By Abbas Qamar
haalat-e-haal se begana bana rakkha hai
khud ko maazi ka nihan-khana bana rakkha hai
khud ko maazi ka nihan-khana bana rakkha hai
“I have made myself a stranger to the present — and turned myself into a hidden vault of the past.”
Romanहिन्दीAbbas Qamar
हालत-ए-हाल से बेगाना बना रक्खा है
ख़ुद को माज़ी का निहाँ-ख़ाना बना रक्खा है
ख़ुद को माज़ी का निहाँ-ख़ाना बना रक्खा है
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 poet confesses to a deliberate exile from the present, having made himself a stranger to now and a sealed vault for the past. The phrase "hidden vault" is doubled-edged — it suggests both treasure carefully kept and a man shut away with his own memories, locked in by what he refuses to let go.
For You, Today
Guard against turning yourself into a museum of what was — the present cannot reach a person who lives only backward.
A precise portrait of nostalgia as a kind of self-imprisonment.
Themes:MemoryTime
More from Abbas Qamar
The heart of this site stays with Iqbal: explore his couplets → Or browse the whole Other Voices shelf →