ALLAMA IQBAL'S " DIALOGUE WITH THE INHABITANTS OF THE OTHER WORLD"

mehr e raushan chchup gaya, uththa naqaab e ru e shaam
shana e hasti pe hai bikhra hua gesu e shaam
mehr e raushan=bright sun, naqaab e ru e shaam=the veil over the face of the evening
shaana e hasti=the shoulder of existence, gesu e shaam=the hair of the evening

yeh siya poshi ki tayyari kisi ke gham mein hai
mehfil e qudrat magar khursheed ke maatam mein hai
siya poshi=dark dress, weeds, khursheed=sun, nature mourns the fall of the sun

kar raha hai aasman jadoo lab e guftaar par
sahir e shab ki nazar hai deedah e bedaar par

ghota zan darya e khamoshi mien hai mauj e hawa
haan magar ek door se aati hai aawaz e dara
ghota zan=diver, the air dives into the sea of silence, one can only hear a distant bell (of the cattle?)

dil ke hai be taabi e ulfat mein duniya se nafoor
khench laya hai mujhe hangama e aalam se door

manzar e hirmaan naseebi ka tamashai hoon main
ham nasheen e khaftgaan e kunj e tanhai hoon main
manzar e hirmaan naseebi= the sight of someone's disappointment or loss
i am a companion of the one's who have been locked into silence.

tham zara be taabi e dil baith jaane de mujhe
aur is basti pe chaar aansoo girane de mujhe

ai mae ghaflat ke sarmaston kahan rehte ho tum
kuchch kaho us des ki aakhir jahan rehte ho tum

woh bhi hairat khaana e imroz o farda hai koi?
aur paikaar e anasir ka tamaasha hai koi?

aadmi wan bhi hisaar e gham mein hain mehsoor kya?
us wilayat mein bhi hai insaan ka dil majboor kya?

waan bhi jal marta hai soz e shama par parwana kya?
us chaman mien bhi gul o bulbul ka hai afsaana kya?

yaan to ik misre pe pehloo se nikal jaata hai dil
sher ki garmi se kya waan bhi pighal jaata hai dil?

rishta o paiwand yaan ke jaan ke aazaar hain
us gulistaan mien bhi kya aise nukeele khaar hain?

is jahaan mien ik maeeshat aur sau uftaad hain
rooh kya us des mien is fikr se aazaad hai?

kya wahaan bijli bhi hai, dehqaan bhi hai, khirman bhi hai
qafile wale bhi hain, andesha e rahzan bhi hai?

tinke chunte hain wahan kya aashiyan ke waaste?
khisht o gil ki fikr hoti hai makaan ke waaste?

waan bhi insaan apni asliyat se begaane hain kya?
imtiyaaz e millat o aayin ke deewane hain kya?

waan bhi kya faryaad e bulbul par chaman rota nahin?
is jahan ki tarha waan bhi dard e dil hota nahin?

baagh hai firdaus ya ek manzil e aaram hai?
ya rukh e be parda e husn e azal ka naam hai?

kya jahannum ma'asiyat sozi ki ik tarkeeb hai?
aag ke sholon mien pinhaan maqsad e taadeeb hai

kya ewaz raftaar ke is des mein parwaaz hai?
maut kehte hain jise ehl e zameen, kya raaz hai?

iztiraab e dil ka saamaan yaan ka hast o bood hai
ilm e insaan is wilayat mein bhi kya mehdood hai?

deed se taskeen pata hai dil e mehjoor bhi?
lan tarani keh rahe hain ya, wahan ke toor bhi?

justujoo mein hai wahaan bhi rooh ko aaram kya?
waan bhi insaan hai qateel e zauq e istehnaam kya?

aah woh kishwar bhi taareeki ki kya ma'amoor hai?
ya muhabbat ke tajalli se, saraapa noor hai?

tum bata do raaz jo is gumbad e gardaan mien hai
maut ek chubhta hua kaanta dil e insaan mein hai
gumbad e gardaan= grave, mound of earth

some couplets and a discussion!

Many of us would have heard the name of Abdur Raheem khane khana and also of his timeless dohas that were born out of a close observation of the human mind and human relationships. Some of the poets of the bhakti period, associated more with the oral tradition than the written one, have been seen as more than human by the indian mind that somehow seems to be too ready to give divine attributes to human genius. Iqbal is probably talking of the subcontinent when he says
"khu gar e paikar e mehsoos thi insaan ki nazar
poojta phir koi an dekhe khuda ko kyun kar?" (khu means habit and paikar means body, khugar e paikar e mehsoos means habituated to tangible bodies)

It is probably because of this tendency that most of us in the twenty first century know the poets like Kabir Das (which is an exact translation of Abdur Raheem) only as Kabir, Kabir or rather Kabeer in Arabic means 'Great' and is an appellation fit only for God. Kabeer Das would then mean the servant of God, which Kabeer Das always claimed to be.

To come out of the digression i would like you to recall the doha by Abdur Raheem

Rahimun dhaaga prem ka, mat todo chatkaye
toote to phir na jude, jude gaanth parh jaye!

i recently found a beautiful couplet in Shuja Khawar's Rashk e Farsi that alludes to and incorporates, adds and multiplies to khane khana's Doha

Badgumani aayi to le jayegi rishte tamaam
dekhna niklegi in sheeshon ki hasti baal bhar!

it gives me immense aesthetic pleasure when i compare the ganth in khane khana to the 'baal' in khawar's couplet. The best thing about Khawar's poetry is that things seem to have been so well blended in his expression that one can hardly know the parts in the whole. It is only in the fireworks of cerebral pleasure that something lights up on the horizon to give way to more meaning. This quality owes a lot to the deep knowledge of oriental and occidental thought.

dekhne walon ko saara hi samundar chahiye
sochne wala samundar soch le ik leher mein!