sirf paison pe sukhan-saaz nahin aayenge
“These ones, too, will have to be seated on the high seat with honour — the makers of verse do not come for money alone.”
सिर्फ़ पैसों पे सुख़न-साज़ नहीं आएँगे
The verse in Devanagari — it carries the authenticity of the original, and every Hindi reader can read it.
A poet, on a stage, naming the terms of his own worth. The sukhan-saaz — the craftsman of speech — is not a hired turn to be paid and sent away; he is to be given the masnad, the seat of honour, or he will not come at all. It is a defence of the artist's dignity, sharper for being spoken by one, in a hired hall, to the very people who hired him.
People whose work is craft rather than commodity are not bought, they are honoured. If you want the real thing from them, bring respect, not only a fee.
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