By Qateel Shifai
yun lage dost tira mujh se khafa ho jana
jis tarah phool se khushbu ka juda ho jana
jis tarah phool se khushbu ka juda ho jana
“Your turning away from me, my friend, feels like fragrance parting from a flower.”
Romanहिन्दीQateel Shifai
यूँ लगे दोस्त तिरा मुझ से ख़फ़ा हो जाना
जिस तरह फूल से ख़ुशबू का जुदा हो जाना
जिस तरह फूल से ख़ुशबू का जुदा हो जाना
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 whole weight of the verse rests on a single comparison — a friend's withdrawal is like fragrance leaving a flower. It is exact and devastating: the flower remains, intact to the eye, yet emptied of the very thing that made it itself, and nothing announces the loss.
For You, Today
When a friendship cools, name the quiet loss honestly — what looks unchanged on the surface may have lost its essence.
The verse is loved for finding, in a small natural image, the silent and total nature of estrangement.
Themes:FriendshipLove & Loss
More from Qateel Shifai
The heart of this site stays with Iqbal: explore his couplets → Or browse the whole Other Voices shelf →