ham bhi hain kyon nahin hota
mujhe hi uska tha
vo ka ho tha mera kyon nahin hota
“What kind of dream is this, that the eyes have no share in it — I too light lamps, why does no light come? Keeping me apart from everyone was simply his pleasure — or he could have belonged to the whole world; why then not to me?”
दिये हम भी जलाते हैं क्यों नहीं होता
मुझे ही उसका था
वो का हो था मेरा क्यों नहीं होता
The verse in Devanagari — it carries the authenticity of the original, and every Hindi reader can read it.
The first couplet protests a dream the eyes have no part in, and lamps that yield no light — effort offered, results withheld. The second couplet finds the answer in a beloved's pure caprice: the distance was simply his pleasure, since one able to belong to all the world could surely have belonged to the speaker, had he wished.
When someone keeps you at arm's length despite every effort you make, accept that the distance may be their choice, not your failure.
The heart of this site stays with Iqbal: explore his couplets → Or browse the whole Other Voices shelf →