By Waseem Barelvi
jahan rahega vahin lutaega
kisi ka apna nahin hota
kisi ka apna nahin hota
“Wherever it stays, there it will spill its light — a lamp has no dwelling it can call its own.”
Romanहिन्दीWaseem Barelvi
जहाँ रहेगा वहीं रौशनी लुटाएगा
किसी का अपना नहीं होता
किसी का अपना नहीं होता
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 lamp is read as a figure for the giving self — wherever it rests, it spends its light freely, owning no home of its own. The couplet finds dignity, not deprivation, in that homelessness: to belong everywhere by illuminating it is its own kind of dwelling.
For You, Today
If your gift is to bring light wherever you go, do not mourn the lack of a fixed place — your purpose travels with you.
One of Waseem Barelvi's most recited verses, often heard as a tribute to those who serve without claiming ground of their own.
Themes:SolitudeHumility
More from Waseem Barelvi
The heart of this site stays with Iqbal: explore his couplets → Or browse the whole Other Voices shelf →