Couplets › Aspiration
From Bal-e-Jibril, 1935 — 'Javed Ke Naam' · originally composed in Urdu
shakh-e-taak hun meri hai mera
Mire se mai-e-laala-faam paida kar
Mire se mai-e-laala-faam paida kar
“I am the vine-branch; my ghazal is my fruit — from my fruit, press out the rose-red wine.”
Romanहिन्दी
मैं शाख़-ए-ताक हूँ मेरी है मेरा
मिरे से मय-ए-लाला-फ़ाम पैदा
मिरे से मय-ए-लाला-फ़ाम पैदा
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 casts himself as the vine and his poetry as its grapes, and tells the next generation not merely to admire the fruit but to ferment it into wine — to turn his verse into intoxication, action, life. A legacy is raw material, not a finished drink.
For You, Today
Inheriting great work is not the point; doing something with it is. Iqbal hands you the fruit and asks you to make the wine. Don't just quote your teachers — transmute what they gave you into something that moves people.
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