
Couplet
hai dil-e-shoriida-e-'Gaalib' tilism-e-pech-o-taab / rahm kar apnii tamannaa par ki kis mushkil meñ hai
迦利布癫狂的心是一道曲折煎熬的符咒; 怜悯你自己的愿望吧,它陷入了怎样的困境。
— Mirza Asadullah Khan Ghalib مرزا اسد اللہ خاں غالبؔ
Yusuf and Zulaykha meeting, c. 1764
From a book
اب تو سنہ ٦٥٠ ہجری ہے ، مگر اس سے ڈیڑھ سو سال پیشتر سے سیاحوں اور خاصۃً حاجیوں کے لیے وہ کچی اور اونچی نیچی سڑک نہایت ہی اندیشہ ناک اور پرخطر ہے جو بحر حزر (کیسپین سی) کے جنوبی ساحل سے شروع ہو ئی ہے اور شہر آمل میں ہو کے شاہنامے کے قدیم دیوستان یعنی ملک…
“It is now the year 650 of the Hijra, but for a century and a half before this the road has been full of fear and danger for travellers, and above all for pilgrims: that rough, rising and falling dirt road which begins at the southern shore of the Caspian Sea, passes through the city of Amul, crosses Mazandaran (the…”
Firdaus-e-Bareen (The Highest Paradise)
Abdul Halim Sharar · A Band of Fairies

Couplet
No scheme can stop my wandering in the desert: there is a whirl in my feet, not a chain.
— Mirza Asadullah Khan Ghalib مرزا اسد اللہ خاں غالبؔ
Posthumous portrait of the Mughal emperor Muhammad Shah (reigned 1719–1748) holding a falcon (recto), 1764
Quick quiz
Which word means “from”?
Continue reading this book
Firdaus-e-Bareen (The Highest Paradise)
فردوسِ بریں
Abdul Halim Sharar · A Band of Fairies
Read chapter 2About the book
Couplet
ham kahaañ ke daanaa the, kis hunar meñ yaktaa the / be-sabab huaa 'Gaalib' dushman aasmaañ apnaa
我算什么智者,又在哪门艺术上独一无二? 迦利布啊,天空无缘无故成了我的仇敌。
— Mirza Asadullah Khan Ghalib مرزا اسد اللہ خاں غالبؔ
Tiered Court Scene, c. 1735
From a book
(۵۱) تمباکو میں پتی کی اصلاح سے پہلے، جس کا سہرا ہمارے مکرم دوست منشی سید احمد حسین صاحب کے سر ہے، اصلاح کی ایک اور کامیاب کوشش کی گئی۔
“(51) Before the improvement of the tobacco leaf, the credit for which goes to our honoured friend Munshi Sayyid Ahmad Husain Sahib, another successful attempt at improvement had been made. That was this: the tobacco leaf and stalks are boiled thoroughly and their liquor extracted, and by cooking and cooking it is made…”
Guzishta Lucknow (Lucknow of the Past: The Last Example of Eastern Civilisation in India)
Abdul Halim Sharar · Tobacco, Chikni Dali and the Pandan

Couplet
siyah-taale.ii merii zaahir hai ab / nahiiñ shab ki us se la.Daa.ii nahiiñ
如今我的黑色命运已经显而易见: 没有一夜我不跟她争吵。
— Mir Taqi Mir میر تقی میرؔ
Bhairava Raga, early 1800s
Quick quiz
What does پرواز / فلائٹ (parwaaz / flaa.iT) mean?
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