By Rahat Indori
us ki yaad aai hai saanso zara aahista chalo
dhadkanon se bhi ibadat mein khalal padta hai

Her memory has come — O breaths, move a little gently; even heartbeats can disturb this act of worship.

Romanहिन्दीRahat Indori
उस की याद आई है साँसो ज़रा आहिस्ता चलो
धड़कनों से भी इबादत में ख़लल पड़ता 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

Indori treats remembrance as a sacred rite and asks even the body to fall quiet for it — breath softer, heartbeat hushed. The conceit is delicate: a memory so precious that one's own pulse becomes an intrusion. Love here is reframed as worship, and the beloved's memory as the thing worshipped.

For You, Today

When a precious memory returns to you, give it stillness — let it be honoured rather than crowded out by the noise of the moment.

A tender departure from Indori's defiant register, it shows his gentler hand with the language of devotion.
Themes:MemoryDevotion
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More from Rahat Indori
The Self
na ham-safar na kisi ham-nashin se niklega
Courage
aankh mein pani rakho honton pe chingari rakho
Defiance
shakhon se tut jaayen vo patte nahin hain ham
All couplets by Rahat Indori

The heart of this site stays with Iqbal: explore his couplets → Or browse the whole Other Voices shelf →