— Divan-e-Ghalib, from the ghazal "ye na thi hamari qismat"
About this quote
देवनागरी:
ये न थी हमारी क़िस्मत कि विसाल-ए-यार होता
अगर और जीते रहते यही इंतज़ार होता
English: Union with the beloved was never in my fate — had I lived longer, the waiting would only have gone on.
Meaning: The opening of one of Ghalib’s greatest ghazals. It is not despair but a strange consolation: since the waiting was endless by decree of fate, a longer life would have added only more waiting — nothing was lost.
अर्थ: महबूब से मिलन क़िस्मत में था ही नहीं — और जीते तो बस इंतज़ार ही बढ़ता। ग़ालिब हार में भी एक अजीब तसल्ली ढूँढ लेते हैं।
An authentic couplet from the Divan-e-Ghalib, the collected Urdu ghazals of Mirza Asadullah Khan Ghalib (1797–1869), from the ghazal beginning “ye na thi hamari qismat”. Transliteration and English rendering are our own.
