By Mehshar Afridi
aql aur ishq ladte rahe der tak
aql maari gai ishq zinda raha
aql maari gai ishq zinda raha
“Reason and love fought for a long while — reason was slain, love stayed alive.”
Romanहिन्दीMehshar Afridi
अक़्ल और इश्क़ लड़ते रहे देर तक
अक़्ल मारी गई इश्क़ ज़िंदा रहा
अक़्ल मारी गई इश्क़ ज़िंदा रहा
The verse 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
The couplet compresses an ancient quarrel into a single decisive line — reason and love locked in a long fight, with a clear casualty. Reason is killed; love survives. The economy is the craft here: a whole philosophy of the heart settled in the space of two short verses.
For You, Today
When your calculations and your heart go to war, notice which one you can actually live without — usually it is not the heart.
A crisp restatement of the old reason-versus-love debate, winning by sheer brevity and the bluntness of its verdict.
Themes:Love & LossWisdom
More from Mehshar Afridi
The heart of this site stays with Iqbal: explore his couplets → Or browse the whole Other Voices shelf →