Thut Heree Bazar, The Widest Street in Benares

ShringaraIntermediate

हम उनसे अगर मिल बैठते हैं

Hum Unse Agar Mil Baithte Hain

Ibn-e-Insha

1 min read 6 verses

6 verses · ~1 min

हम उनसे अगर मिल बैठते हैं क्या दोष हमारा होता है कुछ अपनी जसारत होती है कुछ उनका इशारा होता है

कटने लगीं रातें आँखों में, देखा नहीं पलकों पर अक्सर या शामे-ग़रीबाँ का जुगनू या सुबह का तारा होता है

हम दिल को लिए हर देस फिरे इस जिंस के गाहक मिल न सके ऎ बंजारो हम लोग चले, हमको तो ख़सारा होता है

दफ़्तर से उठे कैफ़े में गए, कुछ शे'र कहे कुछ काफ़ी पी पूछो जो मआश का इंशा जी यूँ अपना गुज़ारा होता है

जसारत= दिलेरी; ख़सारा=नुक़सान; मआश=आजीविका

(रचनाकाल: )

इति

Rasa: Shringara
Stanzas: 6
Lines: 10
Reading time: ~1 min
Form: Ghazal
Metre: ghazal
Rhyme: AA BA CA DA

The atmosphere of this poem is one of bittersweet bohemian longing, characterized by a restless, nomadic romanticism that flickers between intimacy and existential alienation. A painting of this scene would depict a dimly lit, smoke-filled cafe where the poet sits alone or with a fleeting companion, the table cluttered with empty coffee cups and scattered manuscripts, while a singular, luminous firefly or a fading morning star frames the window, symbolizing the fragile beauty of a transient connection. The imagery of the "wandering merchant" underscores a narrative of emotional insolvency, where the heart is treated as a precious commodity that finds no buyer, rendering the poet a nomad traversing disparate worlds. The tone is deeply melancholic yet defiantly aesthetic, capturing the delicate tension between the mundane struggle for survival and the brave, daring gestures of a life surrendered to the pursuit of poetry and love.

हम उनसे अगर मिल बैठते हैं (Hum Unse Agar Mil Baithte Hain), by Ibn-e-Insha runs to 10 lines across 6 stanzas, set as Four couplets (Sher). Its governing rasa is Shringara, shaded by Hasya. The metre is ghazal. Rhyme falls as AA BA CA DA.

Reflects the bohemian lifestyle of progressive writers in mid-20th century South Asia.

Read it for प्रेम की सहजता और सामाजिक जीवन and कवि का दैनिक संघर्ष. 3 words in it carry older or regional senses, so the poem rewards a second pass.

The verse is hung beside Thut Heree Bazar, The Widest Street in Benares: The lithograph evokes a lively yet timeless atmosphere, capturing the vibrant heartbeat of early nineteenth-century Benares where daily commerce seamlessly intertwines with ancient tradition. The scene depicts the…

Words worth pausing on

जसारत: साहस या ढिठाई
ख़सारा: नुकसान
मआश: आजीविका या रोज़गार

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.