Couplets › Unity
From Bang-e-Dara, 1924 — 'Tarana-e-Hindi' · originally composed in Urdu
Ai aab-e-rud-e-Ganga wo din hai yaad tujh ko
Utra tere kinare jab karwan hamara
Utra tere kinare jab karwan hamara
“O waters of the river Ganga, do you remember those days — when our caravan first halted upon your banks?”
ऐ आब-ए-रूद-ए-गंगा वो दिन है याद तुझ को
उतरा तेरे किनारे जब कारवाँ हमारा
उतरा तेरे किनारे जब कारवाँ हमारा
The couplet in Devanagari — it carries the authenticity of the original, and every Hindi reader can read it.
♪ Hear the coupletA recitation in a synthesized voice.
The Interpretation
From Tarana-e-Hindi, this verse speaks to the Ganga itself as a witness of belonging. The river is older than every quarrel; it remembers the caravan's arrival and has held all who came since. Land and water carry a memory of common home that outlasts division.
For You, Today
Beneath today's arguments about who belongs lies a much longer, quieter record — of shared rivers, shared ground, shared arrival. Iqbal asks us to remember the witness that predates the dispute.
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
Mazhab nahin sikhata aapas mein bair rakhna
Hindi hain hum, watan hai Hindostan hamara
Hindi hain hum, watan hai Hindostan hamara
Religion does not teach us to hold enmity among ourselves. We are of Hind, and Hindustan is our homeland.
Unity · Love
Dayar-e-ishq mein apna maqam paida kar
Naya zamana, naye subh-o-sham paida kar
Naya zamana, naye subh-o-sham paida kar
In the realm of love, create your own standing — bring a new age into being, new mornings and new evenings of your own.
Aspiration · Action · Love