KHUSRAU, Amir

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He visits my town once a year.

He fills my mouth with kisses and nectar.

I spend all my money on him.

Who, girl, your man?

No, a mango.

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The yellow mustard is blooming in every field,

The yellow mustard is blooming in every field,

Mango buds are clicking open, other flowers too;

The koyal chirps from branch to branch,

And the maiden tries her make-up,

The gardener-girls have brought bouquets.

Colourful flowers of all kinds,

In hands everyone’s bringing;

But Aashiq-rung (the lover), who had promised to come

To Nizamuddin’s house in spring,

Hasn’t turned up - its been years.

The yellow mustard is blooming in every field.


Chaap Tilak

You've taken away my looks, my identity, by just a glance.

By making me drink the wine of love-potion,

You've intoxicated me by just a glance;

My fair, delicate wrists with green bangles in them,

Have been held tightly by you with just a glance.

I give my life to you, Oh my cloth-dyer,

You've dyed me in yourself, by just a glance.

I give my whole life to you Oh, Nijam,

You've made me your bride, by just a glance.

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I have become you, and you me,

I am the body, you soul;

So that no one can say hereafter,

That you are someone, and me someone else.

Persian poem

I am a pagan and a worshiper of love: the ( Muslim ) creed I do not need;

Every vein of mine has become taunt like a wire,

the (Brahman's) girdle I do not need.

Leave from my bedside, you ignorant physician!

The only cure for the patient of love is the sight of his beloved -

other than this no medicine does he need.

If there be no pilot in our boat, let there be none:

We have god in our midst: the sea we do not need.

The people of the world say that Khusrau worships idols.

So he does, so he does; the people he does not need,

the world he does not need.


Dear Father

Why did you part me from yourself, dear father, why?

You've given houses with two stories to my brothers,

And to me, a foreign land? Why dear father, why?

We (daughters) are just cows tied to your peg,

Will move on to where ever you drive us to, dear father.

We are just flower-buds of your garden,

And are asked for, in every household, dear father.

We are just birds from your cage,

Will fly off when its dawn again, dear father.

I've left at home, alcoves full of dolls;

And parted from my buddies too, dear father.

When my palanquin passed beneath the terrace,

My brother fainted and fell, dear father.

As I remove the curtain from the palanquin,

I see we've reached the beloved's house, dear father.

Why did you part me from yourself, dear father, why?


What A Glow Everywhere I See

What a glow everywhere I see, Oh mother, what a glow;

I've found the beloved, yes I found him,

In my courtyard;

I have found my pir Nizamuddin Aulia.

I roamed around the entire world,

looking for an ideal beloved;

And finally this face has enchanted my heart.

The whole world has been opened for me,

Never seen a glow like this before.

Whenever I see now, he is with me,

Oh beloved, please dye me in yourself;

Dye me in the colour of the spring, beloved;

What a glow, Oh, what a glow.


Rains Have Come

Dear Mom, send my dad across; the rainy season has come.

Oh, dear daughter, how can I?

Your dad's too old; the rainy season has come.

Dear Mom, send my brother across; the rainy season has come.

Oh, dear daughter, how can I?

Your brother's too young; the rainy season has come.

Dear Mom, send my uncle across; the rainy season has come.

Oh, dear daughter, how can I?

Your uncle's too dandy; the rainy season has come.