1/10: sitam

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 (38)

2/10: sitam

duniya ke sitam yaad

na apni hi wafa yaad

ab mujh ko nahin kuchh bhi

mohabbat ke siwa yaad

i remember neither the world’s cruelty

nor my own faithful toiling

i don’t now remember anything

but my love

Theme:Heart, Mind & Memory (58)

3/10: sitam

gairon pe karam

apno pe sitam

aye jaane wafa

yeh zulm na kar

tyranny for loved ones

kindness for strangers

o faithful one

be not so cruel

Theme:Friends, Family & Community (108)

4/10: sitam

naala juz husn-e-talab

aye sitam-ijaad nahin

hai taqaaza-e-zafa

shikwa-e-bedaad nahin

the lament, just a desire for beauty

o cruelty, not an act of creation

it is a demand for healing

not a complaint of separation

Theme:Loneliness, Solitude & Grief (92)

5/10: sitam

parda-e-lutf mein

ye zulm-o-sitam kya kahiye

haaye zaalim, tera

andaaz-e-karam kya kahiye

behind the comfort's veil, what to say

of this tyranny and cruelty

oh you tyrant, what to say

of your style of kindness

Theme:Oppression, Rebellion & Freedom (38)

6/10: sitam

waqt ne kiya

kya haseen sitam

tum rahe na tum

hum rahe na hum

what a beautiful tragedy

time has produced

you have not remained the same

nor have i remained myself

Theme:Friends, Family & Community (108)

7/10: sitam

purseesh-e-haal bhi itni ki

main kuchh keh na sakun

is takalluf se karam ho to

sitam hota hai

this inquiry of my condition

is so that i can’t say anything

kindness with such formality

becomes cruelty indeed

Theme:Friends, Family & Community (108)

8/10: sitam

hamaare aage tera jab

kisu ne naam liya

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

Theme:Loneliness, Solitude & Grief (92)

9/10: sitam

sutuun-e-daar pe rakhte chalo

saron ke charaagh

jahaan talak ye sitam ki

siyaah raat chale

keep putting lamps of heads

on the pillars of the gallows

as long as this dark night

of tyranny continues

Theme:Oppression, Rebellion & Freedom (38)

10/10: sitam

jab zulm-o-sitam ke

koh-e-garan

rooyi ki tarah uD jaayenge

hum dekhenge

when the mighty mountains

of tyranny and oppression

fly away like clumps of cotton

we shall see

Theme:Oppression, Rebellion & Freedom (38)