shaam-e be-asar kab tak – raghupati sahaa’e firaaq gorakhpuri
1
Khayaal-e marg kab tak zindagi ka dard-e sar kab tak
ye maana sabr kart’e haiN mohabbat m’eN magar kab tak
2
nigaah-e shauq ka hota hai Khud hum par asar kab tak
utarta hai jigar m’eN dekhiye ye neeshtar kab tak
3
vabaal-e dosh se kuchh ho chal’e haiN in fazaaoN m’eN
meri parvaaz m’eN haa’el raheNg’e baal-o-par kab tak
4
kahaaN ka vasl-o-furqat ishq hai bas muntazir iss ka
hijaab-e husn baRh kar husn ka ho parda-dar kab tak
5
Khayaal-e zulf-o-ruKh aye ahl-e zindaaN hosh m’eN aao
dayaar-e husn ki ye shaam kab tak, ye sahar kab tak
6
dayaar-e dost hadd hoti hai aaKhir dil bahaln’e ki
na yaad aa’eN GhariiboN ko ter’e diivaar-o-dar kab tak
7
miTaata jaa’ega dil koi kab tak narm nazroN se
chalaata jaa’ega koi ye tiir-e be-asar kab tak
8
kahiiN aati haiN kaam aisi bhi tadbiir’eN mohabbat m’eN
ye maana dost ko bhool’e rah’eNg’e hum magar kab tak
9
inaa’et ki, karam ki, lutf ki, aaKhir koi hadd hai
koi karta rahega chaara-e zaKhm-e jigar kab tak
10
ye daur-e aasmaaN hai, tuu mohabbat laakh baRhn’e d’e
magar ye be-Khudi, ye dard-e dil, ye chashm-e tar, kab tak
11
garebaaN chaak kar muNh moR le husn-e gulistaaN se
keh zer-e aasmaaN ye manzar-e raqs-e sharar kab tak
12
kisi ka husn rusva ho gaya pard’e hi pard’e m’eN
na laa’e raNg aaKhir-kaar taasiir-e nazar kab tak
13
firaaq ayyaam-e furqat ki daraazi bhi to dhoka hai
sahar be-shaam ki kab tak ye shaam-e be-sahar kab tak

raghupati sahaa’e firaaq gorakhpuri (1896-1982). His father gorakh prasaad was a landlord and practiced law and was a poet using the taKhallus ibrat. firaaq studied urdu and faarsi at home.  His first Ghazal was composed at the age of 20, when he was college student, and published at the urging of munshi premchand.  After his BA from Central College Allahabad he became involved in the country’s politics. He was arrested in 1920 and spent 18 months in prison. He worked for some time for the Congress party but after independence, discontinued politics.  In 1930, he passed the MA examination in English Literature from Agra University and became a lecturer in English in Allahabad University.  His domestic life was troubled with a bad marriage and suicide of his son.  He received multiple awards – 1961, sahitya akademi; 1968, Soviet Nehru, padma bhushan, gyaan piiTh; 1981 Ghalib award.
1
Khayaal-e marg¹ kab tak zindagi ka dard-e sar kab tak
ye maana sabr² kart’e haiN mohabbat m’eN magar kab tak

1.death 2.patience, bear

There are three ways of looking at this.  (a)Classical Romantic Plaint – how long will I have to bear the burden zindagi ka dard-e sar of unrequited love. How long before death relieves my burden – Khayaal becomes yearning. How long will I have to patiently sabr bear this burden of life.  (b)Answer to the call of Progressive Writers. How long will you keep thinking of (wishing for) death, how long will you keep thinking that life on earth is a burden. How long will you be obsessed with patiently bearing all the cruelties of love. The implication is that it is time to come out of this conventional thinking and enter the dynamic new world, facing social problems.  (c)Fear of Death. Interpreting Khayaal as apprehension – how long will you be fearful of death, how long will this fear be the dard-e sar of your life. Agreed that convention calls for patience, but how long will this be an excuse for lack of effort.
2
nigaah-e shauq¹ ka hota hai Khud hum par asar² kab tak
utarta hai jigar m’eN dekhiye ye niishtar³ kab tak

1.desire, longing 2.effect 3.dagger, knife

The lover casts a longing glance of love nigaah-e shauq at the beloved and this nigaah itself has an effect on him; it descends into his heart utarta hai jigar m’eN like a knife niishtar.  How long can this go on.  This could be a conventional romantic plaint or a sarcastic critique of romance convention in poetry instead of socially progressive writing.
3
vabaal¹-e dosh² se kuchh ho chal’e haiN inn fazaaoN³ m’eN
meri parvaaz⁴ m’eN haa’el⁵ raheNg’e baal-o-par⁶ kab tak

1.burden, curse 2.past 3.air 4.flight 5.obstacle 6.feathers and wings

If the sh’er is read in prose form as with two implied words shown in parentheses – baal o par vabaal-e dosh (ki vaj’h) se meri parvaaz m’eN kuchh haa’el ho chal’e haiN.  kab tak inn fazaa’oN m’eN rah’eNge.  My wings have become an obstacle to my flight because of the burden/curse of the past (past thinking/conventions).  How long will this curse remain in the ambience/surroundings.  Read this way, the sh’er becomes a dynamic call to shed the burden of past thinking and take flight.
4
kahaaN ka vasl-o-furqat¹ ishq hai bas muntazir² iss ka
hijaab³-e husn⁴ baRh kar husn ka ho parda-dar⁵ kab tak

1.union and separation 2.waiting 3.veil 4.beauty, beloved 5.one who tears the veil

What is the point of endlessly going back and forth between breaking up and getting back together (vasl-o-furqat)? True passion—and the independent thinker—refuses to play this exhausting game. Instead, it holds out for something much bigger: the moment when Beauty can no longer hide behind its veil (hijaab-e husn), and the veil itself finally tears open (parda-dar) to reveal the truth.  This isn’t just sitting around and waiting passively. firaaq isn’t a passive person. By refusing to settle for cheap compromises or fake rituals, the speaker creates the exact pressure needed to force the truth into the open. Whether you look at Beauty as a real person, a divine truth, or a fairer society, the message is the same: stop chasing small distractions, stand your ground, and force the real thing to show itself.
5
Khayaal-e zulf-o-ruKh¹ aye ahl-e-zindaaN² hosh³ m’eN aao
dayaar⁴-e husn⁵ ki ye shaam kab tak, ye sahar⁶ kab tak

1.curls and hair 2.captives, prisoners 3.senses 4.realm 5.beauty 6.dawn, day

This sh’er addresses the ahl-e zindaaN—the “captives”—on two distinct levels. Politically, it calls out a colonized people who comfort themselves with the false promises or distractions of the dayaar-e husn (realm of beauty) while remaining in chains. Literarily, it scolds fellow poets whose imagination is imprisoned by traditional romantic tropes (zulf-o-ruKh). firaaq’s demand—hosh m’eN aao (come to your senses)—calls for an end to this passive, day-and-night escapism, urging both the public and the poet to wake up to the harsh social realities around them.
6
dayaar¹-e dost², hadd³ hoti hai aaKhir dil bahaln’e⁴ ki
na yaad aa’eN GhariiboN ko ter’e diivaar-o-dar⁵ kab tak

1.realm 2.friend, beloved 3.limit 4.console, pacify 5.walls and doors, home, abode

This sh’er works on both romantic and socio-political levels, addressed to the “domain of the beloved” (dayaar-e dost). Romantically, it speaks to an indifferent beloved: there is a limit to how long lovers can pacify their restless heart (dil behalna) while remaining exiled outside her threshold (diivaar-o-dar). On a political level, the privileged elite live comfortably inside their domain, using superficial distractions to pacify the populace. But there is a limit (hadd) to this—the destitute and displaced masses (Ghariib) cannot be kept distracted forever, and will inevitably demand access to the real structures of security and home (diivaar-o-dar) they have been denied.
7
miTaata jaa’ega dil koi kab tak narm¹ nazroN² se
chalaata jaa’ega koi ye tiir-e be-asar³ kab tak

1.soft, consoling 2.glance 3.ineffective

Here tiir-e be-asar is the ineffective, pleading glance that the lover casts towards beloved.  The beloved returns consoling glances narm nazreN trying to erase the pain in the heart of the lover without actually doing anything.  How long can this go on.  We can easily replace the lover-beloved with the deprived-privileged or subject-ruler.
8
kahiiN aati haiN kaam aisi bhi tadbiir’eN¹ mohabbat m’eN
ye maana dost² ko bhool’e rah’eNg’e hum magar kab tak

1.plans, schemes 2.friend, beloved

Do these schemes tadbiir’eN ever work kaam aati haiN in love.  I agree ye maana that we/I will try to forget the beloved dost, but how long.  This can also apply to the beloved as the homeland, asking how long can we forget/ignore love of homeland and remain under the colonial yoke without protest.
9
inaa’et¹ ki, karam² ki, lutf³ ki, aaKhir koi hadd⁴ hai
koi karta rahega chaara⁵-e zaKhm⁶-e jigar⁷ kab tak

1.gift 2.benevolence 3.favours 4.limit 5.healing 6.wound 7.liver/heart

In this sh’er, gifts, benevolence and favours – inaa’et, karam and lutf are used either as sarcasm or to mean superficial balm to treat symptoms.  Is there a limit to how long one can try to heal chaara the deep wound of the heart zaKhm-e jigar.  The “healer” in this case can be the romantic beloved, the privileged oppressor or the colonizer.
10
ye daur¹-e aasmaaN hai, tuu mohabbat laakh baRhn’e d’e
magar ye be-Khudi², ye dard-e dil, ye chashm-e-tar³, kab tak

1.times, control 2.unaware, ignorant 3.tearful eye

Addressing the interlocutor directly (tuu), the poet points out that times are oppressive (daur-e aasmaaN). No matter how much you try to deepen or increase love (mohabbat laakh baRhn’e d’e), it cannot alter these harsh conditions. How long can you remain blissfully unaware (be-Khud), tolerating pain in the heart (dard-e dil) and weeping endlessly (chashm-e tar)? firaaq challenges the listener to stop relying on passive suffering and emotional withdrawal as a way to cope with oppressive times.
11
garebaaN¹ chaak² kar muNh moR³ le husn-e gulistaaN se
keh zer⁴-e aasmaaN ye manzar⁵-e raqs⁶-e sharar⁷ kab tak

1.collar, shirt front 2.teara 3.turn away from 4.under 5.scene 6.dance 7.sparks

In this sh’er, firaaq admonishes his interlocutor caught in performative passion. Here, husn-e gulistaaN represents comfortable, superficial beauty, while manzar-e raqs-e sharar refers to a staged spectacle (manzar)—a contrived display of “dancing sparks” raqs-e sharar or dramatic emotion put on for show. firaaq demands an end to this affectation: how long will you allow yourself to be mesmerized by the garden while merely putting on a show of inner fire? If your passion is genuine, turn your back on these easy comforts, tear open your collar (garebaaN chaak kar), and show true, uncalculated devotion rather than a hollow performance.
12
kisi ka husn rusva¹ ho gaya pard’e hi pard’e m’eN
na laa’e raNg² aaKhir-kaar³ taasiir⁴-e nazar⁵ kab tak

1.embarrassment 2.style 3.finally, ultimately 4.effect 5.sight

In this sh’er, taasiir-e nazar represents the powerful, penetrating effect of the lover’s gaze. How long could such intense scrutiny fail to show its ultimate effect (na laa’e raNg aaKhir-kaar)? Romantically, the gaze is so intense that it penetrates the veil, causing the beloved husn to be overcome with bashful embarrassment (rusva) even while remaining behind the curtain (pard’e hi pard’e m’eN).  Politically, this interpretation works seamlessly: the “veil” symbolizes the propaganda, secrecy, and scheming of the privileged elite. The taasiir-e nazar is the awakening critical consciousness of the people. firaaq asserts that no matter how tightly authority shields itself behind institutional walls, the relentless gaze of an awakened public will eventually see through the charade and expose them to public disgrace.
13
firaaq¹ ayyaam²-e furqat³ ki daraazi⁴ bhi to dhoka hai
sahar⁵ be-shaam ki kab tak ye shaam-e be-sahar kab tak

1.pen-name 2.days 3.separation 4.length 5.dawn

O firaaq after all the agonizing length daraazi of the days of separation ayyaam-e furqat is also an illusion.  How long can dawn sahar remain without an evening or evening without a dawn i.e., the days of separation are bound to end.  This could be offering consolation/reassurance to the distraught lover or the oppressed citizen.