A Ghazal

[Ghazal (literal meaning = 'to talk to women' or 'to talk passionately), the most popular genre of Urdu poetry, is romantic or mystical in character and somewhat resembles the English sonnet. It, however, differs from the sonnet (which must have continuity of theme) in that it consists of strings of verses that are complete in themselves. It is a set of two liner couplets, which strictly should end with the same rhyme and should be within one of the predefined meters of Ghazals. There has to be minimum of five couplets to form a Ghazal. Couplets may or may not have same thought. It is one of the most difficult forms of Urdu poetry as there are many strict parameters that one needs to abide by while writing Ghazal. This genre was pioneered by  Meer Taqi 'Meer' and popularised by Mirza 'Ghalib' (both from Delhi).  

Following in the Meerian and Ghalibian tradition, I too have experimented a lot with ghazal writing. My ghazals range from the traditional, romantic and passionate ones to more diverse and contemporary ones that encompass a wide array of social (and even political) issues. Starting from the traditional, romantic one, I post here a ghazal of mine which is more like a sonnet (because of the continuity of its theme).]

क़रीब रह के भी, हम फ़ासले मिटा न सके!

वो ख़ुद से आ न सके, हम उन्हें बुला न सके!!

ख़ुदा ही जाने भला ऐसी क्या थी मजबूरी

वो ख़्वाब ही में सही, हम से मिलने आ न सके!

ग़म -ए- फ़िराक़ (grief of separation), ग़म -ए- ज़ीस्त (grief of life), और ग़म -ए- दौराँ (grief of the world at large),

हर एक ग़म को, तबस्सुम (smile) में, हम छुपा न सके!

कुछ इस तरह से हमें वक़्त ने बिखेर दिया

किसी की मांग सितारों से हम सजा न सके!

ये शायरी, ये किताबें, ये दर'स और तदरीस (teaching),

हम इन में खो के भी , एक शख्स (person) को भुला न सके!

वो आज़माते रहे उम्र भर, मुझे 'साहिर'

यक़ीं हम अपनी वफ़ा का, उन्हें दिला न सके!

--- Jawaid 'Saahir''