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The fourth 'nazaraanaa' by Meer. Once again, the English interpretations are based on the 
translations by K.C.Kanda in his book on Meer Taqi Meer.


ab jo ik hasrat-e-javaanii hai
umr-e-raftaa kii ye nishaanii hai

(This yearning for youth that I now have
is but a relic/sign of my past life/bygone time)

Khaak thii maujazan jahaa.N me.n, aur
ham ko dhokaa ye thaa ke paanii hai

(The world raised waves of dust/ashes
and I took it to be a ocean)

giriyaa har vaqt kaa nahii.n behech
dil me.n ko_ii Gam-e-nihaanii hai

(My weeping is not without reason
there must be some grief hidden in my heart)

ham qafas zaad qaidii hai.n varanaa
taa chaman parafashaanii hai

(We are prisoners who are fond of our cages
For the garden is but a wing's beat away)

yaa.N huye 'Meer' ham baraabar-e-Khaak
vaa.N vahii naaz-o-sargiraanii hai

(Here, Meer, we lower ourselves to the very dust
There, pride still reigns supreme)

Note: what would be a proper translation of 'naaz'?


A qataah by Meer:

yaa rab! koii ho ishq kaa biimaar, na hove!
mar jaaye vale, us ko ye aazaar na hove!
zi.ndaa.N me.n pha.Nse, tauq pare, qaid me.n mar jaaye
par daam-e-muhabbat me.n giraftaar na hove!

O Lord! May none fall prey to the illness that is love
Let him die, but not get this plague of the heart
Let him be caged, hanged, may he die in prison
But let him not be caught in the noose of love!


A very telling portrait of someone in love. Perhaps Meer's own failure in love and his 
subsequent period of madness where he fell in love with an apparition, and which 
had a serious effect on his poetry and life, are the cornerstone of his often biased 
attitude towards love. Very rarely does one come across love and happiness combined
in Meer's work.

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