Nice Sher

A beautiful Sher. Vintage Ghalib.

Har ek baat pe kehte ho tum ki tuu kya hai
Tumhi kaho yeh andaaz-e-guftaguu kya hai

For each small matter you question me
Please tell me what style of conversation is this

Ragoon main daudte phirne ke ham nahin qaayal
Jab aankh hi se na tapkaa to phir lahuu kya hai

Literal
I'm not satisfied with blood running through my veins
What's the use of blood if it doesn't drop from my eyes

Hidden
What is this low-level one-upmanship and competition
I've above all this and my work is based on passion (not for rewards)

There's an interesting story to this couplet recited by Ghalib.

Ghalib and Zauk were famous Urdu poets who were contemporaries at the court of Mughal Emperor Bahadur Shah Zafar in the mid-nineteenth century (1850s). That was a time when Urdu poetry flourished with renowned poets like Ghalib, Zauk, Momin, and Daagh.

Zauk had differences with Ghalib and taunted him. Ghalib replied to his taunts with, Har ek baat pe kehte ho tum ki tuu kya hai... and then followed with the couplet on passionate poetry Jab aankh hi se na tapkaa to phir lahuu kya hai

Read the complete Sher, Har baat pe kehte ho tum ki tuu kya hain. Read Mirza Ghalib's poetry.

Technorati Tag: Shayari