To Mir: A Mesmerizing Poet

Patta Patta, Buta Buta Haal Hamara Jaane

Patta patta, boota boota, haal hamaaraa jaane hai

Every leaf and every shrub here knows of my state

Jaane na jaane gul hi na jaane, baagh to saaraa jaane hai

It is the flower that is unaware, but all the bower knows

Chaaragari beemari-e-dil ki rasm-e-shahr-e-husn nahin

It is not their way, to heal: these denizens of the city of love

Warna dilbar naadaan bhi is dard ka chaara jaane hai

Yet even the innocent ones know the cure to a sick heart

Patta patta, boota boota, haal hamaaraa jaane hai

Every leaf and every shrub here knows of my state

Mehr-o-wafa-o-lutf-o-inaayat, ek se waaqif in mein nahin

Not one here knows of kindness, loyalty, grace or generosity

Aur to sab kuch tanz-o-kanaya, ramz-o-ishaara jaane hai

Cruelty, sarcasm, mockery and taunts, of these they know

Patta patta, boota boota, haal hamaaraa jaane hai

Every leaf and every shrub here knows of my state

Jaane na jaane gul hi na jaane, baagh to saaraa jaane hai

It is the flower that is unaware, but all the bower knows

Aage us mutkabbar ke ham Khuda Khuda kiya karte hain,

We prostrated before the arrogant one, called him ˜God'

Kab maujud Khuda ko woh maghrur khud-aara jaane hai

In the name of God, what does that insolent one know of Him

Aashiq saa to saada koi aur na hoga duniya mein

There is no one in the world quite as simple as a lover

Ji ke zian ko ishq mein uske apna waara jaane hai

The squandering of his heart he sees as ecstasy

Aashiq to murda hai hamesha ji uthta hai dekhe use

He is but a corpse, the lover, but see! he lives again

Yaar ke aa jaane ko yakaayak umr do baara jaane hai

She has come of a sudden and it is another lease on life

Kya kya fitne sar par uske laata hai maashooq apnaa

What disasters our lover brings down on his own head

Jis bedil betaab-o-tavaan ko ishq ka maaraa jaane hai

That restless, listless soul we had given up as lost

Tashna-e-khun hai, apna kitna 'Mir' bhi naadaan, talkhi-kash

Parched for blood he is, and 'Mir' the simpleton

Damdaar aab-e-tegh ko uske aab-e-gawara jaane hai

Thinks the sharp edge of a blade an elixir

My dad recited the first couplet to me the when I was ten years old. I had a diary called Papa's Diary of Shers, Ghazals, Kavitaas. I loved this couplet. The rhythm, the sentiment. I looked forward to our father-daughter time, when he initiated me into the magic of Urdu and Hindi poetry.

Was a pleasure to finally, 30 years later, read the rest of this ghazal. Got to know Mehndi Hassan has sung it too, and it was in Amitabh Bachchan's movie Ek Nazar.

The first couplet is so poignant. The object of affection is oblivious to the poet's condition, although the whole world knows his state. The hyperbole is delicate.

Mir Taqi Mir lived in 18th century Mughal India and was a prolific Urdu poet. Here's another one of his gems -

Aag si ik dil mein sulge hai kabhu bharki to Mir

Degi meri haddiyon ka dher jun eendhan jala

(A fire smoulders in my heart Mir and should it explode

It shall burn down my rib cage as if a pyre is lit up)

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