Written by -Bahadur Shah Zafar-Sung exceptionally sweet in Raag Pahadi by Mehdi hasan

Baat karni mujhe mushkil kabhi aisi to na thi
Jaise Ab hai teri Mehfil, Kabhi Aisi To Na Thi.
le gayaa chheen ke kaun aaj teraa sabr-o-qaraar?
beqaraari tujhe, ae dil! kabhi aisi to na thi

un ki aaNkhoN ne, KHudaa jaane, kiyaa kyaa jaadoo
yeh tabeeyat meri maa'il kabhi aisi to na thi

Chashme saqui meri dushman thii hameshaa lekin

Jaisi ab ho gayi quateel, kabhi vaisi toh na thi…

kyaa sabab tu jo bigaD.taa hai 'zafar' se har baar?
KHoo teri hoor-e-shimaa'il kabhi aisi to na thi

Meaning
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Conversing was never a big deal as it is now,

your gathering was never [so lively] as it is now

Who has snatched away your peace and patience,

O my heart, you were never so restless ever before…

God alone knows what magic her eyes have wrought

I had never felt thus inclined ever before…

The eyes of the lovely wine-server had always been deadly,

But the deadliness they have now was never like this ever before…

What makes you upset with 'Zafar' all the time

Hey you exalted houri, you never had this habit ever before…

Translation courtesy by Max babi

kabhii nekii bhii us ke jii me;N gar aa jaa))e hai mujh se
jafaa))e;N kar ke apnii yaad sharmaa jaa))e hai mujh se

if sometime even/also goodness/benevolence comes into her mind/temperament toward me
having remembered her own cruelties/oppressions, she is ashamed before me

;xudaa yaa ja;zbah-e dil kii magar taa;siir ul;Tii hai
kih jitnaa khai;Nchtaa huu;N aur khi;Nchtaa jaa))e hai mujh se

oh Lord, perhaps/but the effect of the passion/attraction of the heart is reversed
for, as much as I pull/draw/attract, she goes on being [by that much] more pulled/drawn away from me

sa;Nbhalne de mujhe ay naa-umiidii kyaa qiyaamat hai
kih daamaan-e ;xiyaal-e yaar chhuu;Taa jaa))e hai mujh se

let me get hold of myself, oh Hopelessness-- what a disaster/Doomsday it is!
let me get hold of myself, oh Hopelessness-- do you think it's Doomsday?!
let me get hold of myself, oh Hopelessness-- is it Doomsday?

that the garment-hem of the thought of the beloved is released by me


qiyaamat hai kih hove mudda((ii kaa ham-safar ;Gaalib
vuh kaafir jo ;xuda ko bhii nah sau;Npaa jaa))e hai mujh se

it's a disaster/Doomsday, that she would be the fellow-traveler of a conniver/pretender, Ghalib--) that infidel whom I can't confide even to the Lord

ham rashk ko apne bhii gavaaraa nahii;N karte
marte hai;N vale un kii tamannaa nahii;N karte

we don't approve of envy/jealousy, not even our own
we die, but we don't {long for her / 'do her longing'}

dar pardah unhe;N ;Gair se hai rab:t-e nihaanii
:zaahir kaa yih pardah hai kih pardaa nahii;N karte
{secretly / 'behind the curtain/veil'} she has a hidden connection with the Other

outwardly, there's this concealment/veil: that she doesn't do pardah/veiling [from him]
outwardly, there's this concealment/veil: that 'we don't hide/veil [things]'

yih baa((i;s-e naumiidii-e arbaab-e havas hai
;Gaalib ko buraa kahte ho achchhaa nahii;N karte

this is a cause of despair to the possessors of desire/lust
you {abuse / speak badly of} Ghalib-- you don't do well

baaziichah-e a:tfaal hai dunyaa mire aage
hotaa hai shab-o-roz tamaashaa mire aage

the world is a toy for children, before me

night-and-day is [habitually] a spectacle, before me
night and day, a spectacle is [habitually] before me

hotaa hai nihaa;N gard me;N .sa;hraa mire hote
ghistaa hai jabii;N ;xaak pih daryaa mire aage

the desert/wilderness is [habitually] hidden in the dust in my presence
the sea rubs its forehead on the dust/earth, before me

mat puuchh kih kyaa ;haal hai meraa tire piichhe
tuu dekh kih kyaa rang hai teraa mire aage

don't ask what state/condition is mine, behind you
you look at what mood/aspect/'color' is yours, before me


iimaa;N mujhe roke hai jo khai;Nche hai mujhe kufr
ka((bah mire piichhe hai kaliisaa mire aage

faith stops me, as infidelity draws me on
the Ka'bah is behind me; the church, before me


go haath ko junbish nahii;N aa;Nkho;N me;N to dam hai
rahne do abhii saa;Gar-o-miinaa mire aage
although the hand has no movement, the eyes have life/breath
now/still, let the wineglass and flagon remain before me

koi yeh kaise bataye ki woh tanha kyon hain
woh jo apna tha wohi aur kisi ka kyon hain
yehi duniya tho phir aisi yeh duniya kyon hain
yehi hota hain tho aakhir yehi hota kyon hain

ek zara haath bada de tho pakad le daaman
uske seene main sama jaye hamari dhadkan
itni kurbat hain tho phir faasla itna kyon hain

dil-e-barbaad se nikla nehi ab tak kyon
ek lutey ghar pe diya karta hain dastak koi
aas jo toot gayi phir se bandhata kyon hain

tum massarat ka kaho ya ise gham ka rishta
kehte hain pyar ka rishta hain janam ka rishta
hain janam ka jo yeh rishta tho badalta kyon hain..

Meaning

How Does one explain why he is so lonely?
Why is the one who was mine,not mine only?
If this is how the world is ,then why is it so?
If this is what happens,why does it happen so?

Call it is a bond of joy or that of sorrow
They say that the bond of love is eternal
If that is so ,why does it change so often?

If you stretch out a hand,i ll reach out and hold you
Place my heart beat forever in your heart
If there is so much closeness between us,why does we stand so far apart?

No one has ever escaped the heart's desolation
When someone knocks on a ravaged house
Why does it resurrect a hope that has broken?

written by kafi azmi,sung by jagjit singh