Couplets › The Falcon
From Bang-e-Dara · originally composed in Urdu
- ki na tu
na teri ne ke
na teri ne ke
“A pity, a hundred pities, that you never became a falcon; your eye never read the signs that nature held out.”
Romanहिन्दीاردو
कि शाहीं न तू
देखे न तिरी ने के
देखे न तिरी ने के
The couplet in Devanagari — it carries the authenticity of the original, and every Hindi reader can read it.
افسوس صد افسوس کہ شاہیں نہ بنا تو
دیکھے نہ تری آنکھ نے فطرت کے اشارات!
دیکھے نہ تری آنکھ نے فطرت کے اشارات!
The couplet as Iqbal wrote it, in Urdu (Nastaliq).
♪ Hear the coupletA recitation in a synthesized voice.
The Interpretation
The falcon is Iqbal's emblem of the self that lives alert, free and high. Here he mourns the missed life: the one who stayed earthbound and never developed the vision to read what nature was offering. The regret is not about fate but about a capacity left uncultivated.
For You, Today
The signs that point toward your fuller self are usually already in front of you. Train yourself to notice them, so you are not left one day mourning the falcon you could have become.
In the same spirit
Sitaron se aage jahan aur bhi hain
Abhi ishq ke imtihan aur bhi hain
Abhi ishq ke imtihan aur bhi hain
Beyond the stars there are worlds yet — there are still more trials of love to come.
Aspiration · Love · Restlessness
Nahin tera nasheman qasr-e-sultani ke gumbad par
Tu shaheen hai, basera kar paharon ki chattanon mein
Tu shaheen hai, basera kar paharon ki chattanon mein
Your nest is not on the dome of a royal palace. You are a falcon — make your dwelling on the rocks of the mountains.
The Falcon · Freedom · Courage
Mohabbat mujhe un jawanon se hai
Sitaron pe jo dalte hain kamand
Sitaron pe jo dalte hain kamand
My love is for those young ones who cast their lasso upon the stars.
Youth · Aspiration