गुफ़्तगू तो क्योंकर हो 

कहे से कुछ न हुआ, तो कहो तो क्योंकर हो 

We have moved on now, so there is not much to talk about

Even if I urge you to do something, you won't - so what's the point?

Mirza Ghalib

मिर्ज़ा ग़ालिब 

ना करदा गुनाहों की भी हसरत की मिले दाद

ना करदा गुनाहों की भी हसरत की मिले दाद

यारब अगर इन करदा गुनाहों की सज़ा है

ग़ालिब

naa-kardah gunaaho.n kii bhii Hasrat kii mile daad

yaa rab agar in kardah gunaaho.n kii sazaa hai 

Ghalib

One of Ghalib's gems on crime and punishment. 'naa-kardah' means 'not done'. 'daad' means justice or redressal. Ghalib is asking Chitragupta to include in his balance sheets of sins and virtuous deeds, the crimes that he contemplated but could not do - either due to pusillanimity or due to paucity of time. 

A lot of couples feel that even when a partner thinks about infidelity - that is infidelity. Others say the clause is not triggered unless you actually do something. 

Another way of looking at it from a corporate point of view, is that we make so many plans and strategies, but when the time for appraisal comes - the time for earning bonuses and incentives - we are rewarded only for the achievements and not for efforts. But the appraisal discussion always goes like this -

'I tried my best, I can't help it if.... happened'

So when it comes to appraisals we want 'daad' for 'naakardaah gunaah' :)

Whatever way you look at this, I love this couplet. Wonder why I did not feature if earlier!

हज़ारों ख़्वाहिशें ऐसी - My first attempt to explain a poem

Recently one of my friends chanced upon my blog and has managed to convince me into writing an explanatory note on some Ghazals of Ghaalib. I must start with the disclaimer that neither am I an expert on Ghalib, nor on Urdu language. In fact, I am not even an expert on poetry. So all which ways, I am not qualified to write. But as a famous couplet goes

"NaaKhudaa door, hawaa tez, qaree.n kaam-e-naahang

waqt hai, phenk de lehro.n me.n safeenaa apnaa"

"नाख़ुदा दूर, हवा तेज़, क़रीं कामे नाहंग 

वक़्त है फेंक दे लहरों में सफ़ीना अपना"

i.e. the boatman is far away, the winds are blowing fast, crocodiles are close by with their open mouths

ok, time to throw your boat to the waves"

I know a lot of Internet based experts will rip me apart (like crocodiles). But as Salman said in Wanted (or Vijay in Pokkiri) - 'ek baar maine commitment kar lii, to phir mai.n apne aap kii bhii nahee.n suntaa'(एक बार मैंने कमिट्मॅंट कर ली, तो फिर मैं अपने आप की भी नहीं सुनता) or "oru vaaTTi mudivu paNNiTTen naa en pechhai naane kekka maaTTen (ஒரு வாட்டி முடிவு பண்ணிட்டேன் நா என் பேச்சை நானே கேட்க மாட்டேன் )". So here goes.

"Hazaaro.n Khwaahishe.n aisee ki har Khwaahish pe dum nikle

bahut nikle mire armaan lekin phir bhii kum nikle"

हज़ारों ख़्वाहिशें ऐसी कि हर ख़्वाहिश पे दम निकले 

बहोत निकले मेरे अरमान लेकिन फिर भी कम निकले 

This is an oft used couplet which is the first couplet of this famous Ghazal. The first couplet is called 'matlaa' in poetic terms. There are no difficult words in this couplet. Hence getting down to the meaning.

A thousand desires - and each desire is worth dying for

Many of my desires have been fulfilled, but the heart yearns for more"