Khalish

By Urwa Tul Wusqa

Paikar-e-ranj haiñ ashq, inhey roka nahiñ jaata Hasad mai doobey woh, jinhey toka nahiñ jaata

Har ibteda se qabl inteha hai laazim humey bhi Sahooliyat tou hai zaahiri, abtari ka jhauñka nahiñ jaata

Pas-o-pesh mai uljhey yuuñ, goya kulfat ho qalam band Uss maqaam ko na pohañchey, jahañ bhauñka nahiñ jaata

Shikwa kiye hazaarouñ, mubhaliga se panaah maañgi Gumrahi lagey rafiqi, baseerat ka dhoka nahiñ jaata

Shab-e-hijraañ shaayar khalish tehreer karey jo Ussey subh hañsta dekh ke chauñka nahiñ jaata

Word-Meanings Khalish: Anxiety Paikar: Form/ Shape/ Manifestation; Ranj: Sorrow/ Pain/ Grief; Ashq: Tears Hasad: Envy/ Resentment Ibteda: Beginning; Qabl: Prior/Before; Inteha: End/ Extremity Sahooliyat: Ease/ Luxuries; Zaahiri: Apparent; Abtari: Distress; Jhaunka: Gust Pas-o-pesh: Vacillate; Goya: As if; Kulfat: Vexation; Qalam Band: written out or down Maqaam: Status/ Position Shikwa: Complaint; Mubhaaliga: Hyperbole Gumrahi: State of being astray; Rafiqi: Beloved friend; Baseerat: Enlightenment Shab-e-hijraañ: Night of separation; Tehreer: writing elegantly and accurately

Translation (Urdu to English):

Anxiety

Sorrow manifests itself in the form of tears, these ought not to be stopped

Envy has drowned those of us who have never been mocked/interrupted

Prior to each beginning, an end necessarily awaits us

The ease you witness is a mere facade, this gust of destruction refuses to leave

Doubt has trapped us as if distress is ordained in ink

I am yet to reach the status where barking/ babbling/ complaining ceases to be an option

Sought refuge in hyperbole to voice thousands of my complaints

The mirage of enlightenment refuses to leave me when in reality, I have befriended depravity

If the poet pens his/her anxiety/pain on the night of separation

Do not be surprised if you find him/her laughing the next morning

By Urwa Tul Wusqa