— Divan-e-Ghalib, from the ghazal "hazaaron khwahishen aisi"
About this quote
देवनागरी:
हज़ारों ख़्वाहिशें ऐसी कि हर ख़्वाहिश पे दम निकले
बहुत निकले मेरे अरमान लेकिन फिर भी कम निकले
English: A thousand desires, each worth dying for — many of mine were fulfilled, yet somehow too few.
Meaning: Ghalib’s most famous couplet is about the arithmetic of longing: fulfilment never catches up with desire. However much life grants, the heart’s ledger always shows a deficit — wanting is infinite, getting is not.
अर्थ: इंसान की ख़्वाहिशें अनगिनत हैं — कितनी भी पूरी हो जाएँ, दिल को हमेशा कम ही लगती हैं। ग़ालिब कहते हैं कि चाहत का हिसाब कभी बराबर नहीं होता।
An authentic couplet from the Divan-e-Ghalib, the collected Urdu ghazals of Mirza Asadullah Khan Ghalib (1797–1869), from the ghazal beginning “hazaaron khwahishen aisi”. Transliteration and English rendering are our own.
