mera kya hai kya hai
“The world has warmed to the free, unbound spirit in me; otherwise, what is my verse, what is my poetry?”
वगर्ना मिरा क्या है क्या है
The couplet in Devanagari — it carries the authenticity of the original, and every Hindi reader can read it.
وگرنہ شعر مرا کیا ہے شاعری کیا ہے
The couplet as Iqbal wrote it, in Urdu (Nastaliq).
Iqbal credits whatever resonance his work has found not to technical craft but to the qalandari, the unowned, fearless freedom, behind it. People respond to the spirit a person carries more than to their polish. The couplet is a humble admission that the living quality, not the surface skill, is what truly reaches others.
What draws people to your work is rarely the polish; it is the freedom and conviction behind it. Cultivate the spirit first, and the craft will carry further than you expect.
Tu shaheen hai, basera kar paharon ki chattanon mein
Tu agar mera nahin banta na ban, apna to ban
Dard-mandon se zaeefon se mohabbat karna