A journey through the restless heart (dil-e-nadaan) of Mirza Ghalib. These verses ask questions the soul doesn't know how to answer. Enter a world where pain, beauty, and mystery speak all at once.
dil-e-nādāñ tujhe huā kyā hai āḳhir is dard kī davā kyā hai
O naïve dil, what has happened to you? What cure exists for the pain you carry?
ham haiñ mushtāq aur vo be-zār yā ilāhī ye mājrā kyā hai
We long for love, and she is full of aversion— O God, what strange tale is this? Only the dil knows.
maiñ bhī muñh meñ zabān rakhtā huuñ kaash pūchho ki mudda.ā kyā hai
I too have a voice— If only someone asked what my dil wants to say.
jab ki tujh bin nahīñ koī maujūd phir ye hañgāma ai ḳhudā kyā hai
Since none exists but You, Then what is all this noise, O God? What does the dil fear?
ye parī-chehra log kaise haiñ ġhamza o ishva o adā kyā hai
Who are these angel-faced beings? What are these glances, these gestures, these charms that shake the dil?
shikan-e-zulf-e-ambarīñ kyuuñ hai nigah-e-chashm-e-surma sā kyā hai
Why the twist in her amber-colored curls? What is that piercing kohl-lined gaze doing to the dil?
sabza o gul kahāñ se aa.e haiñ abr kyā chiiz hai havā kyā hai
From where have the flowers and greens arrived? What is the cloud? What is the air? Even the dil seems unsure.
ham ko un se vafā kī hai ummīd jo nahīñ jānte vafā kyā hai
We hope for loyalty from those Who don't even know what loyalty is. The dil hopes blindly.
haan bhalā kar tirā bhalā hogā aur darvesh kī sadā kyā hai
Do good, and good will come to you. What more does a dervish say? The dil of a saint seeks nothing in return.
jaan tum par nisār kartā huuñ maiñ nahīñ jāntā duā kyā hai
I give my life for you, Even though I don’t know what a prayer is. That’s the way of the dil.
maiñ ne maanā ki kuchh nahīñ 'ġhālib' muft haath aa.e to burā kyā hai
I agree I may be worthless, O Ghalib— But if I’m received freely, what harm is there? Even a humble dil deserves a place.