ShringaraAdvanced

जब दहर के ग़म से अमाँ न मिली हम लोगों ने इश्क़ ईजाद किया

Jab Dahar Ke Gham Se Aman Na Mili Hum Logon Ne Ishq Eejad Kiya

Ibn-e-Insha

1 min read 5 versesLove Sorrow Grief

5 verses · ~1 min

जब दहर के ग़म से अमाँ न मिली हम लोगों ने इश्क़ ईजाद किया कभी शहर-ए-बुताँ में ख़राब फिरे कभी दश्त-ए-जुनूँ आबाद किया

कभी बस्तियाँ बन कभी कोह-ओ-दमन रहा कितने दिनों यही जी का चलन जहाँ हुस्न मिला वहाँ बैठ रहे जहाँ प्यार मिला वहाँ साद किया

शब-ए-माह में जब भी दर्द उठा कभी बैत कहे लिखी चाँद नगर कभी कोह से जा सर फोड़ मरे कभी क़ैस को जा उस्ताद किया

यही इश्क़ बिल-आख़िर रोग बना कि है चाह के साथ बजोग बना जिसे बनना था ऐश वो सोग बना बड़ा मन के नगर में फ़साद किया

अब क़ुर्बत-ओ-सोहबत-ए-यार कहाँ लब ओ आरिज़ ओ ज़ुल्फ़ ओ कनार कहाँ अब अपना भी ‘मीर’ सा आलम है टुक देख लिया जी शाद किया

इति

Rasa: Shringara
Stanzas: 5
Lines: 10
Reading time: ~1 min
Form: Ghazal
Metre: ghazal
Rhyme: AA BA CA DA EA

The poem evokes a melancholic yet romantic atmosphere, centered on the existential struggle of seeking sanctuary in love amidst a world defined by sorrow. A painting of this scene would depict a solitary, wandering figure moving through starkly contrasting landscapes, from the bustling, illusory streets of a city of idols to the desolate, haunting vastness of a moonlit desert where the protagonist writes verses under a shimmering lunar glow. The imagery balances the internal turbulence of longing with the stillness of the night, using the moon as a silent witness to the transformation of desire into a chronic, soul-consuming ache. Ultimately, the piece captures a tragic, reflective tone where the transient beauty of a lover’s presence is replaced by the hollow serenity of resignation, mirroring the restless wanderings of a poet who has internalized his yearning as a permanent condition.

जब दहर के ग़म से अमाँ न मिली हम लोगों ने इश्क़ ईजाद किया (Jab Dahar Ke Gham Se Aman Na Mili Hum Logon Ne Ishq Eejad Kiya), by Ibn-e-Insha runs to 10 lines across 5 stanzas, set as Five couplets (Sher). Its governing rasa is Shringara, shaded by Karuna and Shanta. The metre is ghazal. Rhyme falls as AA BA CA DA EA.

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 सांसारिक दुखों से बचने का उपाय प्रेम है and प्रेम का अंततः रोग बन जाना. 4 words in it carry older or regional senses, so the poem rewards a second pass.

The verse is hung beside Urvashi Abandons Pururavas: Bathed in a warm, dramatic interplay of deep crimson and dusky shadow, the scene evokes a heavy, melancholic atmosphere of irreversible loss and divine longing. The portrait depicts the celestial nymph Urvashi ascending…

Words worth pausing on

दहर: संसार या ज़माना
ईजाद: आविष्कार या निर्माण
शहर-ए-बुताँ: मूर्तियों (सुंदरियों) का शहर
क़ुर्बत-ओ-सोहबत: निकटता और संगति

Threads

Love Sorrow Grief World Moon

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.