Click here for background and on any passage for word meanings and explanatory discussion. jigar muradabadi (1890-1961) was a profilic poet of sufiyaana, romantic and musical Ghazal. Many of his compositions have been put to music and sung by great singers.
1

vo adaa¹-e dilbari² ho, ke nava³-e aashiqana⁴
jo dilauN ko fatah⁵ kar le, vohi faateh⁶-e zamaana⁷ 1.style 2.coquetry 3.cry 4.of love 5.conquer 6.victor 7.times, world
Be it the style of coquetry (of the beloved) or the (anguished) cry of love (of the poet/lover), whichever captures the heart is victorious in this world.
2

vo tera jamaal-e kaamil¹, vo shabaab² ka zamaana
dil-e dushmanaaN salaamat³, dil-e dostaaN nishaana1.perfect beauty 2.youth
Her beauty is perfect and this is the peak of her youth, the hearts of neither friends nor enemies are safe.
3

kabhi husn¹ ki tabiyat², na badal saka zamaana
vohi naaz³-e beniyaazi⁴, vohi shaan⁵-e Khusravaana⁶ 1.personified Beauty, beloved 2.nature 3.style 4.nonchalance 5.pride 6.like that of Khusro (ancient Persian king), royal
The world has never/will never be able to, change the nature of the beloved. She will continue to have that style of uncaring nonchalance and that proud royal bearing.
4

maiN huN us maqaam¹ per ab ke firaaq² o vasl³ kaise
mera ishq bhi kahaani tera husn bhi fasaana⁴ 1.place 2.separation 3.union (with the beloved) 4.fable
I am now in a place where separation and union do not feel real. My love appears to be a story and your beauty a fable.
5

meri zindagi to guzri tere hijr¹ ke sahaare
meri maut ko bhi pyaare koi chaahiye bahaana1.travelling away from home, separation (from the beloved)
I have spent my life on the support I get from memories of you (because I have been away from you, that is all I had to fall back on). The pain that a beloved gives to the lover is a gift to be nurtured. This gift has been the basis of his life. And now for him to die he needs something even harder than this pain … the beloved has to kill him – that is the ultimate consummation of love. That is the “bahaana”/excuse Death needs.
6

tere ishq ki karaamat¹, ye agar nahiN to kya hai
kabhi be’adab² na guzra, mere paas se zamaana1.munificence, gift 2.disrespectful
If this is not the gift of Love (the lover’s love of the beloved NOT the other way round) then what else is it. The world has never disrespected me. The lover is known for his love of the beloved (even if she ignores him) and this has earned him the respect of the world.
7

teri doori o huzoori¹, ka ye hai ajeeb² aalam³
abhi zindagi haqiqat⁴, abhi zindagi fasaana⁵ 1.presence 2.strange 3.condition, situation 4.reality 5.fable
Your presence or absence create this strange/enchanting condition/illusion – one moment life is real, another it is just a fable.
8

mere ham-safeer¹ bulbul, mera tera saath hi kya
maiN zameer²-e dasht³ o darya⁴, tu aseer⁵-e aashiyana⁶  1.fellow singer/poet 2.inner self, soul 3.wilderness 4.sea 5.prisoner 6.nest
O, bulbul my fellow songster/poet how long/far can we be together. My soul belongs in the wide open spaces, you are tied down to your nest/home.
9

maiN vo saaf hi na kah duN, jo hai farq¹ tujh meN mujh meN
tera dard, dard-e tanha², mera Gham, Gham-e zamaana1.difference 2.alone (used here to mean “personal”)
This is addressed to the beloved. The poet/lover claims that the pain he feels is the pain of the (deprived/poor of the) world while the beloved’s pain is pain about her own needs (emotional).
10

tere dil ke TooTne par, hai kisi ko naaz¹ kya kya
tujhe aye jigar mubarak, ye shikast²-e faatehaana³ 1.pride 2.defeat 3.victorious
The poet has experienced a victorious defeat. He has been vanquished (in love). His broken heart has made her happy/proud. He considers this his victory.