Ghazals: Love, Beauty and Poetry

By Sonali Senapati | February 2024

Ghazals are types of poems, originally from Arabic poetic tradition. They’re usually about love, sadness or spirituality. These beautiful poems are often turned into songs, usually written in 5–15 couplets. Many ghazals have been performed in South Asian movies and shows.

Here are three of my favorite ghazals with accompanying translations:

“Tonight, don’t insist on leaving”

Tonight, don’t insist on leaving.

Keep on sitting close to me like you are.

Tonight, don’t insist on leaving.

Oh I will die, I will be lost,

Don’t say such things.

Tonight, don’t insist on leaving.

Just think, why should I not stop you.

My life leaves my body when you go,

I swear to you, my beloved

Just agree to this request of mine

Tonight, don’t insist on leaving.

Life is trapped in the prison of time

But these are a few moments that are free

By losing them, my beloved

Let’s not have a life of regret

Tonight, don’t insist on leaving

Oh I will die, I will be lost,

Don’t say such things.

Tonight, don’t insist on leaving.

What an innocent, colorful weather it is.

It is the peak of beauty and love today.

Who knows what will happen tomorrow,

Let’s stop this night, tonight,

Tonight, don’t insist on leaving

“Aaj jaane ki zid na karo”

Aaj jaane ki zid na karo

Yoon hi pehloo mein baithe raho

Aaj jaane ki zid na karo

Haay mar jaayenge, hum to lut jaayenge

Aisi baatein kiya na karo

Aaj jaane ki zid na karo

Tum hi socho zara, kyun na rokein tumhein

Jaan jaati hai jab uth ke jaate ho tum

Tumko apni kasam jaan-e-jaan

Baat itni meri maan lo

Aaj jaane ki zid na karo

Waqt ki qaid mein zindagi hai magar

Chand ghadiyaan yehi hain jo aazaad hain

Inko kho kar mere jaan-e-jaan

Umr bhar na taraste raho

Aaj jaane ki zid na karo

Haaye mar jaayenge, hum to lut jaayenge

Aisi baatein kiya na karo

Aaj jaane ki zid na karo

Kitna maasoom rangeen hai ye samaa

Husn aur ishq ki aaj meraaj hai

Kal ki kisko khabar jaan-e-jaan

Rok lo aaj ki raat ko

Aaj jaane ki zid na karo

“Aaj jaane ki zid na karo,” written by Pakistani poet Fayyaz Hashmi in 1993, is one of my favorite ghazals and love songs. It was composed by Pakistani composer Sohail Rana and first sung by Habib Wali Mohammad and later Farida Khanum, both Pakistani singers as well. My favorite version of the song is the one sung by Arijit Singh. The song talks of not wanting to leave someone and holding on to each moment you share with them because you do not want the precious moments to end.

“Your eyes that are looking down”

Are the eyes that are looking down restless?

Even if it’s suppressed, do you have love for me in your heart?

Your eyes that are looking down

Count the young heartbeats of your heart

And say is your heart also restless like mine

Even if it’s suppressed, do you have love for me in your heart?

Your eyes that are looking down

The one moment in which love becomes young

Are you waiting for that one moment or not

Even if it’s suppressed, do you have love for me in your heart?

Your eyes that are looking down

I’m rejecting the world on the basis of your hope

Do you have faith in yourself or not

Even if it’s suppressed, do you have love for me in your heart?

Your eyes that are looking down

“Jhuki jhuki si nazar”

Jhuki jhuki si nazar beqaraar hai ki nahi

Daba daba sa sahi dil mein pyar hai ki

nahi

Jhuki jhuki si nazar

Tu apne dil ki jawan dhadkano ko ginke bata

Meri tarah tera dil beqaraar hai ki nahi

Daba daba sa sahi dil mein pyar hai ki

nahi

Jhuki jhuki si nazar

Woh pal ke jis mein mohabbat jawan hoti hai

Us ek pal ka tujhe intezaar hai ke nahi

Daba daba sa sahi dil mein pyar hai ki

nahi

Jhuki jhuki si nazar

Teri umeed pe thukra raha hoon duniya

Tujhe bhi apne pe yeh aitbaar hai ki nahi

Daba daba sa sahi dil mein pyaar hai ki

nahi

Jhuki jhuki si nazar

“Jhuki jhuki si nazar” is another one of my favorite ghazals, from the 1982 Bollywood movie Arth. It was written by Kaifi Azmi and sung by Jagjit Singh. The movie is about a wife finding out about her husband’s affair and her journey to find her identity outside of the marriage she had wanted so badly. The song is sung through the perspective of a friend of hers, who’s fallen in love with her, when he’s trying to cheer her up and trying to understand their emotions toward each other.

Whenever life ushers me into your company

This earth seems better to me than the moon itself

The aroma of red roses bloom the paths of love

Your voice calls out for me during the day

This earth seems better to me than the moon itself

Sometimes as a knock or as a whisper

Your memories wake me up every late night

This earth seems better to me than the moon itself

Why does any meeting end with separation

Now this question bothers me all the time

This earth seems better to me than the moon itself

Whenever life ushers me into your company

“Zindagi jab bhi teri bazm mein laati hain humein”

Zindagi jab bhi teri bazm mein laati hain humein

Yeh zameen chand se behtar nazar aati hain humein

Surkh phoolon se mehak uthti hain dil ki raahein

Din dhale yun teri awaaz bulati hain humein

Yeh zameen chand se behtar nazar aati hain humein

Yaad teri kabhi dastak kabhi sargoshi se

Raat ke pichle pehar roz jagati hai humein

Yeh zameen chand se behtar nazar aati hain humein

Har mulaqat ka anjam judaai kyu hai

Ab to har waqt yahi baat satati hain humein

Yeh zameen chand se behtar nazar aati hain humein

Zindagi jab bhi teri bazm mein laati hain humein

“Zindagi jab bhi” is another beautiful ghazal from the 1981 film Umrao Jaan. It was written by Shahryar and sung by Talat Aziz. This movie is one of my favorites and has several other famous ghazals. It is about a woman who gets kidnapped and is sold to a brothel for courtesans in Lucknow. She learns about poetry, finds love, and some level of fulfillment in her life. “Zindagi jab bhi” is about the man she loves singing to her.