The Hidden Garden Gopi Narang (year 7 reading list TXT) 📖

was anguished in life,

my heart was the same

while I was in a state of equanimity.

jin balaaon ko Mir sunte the

un ko is rozgaar mein dekha

The stories of calamities

that you had only heard, Mir,

you also saw them

in the real world.27

jiite ji kuucha-e dildaar se jaaya n gaya

us ki diivaar ka sar se mere saaya n gaya

While I was alive I spent

all my time in the alley of my beloved.

The shadow of her wall

stayed with me forever.

vo to kal der talak dekhta iidhar ko raha

ham se hi haal-e tabaah apna dikhaaya n gaya

Yesterday, she continued to look towards me

for a long time. My bad luck!

I was not able to show my ruined state to her.

khaak tak kuuch-e dildaar ki chhaani ham ne

justuju ki p dil-e gum shuda paaya n gaya

I hit the dust of my beloved’s street many times.

I searched for long

but my tormented heart was not found anywhere.

aatish-e tez judaaii mein yaka-yak us bin

dil jala yuun k tinuk ji bhi jalaaya n gaya

In the flames of separation,

my heart burnt so quickly

that my soul could not be burnt

the same way.

ji mein aata hai k kuchh aur bhi mauzuun kiije

dard-e dil ek ghazal mein to sunaya n gaya

A desire shows up within me

to search for a fresh new opening.

The story of my heart’s grief

could not be told in just one ghazal.28

dil a’jab shahr tha khayaalon ka

luuta maara hai husn vaalon ka

Heart is a strange city

of thoughts.

Looted and devastated

by the beautiful.

ji ko janjaal dil ko hai uljhaao

yaar ke halqa halqa baalon ka

My mind is caught up in a mesh

and there is a twist in my heart

caused by layers upon layers

of locks of my beloved.

n kaha kuchh n aa phira n mila

kaya jawaab in mere savaalon ka

She didn’t say a word;

she didn’t turn back

nor did she meet me.

What a way to answer

all my questions!

dam n le us ki zulfon ka maara

Mir kaata jiye n kaalon ka

The one who is seized

by her black tresses

will not wait

for his next breath.

Mir, a black snake bite,

as they say,

is the end of your life.29

dil jo tha ik aabla phuuta gaya

raat ko siina bahut kuuta gaya

Something that was my heart

broke apart like a blister.

Last night, my chest

was beaten badly in desperation.

taa-ir-e rang-e hina ki si tarah

dil n us ke haath se chhuuta gaya

Like a henna-coloured bird,

I could not free my heart

from her grip.

main n kahta tha k munh kar dil ki or

ab kahaan vo aaiina tuuta gaya

I used to exhort you

to look inside your heart.

That mirror is now broken.

You can’t find it anywhere.

dil ki viiraani ka kya mazkuur hai

y nagar sau martaba luuta gaya

Let us not talk about

the devastation of the heart.

This town was looted

numerous times.

Mir kis ko ab dimaagh-e guftgu

u’mr guzri rekhta chhuta gaya

Mir, who is left with

the art of saying things sweetly?

An age has passed

since I gave up on Rekhta.

No masters remain anymore.30

dair o haram se guzre ab dil hai ghar hamaara

hai khatm is aable par sair o safar hamaara

I have been through temples and mosques,

but now my heart is my home.

With that blister my journey

has come to an end.

kuuche mein us ke ja kar banta nahien phir aana

khuun ek din gire ga us khaak par hamaara

When anyone goes to her alley,

he does not find a way to get back.

One day you will see

my blood sprinkled on that dust.

is karvaan sara mein kya Mir baar kholein

yaan kuuch lag raha hai shaam o saher hamaara

In this caravan of life, Mir,

what is the urgency to open your bags.

Departures take place here,

every evening and morning each day.31

i’shq hamaare khayal para hai khwaab gaya aaraam gaya

ji ka jaana thahar raha hai sub-h gaya yaa shaam gaya

Love is in my thoughts,

I am losing my dreams and my comforts.

It is a matter of time my heart too will be gone—

be it in the morning or in the evening.

i’shq kiya so diin gaya iimaan gaya islaam gaya

dil ne aisa kaam kiya kuchh jis se main naakaam gaya

I fell in love. Lost my faith,

lost my creed and lost my religion.

My heart did something so strange

that I lost it all.

haae javaani kya kya kahiye shor saron mein rakhte the

ab kya hai vo a’hd gaya vo mausam vo hangaam gaya

When I was young I was so involved

in the clamour and commotion of life.

What is left now?

That age, that climate, that tumult of youth—

all is gone.

likhna kehna tark hua tha aapis mein to muddat se

ab jo qaraar kiya hai dil se khat bhi gaya paighaam gaya

For a long time now,

we were not writing

or speaking to each other.

With the new pact with my heart,

there will be no exchange

of letters or messages—

all is gone.32

gul ko mahbuub ham qiyaas kiya

farq nikla bahut jo baas kiya

I thought of you

when I saw the rose

but when I smelled it,

there was a lot of difference.

kuchh nahien suujhta hamein us bin

shauq ne ham ko be-havaas kiya

I can’t think of anything

without her.

My desire has taken away

my ability to think clearly.

i’shq mein ham hue n divaane

qais ki aabru ka paas kiya

I didn’t lose my mind in love

as a mark of respect for Majnun.

sub-h tak sham’a sar ko dhunti rahi

kya patange ne iltmaas kiya

The candle was ecstatic

and flickering

until morning.

Wonder, what entreaties

the moth made to her?

aise vahshi kahaan hain ae khuubaan

Mir ko tum a’bas udaas kiya

The really crazy and the wild ones like me

are hard to find, O beautiful ones!

You disappointed Mir for no reason.33

munh taka hi kare hai jis tis ka

hairati hai y aaiina kis ka

It looks at the face of each and every one.

With whose beauty the mirror is awestruck

as its eye is always open?

shaam se kuchh bujha sa rahta huun

dil hua hai charaagh muflis ka

When evening comes

my heart loses its verve.

It starts to quiver

like a poor man’s lamp.

daagh aankhon se khil rahe hain sab

haath dasta hua hai nargis ka

The wounds are flowering

as open eyes.

The palm appears

like a bouquet of narcissus.

faiz ae abr chashm-e tar se utha

aaj daaman vas’ii hai us ka

O clouds, why don’t you benefit

from the eyes holding tears?

Today, they are extremely generous.

taab kis ko jo haal-e Mir sune

haal hi aur kuchh hai majlis ka

Who has the patience

to hear the tragic story of Mir?

People in the assembly

have already