Couplets › Hope
From Bang-e-Dara, 1924 — 'Tarana-e-Hindi' · originally composed in Urdu
Kuch hai ki nahin hamari
raha hai daur-e-zaman hamara
raha hai daur-e-zaman hamara
“There is something about us that refuses to be erased — for centuries the turning of the age itself has been our enemy.”
कुछ बात है कि मिटती नहीं हमारी
रहा है दौर-ए-ज़माँ हमारा
रहा है दौर-ए-ज़माँ 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
Iqbal answers the puzzle of survival. Time has worked against this people for centuries, and still they remain — so there must be 'something', some inner quality, that explains the endurance. He leaves that something unnamed, an invitation to find it.
For You, Today
If you have come through years of pressure and are still standing, that is not luck — it is evidence of 'something' in you. Iqbal asks you to identify it, because that is what will carry you on.
In the same spirit
Apne mann mein doob kar pa ja suragh-e-zindagi
Tu agar mera nahin banta na ban, apna to ban
Tu agar mera nahin banta na ban, apna to ban
Dive into your own self and find the trace of life. If you will not be mine, then do not — but at least become your own.
Selfhood · Self-Knowledge
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
Door duniya ka mere dam se andhera ho jaye
Har jagah mere chamakne se ujala ho jaye
Har jagah mere chamakne se ujala ho jaye
May the world's darkness be dispelled by my being; may every place be lit by my shining.
Aspiration · Hope · Youth