PostPoems Be Artistic. Be Creative. Be Inspired!

*Kaaba: The holy cubicle hall of prayer built by Prophet Abraham and his son Prophet Ismail (Peace be upon them) in the holy city of Makkah, Saudi Arabia.
*Laila and Majnoo: Lovers who died for love's sake in ancient Arabia.

I was inspired to translate this beautiful ghazal of the famous Urdu poet, Mirza Asadullah Khan Ghalib.
Posted in 2002. Modified on April 21, 2010.

This is a translation of  one of Mirza Asadullah Khan Ghalib's famous ghazals. Ghalib lived from 1797 to 1869 and is regarded as the greatest Urdu poet of his time.

Parveen Shakir is probably the best known woman poet of Pakistan. She was my batch-mate when I was a probationary officer completing training at the Civil Services Academy, at Walton in Lahore, Pakistan. Parveen's poetry is a blend of feminine idealism and realism. Parveen always longed for true love...she died in a road accident in 1997.

Meer Taqi Meer lived before Mirza Ghalib. He is also an acknowledged Urdu poet of ghazals.

*LUCY GRAY: A character in the LUCY poems by William Wordsworth.
*ANNABEL LEE: A character in Edgar Allan Poe's poem.
Written in early 1981.

*SAEEN in this poem means saint/mystical teacher/respected mentor.
*HALLAJ: Mansoor Al Hallaj, the mystic who was executed for saying "I am Truth" in a state of divine rapture. He was revered by many mystics of Baghdad in Iraq, Egypt, Yemen, Arabia and some hold him in high esteem all over the world even to this day.
Inspired by a Sufi ghazal sung by Pakistani ghazal singer, the late Masood Malik.

Translation of a ghazal by a popular modern Pakistani Urdu poet.

This poem was inspired by a famous ghazal written by Pakistan's Faiz Ahmed Faiz. Included in it are my own thoughts as well.

Mirza Ghalib (1797-1869) is the greatest Urdu poet. Here I have translated a very popular ghazal (Ghazal means conversing with a beautiful woman or one's beloved and it also means praising one's beloved in different verses using diverse imagery and connotations but maintaining the main theme throughout and keeping it intact.)
August 18, 2002.