A Nobleman and a Maiden in a Palace Interior

ShringaraAdvanced

अच्छा जो ख़फ़ा हम से हो तुम ऐ सनम अच्छा

Achha Jo Khafa Hum Se Ho Tum Ae Sanam Achha

Ibn-e-Insha

1 min read 6 versesLove

6 verses · ~1 min

अच्छा जो ख़फ़ा हम से हो तुम ऐ सनम अच्छा, लो हम भी न बोलेंगे ख़ुदा की क़सम अच्छा|

मश्ग़ूल क्या चाहिए इस दिल को किसी तौर, ले लेंगे ढूँढ और कोई यार हम अच्छा|

गर्मी ने कुछ आग और ही सीने में लगा दी, हर तौर घरज़ आप से मिलना है कम अच्छा|

अग़ियार से करते हो मेरे सामने बातें, मुझ पर ये लगे करने नया तुम सितम अच्छा|

कह कर गए आता हूँ, कोई दम में मैं तुम पास, फिर दे चले कल की सी तरह मुझको दम अच्छा|

इस हस्ती-ए-मौहूम से मैं तंग हूँ "इंशा"| वल्लाह के उस से दम अच्छा|

इति

Rasa: Shringara
Stanzas: 6
Lines: 12
Reading time: ~1 min
Form: Ghazal
Metre: ghazal
Rhyme: AA BA CA DA EA FA

The poem breathes a delicate air of romantic petulance and wounded pride, oscillating between playful provocation and genuine heartache within a traditional shringara framework. Visually, a painting of this scene would capture a dramatic interior where a sulking lover sits turned away in feigned indifference, while a second figure converses flirtatiously with rivals in the background, their posture radiating casual cruelty. Symbolic layers unfold through motifs of sweltering summer heat that mirrors inner turmoil, and the discarded oath of silence that underscores a desperate, performative threat to find another companion. Ultimately, the artistic tone is one of bittersweet irony and poignant banter, capturing the exquisite agony of romantic jealousy where even anger is just another language of longing.

अच्छा जो ख़फ़ा हम से हो तुम ऐ सनम अच्छा (Achha Jo Khafa Hum Se Ho Tum Ae Sanam Achha), by Ibn-e-Insha runs to 12 lines across 6 stanzas, set as Six couplets (Sher). Its governing rasa is Shringara, shaded by Hasya. The metre is ghazal. Rhyme falls as AA BA CA DA EA FA.

It belongs to the 1927 · 1978 span of Ibn-e-Insha's working life, and keeps the plain, spoken register that period is known for.

Read it for प्रेमी की झूठी नाराज़गी और मान-मनौवल and हल्का-फुल्का व्यंग्य. 3 words in it carry older or regional senses, so the poem rewards a second pass.

The verse is hung beside A Nobleman and a Maiden in a Palace Interior: Steeped in an atmosphere of quiet tension and tender intimacy, the scene captures a dramatic courtly encounter between a resolute nobleman and a delicate, hesitant maiden within the opulent confines of a historic…

Words worth pausing on

मश्ग़ूल: व्यस्त
अग़ियार: ग़ैर या पराये लोग
हस्ती-ए-मौहूम: काल्पनिक या नश्वर अस्तित्व

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The Poet

इब्ने इंशा

Ibn-e-Insha

1927 · 1978

Sher Muhammad Khan, immortalized under the pen name Ibn-e-Insha, was a literary wanderer who observed the world with a brilliant mix of deep melancholy and razor sharp wit. Born in 1927 in the Jalandhar district of Punjab, he migrated to Pakistan and became one of the most beloved Urdu poets and travelogue writers of his generation. His most famous ghazal Insha Ji Utho Ab Kooch Karo carries an overwhelming sense of world weariness and final departure, sung beautifully by generations of classical vocalists. Yet, alongside this intense sorrow, he authored travelogues filled with hilarious, biting satire that dissected human follies across the globe. He served in the United Nations, traveling extensively before his premature death in London in 1978. He remains the poet of the restless soul, wrapping profound existential grief inside breathtaking lyrical beauty.