shaa’eri ka vo sabab yaad aayaa-kaleem aajiz

For word meanings and explanatory discussion in English click on the tabs marked “Roman” or “Notes”.

شاعری کا وہ سبب یاد آیا ۔ کلیم احمد کلیم عاجزؔ

۱

موسمِ گُل ہمیں جب یاد آیا

جتنا غم بھولے تھے سب یاد آیا

۲

اُن سے ملنا ہمیں جب یاد آیا

شعر یاد آئے ادب یاد آیا

۳

دل بھی ہوتا ہے لہو، یاد نہ تھا

جب لہو ہو گیا تب یاد آیا

۴

دشمنی ایسی نہ کرتا دُشمن

وہ مرا دوست تھا اب یاد آیا

۵

دیکھیں یاد آئے سحر تک کیا کیا

آج وہ اوّلِ شب یاد آیا

۶

اُس کا منظورِ نظر تھا کم بخت

دل بھی یاد آیا وہ جب یاد آیا

۷

نہ گریباں ہے نہ دامن ہے نہ جیب

ہائے پھولوں کو میں کب یاد آیا

۸

تم نہ تھے یاد تو کچھ یاد نہ تھا

تم جو یاد آئے تو سب یاد آیا

۹

جب بھی ہم بیٹھے غزل کہنے کو

شاعری کا وہ سبب یاد آیا

۱۰

جس کی یاد آنا غضب ہے عاجزؔ

پھر وہی ہائے غضب یاد آیا

शा’एरी का वो सबब याद आया – कलीम अहमद कलीम आजिज़

मोसम-ए गुल हमें जब याद आया

जितना ग़म भूले थे सब याद आया

उन से मिलना हमें जब याद आया

शे’र याद आए अदब याद आया

दिल भी होता है लहू याद न था

जब लहू हो गया तब याद आया

दुश्मनी ऐसी न करता दुश्मन

वो मेरा दोस्त था अब याद आया

देखें याद आए सहर तक क्या क्या

आज वो अव्वल-ए शब याद आया

उस का मंज़ूर-ए नज़र था कमबख़्त

दिल भी याद आया वो जब याद आया

न गरेबां है, न दामन है, न जेब

हाए फूलौं को मैं कब याद अया

तुम न थे याद तो कुछ याद न था

तुम जो याद आए तो सब याद आया

जब भी हम बैठे ग़ज़ल कहने को

शा’एरी का वो सबब याद आया

१०

जिस की याद आना ग़ज़ब है आजिज़

फिर वही हाए ग़ज़ब याद आया

 

Click here for background and on any passage for word meanings and explanatory discussion. kaleem ahmed aajiz (1924-2015) writer, poet, academician, recipient of padma shri, taught urdu at paTna university. He has written powerfully and with much feeling about communal harmony in India as well as other political themes. He considers himself a successor of mir taqi mir, composing his style. Here he pays tribute to Ghalib by composing in the zamin of Ghalib’s deeda-e tar yaad aaya.
1
mausam-e-gul1 hameN jab yaad aaya
jitna Gham bhoole the sub yaad aaya   
1.season of flowering i.e. spring
Spring is the traditional season of falling in love/romance. Thus, whenever I remembered spring, all the sorrowful memories that I had forgotten came flooding back.

2
un se milna hameN jab yaad aaya
she’r yaad aaye adab1 yaad aaya   
1.literature, culture, manners
Whenever I recalled meeting the beloved, I recalled ash’aar and all the fine literature that I had read/written. But adab can also mean high culture, manners, consideration for others. It is this consideration that the beloved may be lacking and the poet/lover remembers her because of it.

3
dil bhi hota hai lahu yaad na tha
jab lahu ho gaya tab yaad aaya  
1.blood
I had forgotten that even the heart can get cut and bleed. I remembered it too late, only after it had been cut and was bleeding i.e. after I fell into hopeless love with no chance of reciprocity.

4
dushmani aisi na karta dushman
vo mera dost tha ab yaad aaya   
There is an implication and friends betray and inflict even more pain than a known rival/enemy. Thus, even rivals don’t inflict so much pain. Only when he did, did I remember that he was a friend.

5
dekheN yaad aaye sahar tak kya kya
aaj vo avval-e-shab yaad aaya   
1.dawn 2.early in the evening
It is still early in the evening and poet/lover recalls the beloved. He has the whole night before him and is afraid what he will remember and suffer pain until dawn.

6
us ka manzoor-e-nazar1 tha kambaKht2
dil bhi yaad aaya vo jab yaad aaya  
1.acceptable/desirable to look at, favoured 2.used in the sense of ‘may he meet bad fortune’
It appears that the beloved favours the rival. If the ‘vo’ in the second misra is interpreted to be the rival, then whenever I remembered him, I experienced the pain that was in my heart. On the other hand, if the ‘vo’ is taken to mean the beloved, then, I remembered her, I remembered that she favoured him, which caused a great pain in my heart, which reminded me of my heart.

7
na garebaaN1 hai, na daaman2 hai, na jeb3
haaye phooloN ko maiN kab yaad aaya   
1.collar 2.hem of the robe 3.shirt front
Traditionally, when the lover is distraught, he goes around like majnuN with his clothes torn into shreds. Alas, this is too late for flowers to remember me and my fate! Soon after flowers bloom, they lose their petals which is akin to losing the collar, the robe and the shirt front. If they had remembered it in time, then they would not have bloomed.

8
tum na the yaad to kuchh yaad na tha
tum jo yaad aaye to sub yaad aaya  
The ‘kuchh’ and the ‘sub’ are all memories of past cruelties that the beloved had inflicted on the poet/lover. As long as she was not on his mind, he did not remember any of that. But as soon as he thought of her all the memories of pain flooded back.

9
jab bhi hum baiThe Ghazal kahne ko
shaa’eri ka vo sabab1 yaad aaya  
1.basis, reason
One of the collections of Ghazal of kaleem aajiz is entitled ‘vo jo shaa’eri ka sabab hua’. In this case the ‘sabab’, reason for his shaa’eri is the beloved. Thus, whenever I sit down to compose Ghazal, I remember that reason I started composing i.e. I remember the beloved.

10
jis ki yaad aana Ghazab1 hai aajiz
phir vahi haaye Ghazab yaad aaya   
1.calamity, great pain
Memories of the beloved are very painful, like a major calamity, because she never reciprocates. Also, ‘haaye Ghazab’ is an expression equivalent of ‘what a misfortune’. Thus, it is unfortunate that I end up recalling that which causes calamitous pain.

kaleem ahmed aajiz (1924-2015) writer, poet, academician, recipient of padma shri, taught urdu at paTna university.  He has written powerfully and with much feeling about communal harmony in India as well as other political themes.  He considers himself a successor of mir taqi mir, composing his style.  Here he pays tribute to Ghalib by composing in the zamin of Ghalib’s deeda-e tar yaad aaya.
1
mausam-e-gul1 hameN jab yaad aaya
jitna Gham bhoole the sub yaad aaya

1.season of flowering i.e. spring

Spring is the traditional season of falling in love/romance.  Thus, whenever I remembered spring, all the sorrowful memories that I had forgotten came flooding back.
2
un se milna hameN jab yaad aaya
she’r yaad aaye adab1 yaad aaya

1.literature, culture, manners

Whenever I recalled meeting the beloved, I recalled ash’aar and all the fine literature that I had read/written.  But adab can also mean high culture, manners, consideration for others.  It is this consideration that the beloved may be lacking and the poet/lover remembers her because of it.
3
dil bhi hota hai lahu yaad na tha
jab lahu ho gaya tab yaad aaya

1.blood

I had forgotten that even the heart can get cut and bleed.  I remembered it too late, only after it had been cut and was bleeding i.e. after I fell into hopeless love with no chance of reciprocity.
4
dushmani aisi na karta dushman
vo mera dost tha ab yaad aaya

There is an implication and friends betray and inflict even more pain than a known rival/enemy.  Thus, even rivals don’t inflict so much pain.  Only when he did, did I remember that he was a friend.
5
dekheN yaad aaye sahar tak kya kya
aaj vo avval-e-shab yaad aaya

1.dawn 2.early in the evening

It is still early in the evening and poet/lover recalls the beloved.  He has the whole night before him and is afraid what he will remember and suffer pain until dawn.
6
us ka manzoor-e-nazar1 tha kambaKht2
dil bhi yaad aaya vo jab yaad aaya

1.acceptable/desirable to look at, favoured 2.used in the sense of ‘may he meet bad fortune’

It appears that the beloved favours the rival.  If the ‘vo’ in the second misra is interpreted to be the rival, then whenever I remembered him, I experienced the pain that was in my heart.  On the other hand, if the ‘vo’ is taken to mean the beloved, then, I remembered her, I remembered that she favoured him, which caused a great pain in my heart, which reminded me of my heart.
7
na garebaaN1 hai, na daaman2 hai, na jeb3
haaye phooloN ko maiN kab yaad aaya

1.collar 2.hem of the robe 3.shirt front

Traditionally, when the lover is distraught, he goes around like majnuN with his clothes torn into shreds.  Alas, this is too late for flowers to remember me and my fate!  Soon after flowers bloom, they lose their petals which is akin to losing the collar, the robe and the shirt front.  If they had remembered it in time, then they would not have bloomed.
8
tum na the yaad to kuchh yaad na tha
tum jo yaad aaye to sub yaad aaya

The ‘kuchh’ and the ‘sub’ are all memories of past cruelties that the beloved had inflicted on the poet/lover.  As long as she was not on his mind, he did not remember any of that.  But as soon as he thought of her all the memories of pain flooded back.
9
jab bhi hum baiThe Ghazal kahne ko
shaa’eri ka vo sabab1 yaad aaya

1.basis, reason

One of the collections of Ghazal of kaleem aajiz is entitled ‘vo jo shaa’eri ka sabab hua’.  In this case the ‘sabab’, reason for his shaa’eri is the beloved.  Thus, whenever I sit down to compose Ghazal, I remember that reason I started composing i.e. I remember the beloved.
10
jis ki yaad aana Ghazab1 hai aajiz
phir vahi haaye Ghazab yaad aaya

1.calamity, great pain

Memories of the beloved are very painful, like a major calamity, because she never reciprocates.  Also, ‘haaye Ghazab’ is an expression equivalent of ‘what a misfortune’.  Thus, it is unfortunate that I end up recalling that which causes calamitous pain.