Mirza Ghalib

ghalib, don't mind if

the cleric finds you sinful

wherever i see

the prints of your footsteps

behold the charm of his speech

as what he said, i figured...

while all others in the gathering

are enjoying their drinks

from love did my being

find the joy and fun of life

who wouldn’t lay down his life,

oh god, at this innocence

no longer worthy

of the blessings of love

day and night the seven skies

keep rotating and revolving

yes, she is not a believer

yes, she is unfaithful too

the heart keeps searching

for those days and nights of leisure

some pictures of my idols

a few letters from beautifuls

i had gone to complain

about being ignored

in captivity too, i am still ‘ghalib’,

with fire under my feet

with people’s indifference

don’t be dismayed, ghalib

from those lips, am sure

to get a kiss one day

‘asad’, with joy

my limbs were rendered immobile

i learned to paint for the sake of

the moon-faced ones

no hope comes to pass

no face seen anywhere

for pretty faces

you are so keen, 'asad'

it has been a while since

i had my friend as a guest

when did she listen

to my sorry state

that which courses through veins

i don't much care for

if a person gets accustomed to grief

then grief disappears

the painful scars of unmet desires

keep coming to my mind

where is the refusal's fun

in ready acceptance

the lament, just a desire for beauty

o cruelty, not an act of creation

for how long will i write of my pain

maybe i should go show her

while the messenger returns

i will keep another letter ready

why is it necessary that

everyone gets the same answer

ghalib has given up drinking

but, still, once in a while

oh god, she doesn’t understand me

nor will she ever

where’s the tavern’s entrance, ghalib,

and where is the preacher

thousands of aspirations

each would consume a life

why should my heart’s matters

be open for all to see

if my heart stops a while

don’t presume I am dead

i do understand

the truth about heaven, but

no craving for appreciation

nor a concern for reward

we have no power over love,

it is a burning fire, ghalib

when you mentioned Kolkata

oh my dear friend

just by coloring your hair

nothing will happen, ghalib

we will reach our goal

even if we stray a little

all through life, ghalib,

kept making the same mistake

oh priest, allow me to drink

sitting here in the mosque

it wasn’t in my fate

to be with my beloved

this horse of life is galloping away

not knowing where it will stop

these mystical discussions

and your unique narration, ghalib,

a hundred times, i have

broken free from the bonds of love

a play of children

this world before me

it is a heart, not a stone or a brick

why won’t it be filled with pain

love demands patience

but desire is restless

my bloodied clothes are

sticking to my body

in the gathering where you come

speaking with grace

please don’t bury me

in your lane after my murder

that was triggered by

imagining a person

who can cure, ‘asad’,

the sorrow of existence except death

may you stay well

for a thousand years

you watch

the style of my fun, flowery speech

though i was a prisoner

to the cruelties of daily life

may no evil eye fall

on her hands and arms

it remains a scar on the heart

the lament that didn’t reach the lips

the beauty of an illuminating

lamp of eloquence is far away, ‘asad’