jo saal-o-saal na ho raat-o-raat ho jaaye
pata chalega zaeefon se ladne waalon ko
hamaare saath agar do-do haath ho jaaye
“If a man's hour turns to his side, then what would not happen in years can happen in a single night. And those who pick on the weak will find out soon enough — the day it ever comes to blows with us.”
जो साल-ओ-साल न हो रात-ओ-रात हो जाए
पता चलेगा ज़ईफ़ों से लड़ने वालों को
हमारे साथ अगर दो-दो हाथ हो जाए
The verse in Devanagari — it carries the authenticity of the original, and every Hindi reader can read it.
Two couplets of pure mushaira defiance. The first is about time and fortune: when the moment finally turns in your favour, the work of years can arrive overnight. The second sharpens the mood into a warning — the people who only ever measure themselves against the weak have never met real resistance, and the day they do, they will learn exactly what they are. It is bravado, but the honest, bracing kind a live crowd rises to its feet for.
Two things worth carrying. Your long wait can still break open in a single night, so do not read slowness as defeat. And the people who only push the weak are not strong — they have simply never been pushed back.
The heart of this site stays with Iqbal: explore his couplets → Or browse the whole Other Voices shelf →