Translation of the poetry of Shakeel Gwaliori
Selected couplets from various Ghazals

1. Ye jo meelon lakeeren si nazar aati hain sahara main
Safarnama hawa ka ret ki chadar pe likkha hai.

These which are like lines seen in desert
Travelogue of wind is written on the sheet of sand.

2. Gaye the hum bhi, zara baith ke chale aaye
Kisi ne baat na poochhi dua salam ke baad.

I too had been there, sat for a moment and returned
Nobody asked me anything after exchanging greeting.

3. Shakeel kaun mere tajurbon ki qadra kare
Mera khayal akela meri nazar tanha.

Shakeel, who will care of my experiences
My thought is alone, my sight is isolated.

4. Ek rasm ada karne ko aate hain yahan log
Masjid main bhi ab koi musalman nahin milta.

To follow a ritual, people come here
Even in mosque now, no mohammadan seen.

5. Mohalat na di Shakeel taqazon ne waqt ke,
Socha tha uski maang sitaron se bhar chalein.

The extension was not given by the claims of time, Shakeel
Though I desired to fill her row of locks with stars.

6. Tumhari jeet use tumse door kar degi
Nibah chaho to danista harte rahana.

Your victory will take him away from you
To continue relation, defeat yourself deliberately.

7. Aao jawanon badhakar chhulein in boodhon ke paaon
Girte padhte aa hi gaye hain naye zamane tak.

O’ youth, let’s go ahead and touch the feet of these olds,
They have arrived the new age with tottering steps.

8. Haj se mein lautoon wo teerath se to phir aise milein,
Aab-e-zamzam mein use doon aur wo Gangajal mujhe.

I return from Haj, he from teerath, then we should meet as
I give him sacred water of zamzam and he gives me Gangajal.

9. Deta hai tasalli bhi aise ki tadap jaaoon
Ab tak na use aaya zakhmon pe dawa rakhna.

He consoles me in such a way that I become restless,
So far, he has not come to know how to treat wounds.

10. Mein Shakeel apni hi ik sada ki khoj main tha
Mil gayeen khalaon main har sadi ki aawazein.

Shakeel, I was in search of the voice of myself
In void, voices of each and every century got blended.

  by vivek agrawal