For word meanings and explanatory discussion in English click on the tabs marked “Roman” or “Notes”.
Recitation
چھپا بھی نہ سکوں ۔ فضلِ اِلٰہی مخمورؔ دہلوی
۱
عشق وہ داغ ہے میں جس کو دکھا بھی نہ سکوں
دل میں چاہوں کہ چھپا لوں تو چھپا بھی نہ سکوں
۲
بھول کر بھی نہ مجھے یاد کرو تم تو کبھی
میں تمہیں بھولنا چاہوں تو بھلا بھی نہ سکوں
۳
کس قدر سوزشِ غم کی ہے نوازش مجھ پر
دل میں وہ آگ لگا دی کہ بجھا بھی نہ سکوں
۴
حال پر میرے نوازش کی کوئی حد نہ رہی
غم بھی اتنا دیا اُس نے کہ میں کھا بھی نہ سکوں
۵
ربط اس راز سے نکلا میرے افسانے کا
جس کو کہہ بھی نہ سکوں اور چھپا بھی نہ سکوں
۶
آج بھی بارِ امانت ہے میرے کاندھوں پر
یہ تیرا ناز نہیں ہے کہ اُٹھا بھی نہ سکوں
۷
میرے ساقی کا یہ فیضانِ نظر ہے مخمورؔ
اِتنی پی ہے کہ کبھی ہوش میں آ بھی نہ سکوں
छुपा भी न सकूँ – फ़ज़्ल-ए इलाही मख़्मूर देहलवी
१
इश्क़ वो दाग़ है मैं जिस को दिखा भी न सकूँ
दिल में चाहूँ के छुपा लूँ तो छुपा भी न सकूँ
२
भूल कर भी न मुझे याद करो तुम तो कभी
मैं तुम्हें भूलना चाहूँ तो भुला भी न सकूँ
३
किस क़दर सोज़िश-ए ग़म की है नवाज़िश मुझ पर
दिल में वो आग लगा दी के बुझा भी न सकूँ
४
हाल पर मेरे नवाज़िश की कोई हद न रही
ग़म भी इतना दिया उसने कि मैं खा भी न सकूँ
५
रब्त इस राज़ से निकला मेरे अफ़्साने का
जिस को कह भी न सकूँ और छुपा भी न सकूँ
६
आज भी बार-ए अमानत है मेरे कांधों पर
ये तेरा नाज़ नहीं है के उठा भी न सकूँ
७
मेरे साक़ी का ये फ़ैज़ान-ए नज़र है मख़्मूर
इतनी पी है कि कभी होश में आ भी न सकूँ
Click here for background and on any passage for word meanings and explanatory discussion. maKhmoor dehlavi-fazl-e ilaahi (1901-1956). Practiced and ran a clinic as homeopathic doctor. He lost all his inheritance due to family problems and lived in difficult conditions. Worked for some time for ifteKhaar ali KhaaN, nawab of paTodi. Interested in shaa’eri from an early age. beKhud dehlavi was his ustaad. He had many shaagird of his own, among them prem lal shifa. This Ghazal is linked to Ghalib naqsh-e qadam.
1
ishq voh daaGh1 hai maiN jis ko dikhaa bhi na sakuuN
dil meN chaahuN keh chhupaa luN to chhupaa bhi na sakuuN 1.wound, scar
Love is a wound that I cannot show; if I wish to conceal it in my heart, I still cannot. This couplet depicts love as a profound and visible mark, impossible to hide or expose. The poet highlights the paradoxical nature of love: it demands expression yet convention requires concealment, capturing the torment of being between a rock and a hard place.
2
bhool kar bhi na mujhe yaad karo tum to kabhi
maiN tumheN bhoolna chaahuN to bhulaa bhi na sakuuN Even in a forgetful mistake, you don’t remember me ever, and even if I try to forget you, I cannot. The poet/lover speaks of a one-sided attachment where the beloved’s indifference contrasts with his inability to let go. This reflects the asymmetry of love, where forgetting becomes an insurmountable challenge for one who loves deeply.
3
kis qadar1 sozish2-e Gham ki hai navaazish3 mujh par
dil meN voh aag laga di keh bujhaa bhi na sakuuN
1.so much 2.burning, pain, fire, passion 3.generosity, gift
How generous grief’s burning torment has been to me; it lit such a fire in my heart that I cannot extinguish it, even if I want to. This couplet uses the metaphor of fire to illustrate the intensity of emotional pain. The poet expresses gratitude tinged with sarcasm, recognizing the permanence and power of sorrow that defines his existence.
4
haal1 par mere’ navaazish2 ki koi hadd3 na rahii
Gham bhi itna diya uss ne keh maiN khaa4 bhi na sakuuN
1.condition, plight 2.generosity, benevolence 3.limit 4.Gham khaana-to bear sorrow
There is no limit to the generosity shown (by the beloved) toward my plight; so much grief was given to me that I cannot even bear it. Here, the poet/lover conveys his overwhelming suffering, framing it as an excessive ‘gift’ from fate or the beloved. The tone critiques the relentless burden of sorrow, which has rendered him incapable of enduring more.
5
rabt1 is raaz2 se nikla mere afsaane’3 ka
jis ko ka’h bhi na sakuuN aur chhupaa bhi na sakuuN
1.relationship, connection 2.secret 3.story, tale
The connection of my tale lies with this secret, one that I cannot reveal, nor can I hide. This couplet captures the tension between expression and discretion. The poet suggests that his story revolves around a profound truth or mystery that remains trapped between silence (to protect the beloved) and revealing (because of its intensity), creating an internal conflict.
6
aaj bhi baar1-e amaanat2 hai mere kaandhoN3 par
ye teraa naaz4 nahiN hai keh uThaa bhi na sakuuN
1.burden 2.entrusted treasure 3.shoulders 4.coquetry, pride
Even today, the burden entrusted to me lies heavy upon my shoulders; it is not your coquetry and pride that I cannot bear it. The poet speaks of a responsibility entusted to him that he carries. This could be a promise that he keep her secret or it could be the pain of unrequited love, sarcastically called a trust. He denies weakness, emphasizing his resolve, but also says that her coquetry/pride/aloofness is more difficult to bear.
7
mere’ saaqi ka yeh faizaan1-e nazar2 hai makhmoor3
itni pii4 hai keh kabhi hosh5 meN aa bhi na sakuuN 1.benevolence 2.glance, gaze 3.pen-name 4.drank 5.senses, sobriety
It is the generosity of my cupbearer/saaqi/beloved’s gaze, O maKhmoor, that I have drunk so much that I can never regain my senses. This couplet uses intoxication as a metaphor for love or divine inspiration. The poet attributes his state of blissful surrender to the influence of his beloved or a higher power through their gaze (not conventional wine), expressing both gratitude and immersion in this transformative experience.
maKhmoor dehlavi-fazl-e ilaahi (1901-1956). Practiced and ran a clinic as homeopathic doctor. He lost all his inheritance due to family problems and lived in difficult conditions. Worked for some time for ifteKhaar ali KhaaN, nawab of paTodi. Interested in shaa’eri from an early age. beKhud dehlavi was his ustaad. He had many shaagird of his own, among them prem lal shifa. This Ghazal is linked to Ghalib naqsh-e qadam.
1
ishq voh daaGh1 hai maiN jis ko dikhaa bhi na sakuuN
dil meN chaahuN keh chhupaa luN to chhupaa bhi na sakuuN
1.wound, scar
Love is a wound that I cannot show; if I wish to conceal it in my heart, I still cannot. This couplet depicts love as a profound and visible mark, impossible to hide or expose. The poet highlights the paradoxical nature of love: it demands expression yet convention requires concealment, capturing the torment of being between a rock and a hard place.
2
bhool kar bhi na mujhe yaad karo tum to kabhi
maiN tumheN bhoolna chaahuN to bhulaa bhi na sakuuN
Even in a forgetful mistake, you don’t remember me ever, and even if I try to forget you, I cannot. The poet/lover speaks of a one-sided attachment where the beloved’s indifference contrasts with his inability to let go. This reflects the asymmetry of love, where forgetting becomes an insurmountable challenge for one who loves deeply.
3
kis qadar1 sozish2-e Gham ki hai navaazish3 mujh par
dil meN voh aag laga di keh bujhaa bhi na sakuuN
1.so much 2.burning, pain, fire, passion 3.generosity, gift
How generous grief’s burning torment has been to me; it lit such a fire in my heart that I cannot extinguish it, even if I want to. This couplet uses the metaphor of fire to illustrate the intensity of emotional pain. The poet expresses gratitude tinged with sarcasm, recognizing the permanence and power of sorrow that defines his existence.
4
haal1 par mere’ navaazish2 ki koi hadd3 na rahii
Gham bhi itna diya uss ne keh maiN khaa4 bhi na sakuuN
1.condition, plight 2.generosity, benevolence 3.limit 4.Gham khaana-to bear sorrow
There is no limit to the generosity shown (by the beloved) toward my plight; so much grief was given to me that I cannot even bear it. Here, the poet/lover conveys his overwhelming suffering, framing it as an excessive ‘gift’ from fate or the beloved. The tone critiques the relentless burden of sorrow, which has rendered him incapable of enduring more.
5
rabt1 is raaz2 se nikla mere afsaane’3 ka
jis ko ka’h bhi na sakuuN aur chhupaa bhi na sakuuN
1.relationship, connection 2.secret 3.story, tale
The connection of my tale lies with this secret, one that I cannot reveal, nor can I hide. This couplet captures the tension between expression and discretion. The poet suggests that his story revolves around a profound truth or mystery that remains trapped between silence (to protect the beloved) and revealing (because of its intensity), creating an internal conflict.
6
aaj bhi baar1-e amaanat2 hai mere kaandhoN3 par
ye teraa naaz4 nahiN hai keh uThaa bhi na sakuuN
1.burden 2.entrusted treasure 3.shoulders 4.coquetry, pride
Even today, the burden entrusted to me lies heavy upon my shoulders; it is not your coquetry and pride that I cannot bear it. The poet speaks of a responsibility entusted to him that he carries. This could be a promise that he keep her secret or it could be the pain of unrequited love, sarcastically called a trust. He denies weakness, emphasizing his resolve, but also says that her coquetry/pride/aloofness is more difficult to bear.
7
mere’ saaqi ka yeh faizaan1-e nazar2 hai makhmoor3
itni pii4 hai keh kabhi hosh5 meN aa bhi na sakuuN
1.benevolence 2.glance, gaze 3.pen-name 4.drank 5.senses, sobriety
It is the generosity of my cupbearer/saaqi/beloved’s gaze, O maKhmoor, that I have drunk so much that I can never regain my senses. This couplet uses intoxication as a metaphor for love or divine inspiration. The poet attributes his state of blissful surrender to the influence of his beloved or a higher power through their gaze (not conventional wine), expressing both gratitude and immersion in this transformative experience.
