Wohi loag mujh sey bichhad gaey...

A few days ago I was on the road again late in the evening. CDs were scratched and getting stuck. Legends was not playing legends as it is happening more often lately. They're trying to attract a younger crowd of listeners and playing numbers from the 90s and later years. NPR and KPFT also at times begin boring you with same old too political or too superficially altruistic programming. I stumbled upon the Desi station. And this night it was Moeen Peerzada's program. I hate the guy's guts. He's too khudpasand as they say. Just as I was about to move away this guy, we'll call him Mr. H, called in. Sounded like a frequent caller and the hosts sounded like they knew him well. After a few minutes of chat that didn't mean anything to me, he began reading a ghazal that sounded familiar. It got my ear and I called the station. (I'm not the sort who'd keep radio station numbers stored but for a reason that I'd write about some other day I had this one.) And the host took the call on air and far as I could figure they didn't even have that 7-sec delay. Told him I wanted to talk off the air and requested for the caller's number for I had to have that ghazal. Mr. H also wouldn't want to give the number on air. So I got the number off the air on agreeing that I'd call in the morning.

That I did and am glad that I did. Mr. H is sure an interesting man. After a few minutes of customary pleasantries we learned that we were from same part of town back home and had worked at one point in time for same employer. We had a few other common situations we had experienced. I learned that he's in the north east and listens over on internet to the desi radios here in Houston and Dallas and other cities, calls in and reads poems and prose and shares interesting information on the lives and times of famous literary folks, particularly from Indo-Pak subcontinent. Interesting man, Mr. H.

Here's the ghazal that he read again, and I jotted it down. Though it is not fair to some people in your life who've given their entire self away to you and yours, yet to a sha'er, Aitbar Sajid in this case, that doesn't matter. He'd express what he'd want to. And the guys like me, and some gals too, them women may be more so, would just go wild listening and reading them and taking them to the heart. So here goes:

Jo Khayal thay, na qias thay, wohi loag mujh sey bichhad gaey
Jo muhabbaton ki asaas thay, wohi loag mujh sey bichhad gaey

Jinhein manta hi nahi yeh dil, wohi loag hein merey humsafar
Mujhey har tarah say jo raas thay, wohi loag mujh sey bichhad gaey

Mujhey lamha bhar ki rafaqaton ke sarab aur sataengay
Meri umr bhar ki jo piyas thay, wohi loag mujh sey bichhad gaey

Yeh khayal sarey hein aarzi, yeh gulab sarey hein kaghazi
Gul i arzoo ki jo baas thay, wohi loag mujh sey bichhad gaey

Jinhein kar saka na qabool mein, woh shareek i rah i safar huay
Jo meri talab, meri aas thay, wohi loag mujh sey bichhad gaey

Meri dhadkano kay qareeb thay, meri chah thay, merey khwab thay
Woh jo roz o shab merey paas thay, wohi................................................

Now, let me see if I can find a sung version over on youtube and see if I can post the link here.
Here it is, not the sung one but, say recited. Enjoy.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=I_2RQsu-2QM