Happy New Year

I for one don't really care much for time,

But when the chime is worth a kiss and a rhyme,

Why, could there be anything more sublime?

Happy New Year, m'fellas, in love and crime!

do ghari

do ghari thehar ke tu dekho.

kuch log, kuch taur,

iss naey shehar ke tu dekho.

yahan bhi abaad hain dil;

yahan bhi barbaad hain dil;

pooch kar kisi se pichhle pehar ke tu dekho.

jaan jao ge ishq ki haqeeqat,

pee ke do qatre iss zehar ke tu dekho.

niyyat-o-amal nahi,

lafzon ka hi khel hai yeh sara;

likh kar ik ghazal

naam us be-mehar ke tu dekho.

The Rule of Three

To turn or not to turn, that is the problem.

To worry or not to worry, that is the question.

And Jangloos is the joke.

Yad'daasht

Tum mile na kuch ruswai hoi,

Haq mila na Haq-shanasai hoi.

Wahin bethay hain aaj bhi la-chaar,

Jahan barsoN pehle judai hoi.

Kuch Gulzaar si lagti hai,

Yeh aag kis ki hai lagai hoi?

4a.m.

Teri kham'shi ki paalki uthaey,

lafz hain dasht-e-tareeki mein gaamzan.

Chaley jatey hain ik ajab izt'raar mein,

garche rahbar hai koi na rahzan.

Ma'ni murjha chukey hain lekin,

khushboo hai chaar-su maujzan.

Punjabi II

'N' is nasal n, noon-ghunna.

teray naN te Mirza qasmaN khawe,
par tenoN reham rawa koi na;
meri taang da badlaN tu puchh mahiya,
meray hanjuaN da hur gawa koi na.

My Dear

I can see you there, my dear, without any encumbrance;

Without any prediction, without any remembrance.

You don’t need to pinch, or utter a sigh,

Because I am filled with you,

As in my knowledge, as in my ignorance.

Couplet - now a ghazal, if it is a ghazal

Duniya se bichhar ke hum
Ab alfaaz se jhagarte hain.

Shehar gardi karein raat bhar
Par teri gali se darte hain.

Afsaanon se dil ghabrata hai
So khabron se behalte hain

Hazaar giley hain zindagi se
Par tera ghum pe jeetay hain

Tujhey haarney ke baad
Sirf jeetne se darte hain

Nostalgia - II

Haey O meria sohnia rabba!

Bara zulm cha kamaya hi

Menon ji-onda chhad ditta

Te jindari nuN maar mukaya hi!

Inspiration

Shauq tu shayad ho paida, par majboori-e-mohabbat ka maza

Kahan un kahanion mein jo qasid rozana bhejta hai!

Mohabbat mein hum kuch yun mubtala hain Mirza

Ke woh na bulain humein, tu zamana bhejta hai.