№ MMXXVI

RACHNA · A LIVING ARCHIVE

Rachna by M.

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MM · XXVI

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The Maiden was Loth to Hearken to Nala's Message

Shringara

हम घूम चुके बस्ती-वन में

Hum Ghoom Chuke Basti-Van Mein

Ibn-e-Insha
1 min read 12 versesबस्तीsettlementसावन

12 verses · ~1 min

हम घूम चुके बस्ती-वन में इक आस का फाँस लिए मन में

कोई साजन हो, कोई प्यारा हो कोई दीपक हो, कोई तारा हो

जब जीवन-रात अंधेरी हो इक बार कहो तुम मेरी हो

जब सावन-बादल छाए हों जब फागुन फूल खिलाए हों

जब चंदा रूप लुटाता हो जब सूरज धूप नहाता हो

या शाम ने बस्ती घेरी हो इक बार कहो तुम मेरी हो

हाँ दिल का दामन फैला है क्यों गोरी का दिल मैला है

हम कब तक पीत के धोखे में तुम कब तक दूर झरोखे में

कब दीद से दिल की सेरी हो इक बार कहो तुम मेरी हो

क्या झगड़ा सूद-ख़सारे का ये काज नहीं बंजारे का

सब सोना रूपा ले जाए सब दुनिया, दुनिया ले जाए

तुम एक मुझे बहुतेरी हो इक बार कहो तुम मेरी हो

इति

Ibn-e-Insha

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.

The Maiden was Loth to Hearken to Nala's Message

Paired Painting

The Maiden was Loth to Hearken to Nala's Message

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If this held you

Four more, in the same key.

Chosen for their rasa and their register, not their popularity. Each one carries some part of what Hum Ghoom Chuke Basti-Van Mein carries.