A wonderful, wonderful ghazal by Suroor Barabankvi sung delightfully by Mehnaz Begum and a futile attempt at translation.
Tu *uroos-e-shaam-e-khayal bhi, tu *jamaal-e-ru-e-sahar bhi hai,
Ye zaroor hai, ke *ba i hamah mera *ehtimaam-e-nazar bhi hai
You’re the topic of the evenings of mentation, You’re the soul of the splendor of the morning’s sun,
Nevertheless, I realize that some of it could just be my imagination
Ye mera naseeb hai, humnasheen, sar-e-raah bhi na mile kahin,
Wahi mera *jaada-e-justjoo, wahi unki raah-guzar bhi hai
It was in my fate, that Our paths never crossed,
Even when the road I roam about on is the one which leads to Her home
Tere *qurb ne jo badha diye, kabhi mit sake na wo faasle,
Vahi paanv hein, vahi *aable, vahi apna *zauq-e-safar bhi hai
Your brief nearness to me did increase the distances between us, [i.e. aggravate my longing for Her?] which I could never traverse,
Although my feet's strength, blisters and the taste for wandering never faded
Bahaazar *daanish-o-*aagahi, meri *maslehat hai abhi yahi,
Mein *aseer-e-zulmat-e-shab sahi, meri *dastaras mein sahar bhi hai
I’m not very knowledgeable, but I know this,
Although now I’m suffering in darkness, light is also within my reach
--- Suroor Barabankvi
uroos = bride
jamaal = beauty
ba i hamah = nevertheless
ehtimaam = arrangement
jaada = path
qurb = nearness
aable = fatigue blisters (Thanks for the comment)
zauq = taste
daanish = knowledge
aagahi = awareness
maslehat = understanding
aseer = captive
dastaras = reach
