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‘इंशा’ जी उठो अब कूच करो इस शहर में जी को लगाना क्या

Inshaji Utho Ab Kooch Karo Is Shahar Mein Ji Ko Lagana Kya

Ibn-e-Insha

2 min read 8 versesDetachment City Sadness

8 verses · ~2 min

‘इंशा’ जी उठो अब कूच करो इस शहर में जी को लगाना क्या वहशी को सुकूँ से क्या मतलब जोगी का नगर में ठिकाना क्या

इस दिल के दरीदा दामन को देखो तो सही सोचो तो सही जिस झोली में सौ छेद हुए उस झोली का फैलाना क्या

शब बीती चाँद भी डूब चला ज़ंजीर पड़ी दरवाज़े में क्यूँ देर गए घर आए हो सजनी से करोगे बहाना क्या

फिर हिज्र की लम्बी रात मियाँ संजोग की तो ये एक घड़ी जो दिल में है लब पर आने दो शरमाना क्या घबराना क्या

उस रोज़ जो उन को देखा है अब ख़्वाब का आलम लगता है उस रोज़ जो उन से बात हुई वो बात भी थी अफ़्साना क्या

उस हुस्न के सच्चे मोती को हम देख सकें पर छू न सकें जिसे देख सकें पर छू न सकें वौ दौलत क्या वो ख़ज़ाना क्या

उस को भी जला दुखते हुए मन को इक शोला लाल भबूका बन यूँ आँसू बन बह जाना क्या यूँ माटी में मिल जाना क्या

जब शहर के लोग न रस्ता दें क्यूँ बन में न जा बिसराम करे दीवानों की सी बात करे तो और करे दीवाना क्या

इति

Rasa: Shanta
Stanzas: 8
Lines: 16
Reading time: ~2 min
Form: Ghazal
Metre: ghazal
Rhyme: AA BA CA DA EA FA GA HA

The poem evokes a somber, meditative atmosphere of shanta rasa, centering on the weary resignation of an ascetic figure amidst the decaying facade of an urban landscape. A potential painting would depict a solitary, travel-worn wanderer standing at the threshold of a city gate at twilight, his tattered garments and hollowed, perforated satchel mirroring his internal erosion and the futility of material attachment. The scene is saturated with a sense of melancholic detachment, where the fading moonlight and rusted door chains symbolize the finality of departure and the ephemeral nature of human desire. Ultimately, the work conveys a profound spiritual restlessness, urging the soul to abandon the hollow vanity of city life for the liberating, ascetic silence of the wilderness.

‘इंशा’ जी उठो अब कूच करो इस शहर में जी को लगाना क्या (Inshaji Utho Ab Kooch Karo Is Shahar Mein Ji Ko Lagana Kya), by Ibn-e-Insha runs to 16 lines across 8 stanzas, set as Eight couplets (Sher). Its governing rasa is Shanta, shaded by Karuna and Shringara. The metre is ghazal. Rhyme falls as AA BA CA DA EA FA GA HA.

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 संसार की नश्वरता और विरक्ति and शहरी जीवन से पलायन. 2 words in it carry older or regional senses, so the poem rewards a second pass.

The verse is hung beside Damayanti in the Forest: Bathed in the warm, golden light of a setting sun, the portrait evokes a mood of poignant solitude, profound abandonment, and enduring patience. Princess Damayanti is depicted seated upon a rugged rock in the heart of a…

Words worth pausing on

दरीदा: फटा हुआ
बिसराम: विश्राम

Threads

Detachment City Sadness

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.