Couplets › Aspiration
From Bang-e-Dara, 1924 — 'Bachche ki Dua' · originally composed in Urdu
Ho mere dam se yunhi watan ki zeenat
Jis tarah phool se hoti hai chaman ki zeenat
Jis tarah phool se hoti hai chaman ki zeenat
“Let my country be adorned by me, as a garden is adorned by its flowers.”
Romanहिन्दी
हो मेरे दम से यूँ ही वतन की ज़ीनत
जिस तरह फूल से होती है चमन की ज़ीनत
जिस तरह फूल से होती है चमन की ज़ीनत
The couplet in Devanagari — it carries the authenticity of the original, and every Hindi reader can read it.
The Interpretation
The child asks to beautify his homeland the way a flower beautifies a garden — naturally, by being fully what he is. Service here is not sacrifice but flowering: you adorn the whole by blooming in your own place.
For You, Today
You serve the larger thing best by becoming excellent at being yourself, where you are. The flower doesn't strain to help the garden; it simply blooms. Grow well, and the place around you is adorned.
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
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
Lab pe aati hai dua ban ke tamanna meri
Zindagi shama ki surat ho khudaya meri
Zindagi shama ki surat ho khudaya meri
My longing rises to my lips as a prayer: O God, may my life be like a candle's flame.
Hope · Aspiration