Unke Andaz
Urdu · Ghazal of longing and unreturned love
OPENING · MEMORIES OF LOVE
Un ke andaz-e-karam, un pe woh aana dil ka
their way of showing love—and the falling of my heart for them.
MeaningAndaz-e-karam suggests a gracious or generous manner; 'dil ka aana' is the heart becoming attached. The line looks back on love's beginning with both tenderness and regret.
Haye woh waqt, woh baatein, woh zamana dil ka
Oh, those days, those conversations, that whole era of my heart!
MeaningThe singer mourns more than one person: an entire remembered world of conversations and hopes is gone. 'Zamana' makes private memories feel like a whole vanished age.
VERSE 1 · THE UNHEARD HEART
Na suna us ne tawajjo se fasana dil ka
They never listened attentively to the story of my heart.
MeaningThe central hurt is not outright rejection but being unheard: the lover offers their inner story, while the beloved gives it no real attention.
Umar guzari hai magar dard na jaana dil ka
A lifetime has passed, yet they never understood my heart's pain.
MeaningPassing years do not guarantee that another person will recognize hurt. The line gives unrequited love the weight of an unresolved lifelong wound.
Un ke andaz-e-karam, un pe woh aana dil ka
their way of showing love—and the falling of my heart for them.
VERSE 2 · LOVE AND LOSS
Woh bhi apne na huye, dil bhi gaya haathon se
They never became mine, and I also lost my heart in the process.
MeaningThe lover suffers a double loss: no mutual relationship was won, and personal emotional freedom was lost. It makes falling in love feel costly.
Aese aane se to behtar tha na aana dil ka
It would have been better if my heart had never fallen at all.
MeaningThe poet questions whether the original attraction was a blessing. This is the ache of hindsight: a beautiful beginning led to suffering.
Un ke andaz-e-karam, un pe woh aana dil ka
their way of showing love—and the falling of my heart for them.
VERSE 3 · SMILES AND SURRENDER
Dil lagi dil ki lagi ban ke mita deti hai
What begins as a playful romance can turn into a love that consumes you completely.
MeaningWhat starts as innocent attraction or lighthearted affection can become an overwhelming passion. The poet plays on dil lagi (flirtation or playful affection) and dil ki lagi (the burning ache of the heart). Love that once brought joy can grow so intense that it leaves a person emotionally devastated.
Rog dushman ko bhi, Ya Rab, na lagana dil ka
O Lord, may even my worst enemy be spared the pain of a broken heart.
MeaningThe suffering of love is so profound that the poet would not wish it upon even an enemy. Calling heartbreak a rog (illness) suggests a pain that takes hold of the entire being, beyond reason or control. The line expresses both the cruelty of unfulfilled love and extraordinary compassion born from personal suffering.
Un ke andaz-e-karam, un pe woh aana dil ka
their way of showing love—and the falling of my heart for them.
Un ki mehfil mein Naseer, un ke tabassum ki kasam
In their gathering, Naseer, I swear by their smile...
MeaningThe poet addresses himself by name, a traditional ghazal device called the takhallus. The beloved's smile becomes the occasion for a confession of helplessness.
Dekhte reh gaye ham haath se jaana dil ka
I could only watch as my heart slipped from my hands.
MeaningLove is represented as a loss of control that happens almost in slow motion. The singer sees the danger but cannot recover the heart.