She, who, slyly reads Gulzar, tells suitors: “oh, verses are no good”!
She clings to whom she slanders; Allah, her curses are no good!
She bears the sting of firaq, like children dream of treasures drowned;
Alas, her seafaring ancestors’ gilded purses are no good!
Florence knew how deep were the wounds of the Crimean War;
When all the world’s battles have ceased, nurses are no good!
O Qasim, all your zaalim lovers, have stripped off all your masques;
In the janaaza of your kind, state hearses are no good!
Photograph Courtesy: Lussie G, Pixabay.
Arup K. Chatterjee 