Modern · 1884–1956 · Azimabad, Patna – Lucknow
Mirza Wajid Hussain, known as Yagana Changezi, was one of the most independent and combative voices of modern Urdu. Refusing to live in Ghalib’s shadow, he cultivated a terse, self-assured idiom and a lifelong taste for controversy in Lucknow. Beneath the defiance lies a deep meditation on selfhood and faith.
khudi ka nasha chaRha aap mein raha na gaya
khuda bana tha Yagana magar bana na gaya
ishq aazaad hai hindu na musalmaan hai ishq
aap hi dharm hai aur aap hi imaan hai ishq
yahi hai zindagi to zindagi se kaun darta hai
magar kya keejiye gham-e-zindagi to bas yahi hai
dil ko sukoon-e-zeest na chain-e-hayaat hai
vahshat hi vahshat ek tariki-e-hayaat hai
kya jaane kis adaa se liya tu ne mera naam
aati hai aaj tak meri palkon pe ek haya
insaaf hai khuda ki adaalat khuda ki hai
mujrim hoon main magar dil-e-mujrim khuda ki hai
khudi ko jis ne pehchaana use jahaan na mila
magar jahaan ko jo paaya use khuda na mila
raat bhar jaagte taaron se shikaayat ki hai
aaj phir hijr ki ek raat shikaayat ki hai