Couplets › Unity
From Bang-e-Dara, 1924 — 'Tarana-e-Hindi' · originally composed in Urdu
Ai wo hai tujh ko
tere jab hamara
tere jab hamara
“O waters of the river Ganga, do you remember those days — when our caravan first halted upon your banks?”
ऐ वो है तुझ को
उतरा तेरे किनारे जब हमारा
उतरा तेरे किनारे जब हमारा
The couplet in Devanagari — it carries the authenticity of the original, and every Hindi reader can read it.
اے آب رود گنگا وہ دن ہے یاد تجھ کو
اترا ترے کنارے جب کارواں ہمارا
اترا ترے کنارے جب کارواں ہمارا
The couplet as Iqbal wrote it, in Urdu (Nastaliq).
♪ 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
Zindagi ho meri parwane ki surat ya-rab
Ilm ki shama se ho mujh ko mohabbat ya-rab
Ilm ki shama se ho mujh ko mohabbat ya-rab
Let my life be like the moth's, O Lord; let me love the lamp of knowledge.
Love · Aspiration · Youth
Ho mera kaam ghareebon ki himayat karna
Dard-mandon se zaeefon se mohabbat karna
Dard-mandon se zaeefon se mohabbat karna
Let my work be to defend the poor — to love the suffering and the weak.
Justice · Humility · Love