Damayanti choosing her husband in her Svayamvara

ShringaraBeginner

तुम अगर मुझको न चाहो तो कोई बात नहीं

Tum Agar Mujhko Na Chaho To Koi Baat Nahi

2 min read 4 versesSeparation Love

4 verses · ~2 min

तुम अगर मुझको न चाहो तो कोई बात नहीं तुम किसी और को चाहोगी तो मुश्किल होगी

अब अगर मेल नहीं है तो जुदाई भी नहीं बात तोड़ी भी नहीं तुमने निभाई भी नहीं ये सहारा भी बहुत है मेरे जीने के लिये तुम अगर मेरी नहीं हो तो पराई भी नहीं मेरे दिल को न सराहो तो कोई बात नहीं गैर के दिल को सराहोगी, तो मुश्किल होगी

तुम हसीं हो, तुम्हें सब प्यार ही करते होंगे मैं तो मरता हूँ तो क्या और भी मरते होंगे सब की आँखों में इसी शौक़ का तूफ़ां होगा सब के सीने में यही दर्द उभरते होंगे मेरे ग़म में न कराहो तो कोई बात नहीं और के ग़म में कराहोगी तो मुश्किल होगी.

फूल की तरह हँसो, सब की निगाहों में रहो अपनी मासूम जवानी की पनाहों में रहो मुझको वो दिन न दिखाना तुम्हें अपनी ही क़सम मैं तरसता रहूँ तुम गैर की बाहों में रहो तुम अगर मुझसे न निभाओ तो कोई बात नहीं किसी दुश्मन से निभाओगी तो मुश्किल होगी

इति

Rasa: Shringara
Stanzas: 4
Lines: 20
Reading time: ~2 min
Form: Geet (lyric song)
Metre: geet
Rhyme: irregular

The poem evokes a poignant, tenderly resigned romantic mood steeped in the sweet ache of unrequited love and separation. Visually, a painting of this scene would capture a lonely figure standing slightly in shadow at the edge of a bustling, moonlit courtyard, gazing with a mix of adoration and quiet dread toward a radiant beloved who is surrounded by admirers. This imagery symbolizes the fragile liminal space between total devotion and complete alienation, where the speaker accepts their own emotional starvation yet harbors a quiet, agonizing terror at the thought of the beloved bestowing their warmth upon a stranger or rival. The artistic tone is one of heartbreaking generosity and vulnerability, balancing a dignified, self-effacing surrender with an undercurrent of profound jealousy.

तुम अगर मुझको न चाहो तो कोई बात नहीं (Tum Agar Mujhko Na Chaho To Koi Baat Nahi), by Sahir Ludhianvi runs to 20 lines across 4 stanzas, set as Eight-line stanzas with a recurring refrain pattern. Its governing rasa is Shringara, shaded by Karuna. The metre is geet. Rhyme falls as irregular.

It belongs to the 1921 · 1980 span of Sahir Ludhianvi's working life, and keeps the plain, spoken register that period is known for.

Read it for प्रेम में ईर्ष्या और अधिकार की भावना and अस्वीकृति को स्वीकार करने की सीमाएं. 2 words in it carry older or regional senses, so the poem rewards a second pass.

The verse is hung beside Damayanti choosing her husband in her Svayamvara: Bathed in a warm, ethereal glow, the scene evokes a mood of breathless anticipation and sacred romance, capturing a pivotal moment of devotion. Princess Damayanti stands poised beneath a delicate tree holding a floral…

Words worth pausing on

सराहो: प्रशंसा करो, तारीफ करो
कराहोगी: तड़पोगी, आह भरोगी

Threads

Separation Love

The Poet

साहिर लुधियानवी

Sahir Ludhianvi

1921 · 1980

Sahir Ludhianvi possessed a voice that refused to separate the agony of romance from the brutal inequalities of the world. Born Abdul Hayee in 1921 in Punjab, he adopted the pen name Sahir, meaning magician, and proved it entirely accurate through a lifelong mastery of Urdu poetry. As a prominent figure in the Progressive Writers Movement, he rejected the traditional obsession with the idealized beloved. Instead, he forced his readers to look at the poverty, the exploitation, and the hypocrisies of society that destroy love before it can even bloom. When he entered the Hindi film industry, he fundamentally changed the stature of the lyricist. Directors and composers adapted their music to his words, rather than the other way around. Through films like Pyaasa and Kabhi Kabhie, he brought profound literary dignity and fierce anti establishment critique to mainstream cinema. He passed away in 1980, but his poetry remains a burning torch. Sahir remains the ultimate poet of the disenchanted, a man who wrote beautiful verses to express an absolute refusal to accept an ugly world.