Classical · 1747–1824 · Amroha – Lucknow
Ghulam Hamdani Mushafi was a prolific ghazal poet who carried the Delhi idiom into the rising court of Lucknow. A teacher of many and a rival of Insha, he is often credited with the earliest use of the word “Urdu” for the language itself. His several divans range across love, irony and a plain-spoken melancholy.
ai mushafi tu in rukh-e-zebaa se kuchh likh
parwaana hai ye mauj-e-saba aur kuchh nahin
dekha jo husn-e-yaar to dil thaam ke rah gaye
aankhon mein vo jamaal ka jalwa samaa gaya
hui jis dam se aankhen chaar dil ko ho gaya kya kya
magar yeh ishq mujh ko de gaya aazaar kya kya
gham-e-hijraan mein kaTti hai meri saari raat
sahar ke vaaste taaron ko main ginta hoon
na chheR ai falak ab to ye saaz-e-zindagi
ke ek aah mein hai gardish-e-rozgaar meri
ai dil tujhe ab is mein hai kya iztiraab
jo hona tha so ho chuka ab sabr aur kuchh nahin
vafa ki us se tavaqqo abas thi ai mushafi
jise vafa ka koi paas hi na tha hargiz
jo dil pe guzri hai kis se kahen magar phir bhi
umeed yaar ki daaman se hum ne baandh rakhi