Couplets › Adversity
From Bang-e-Dara, 1924 — 'Tarana-e-Hindi' · originally composed in Urdu
Kuchh hai ki nahin hamari
raha hai daur-e-zaman hamara
raha hai daur-e-zaman hamara
“There is something in us that our existence will not be erased — though for centuries the turning of the age has been our enemy.”
Romanहिन्दी
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 looks at a people that has survived every assault of history and asks what keeps it alive. The answer he leaves unspoken — 'kuchh baat hai', there is something — is itself the point: a civilisation endures because of an inner quality that time cannot kill.
For You, Today
When you have been knocked down for years and are still standing, that survival is data, not luck. Something in you refuses to be erased. Honour that 'something' rather than only counting the wounds.
In the same spirit
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
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