By Abbas Qamar
khush hain to phir musafir-e-duniya nahin hain aap
is dasht mein bas aabla-pai hai roiye
is dasht mein bas aabla-pai hai roiye
“If you are happy, then you are no traveller of this world — in this wilderness there is only blistered feet; so weep.”
Romanहिन्दीAbbas Qamar
ख़ुश हैं तो फिर मुसाफ़िर-ए-दुनिया नहीं हैं आप
इस दश्त में बस आबला-पाई है रोइए
इस दश्त में बस आबला-पाई है रोइए
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 couplet defines the true traveller of the world by suffering: if you are happy, you simply have not walked far enough. The wilderness offers nothing but blistered feet, and the blunt final instruction — "so weep" — refuses all consolation, insisting that sorrow is the honest response to the journey.
For You, Today
If life feels nothing but hard, take it as proof you are awake to the world rather than asleep to it.
A bleak, unflinching couplet that treats grief as a credential of having truly lived.
Themes:AdversityMortality
More from Abbas Qamar
The heart of this site stays with Iqbal: explore his couplets → Or browse the whole Other Voices shelf →