— Divan-e-Ghalib, from the ghazal "hazaaron khwahishen aisi"
About this quote
देवनागरी:
कहाँ मयख़ाने का दरवाज़ा ‘ग़ालिब’ और कहाँ वाइज़
पर इतना जानते हैं कल वो जाता था कि हम निकले
English: What business has the preacher at the tavern door, Ghalib? And yet — I do know I saw him going in, just as I came out.
Meaning: Ghalib’s wit at its sharpest: the moraliser who condemns the tavern is spotted entering it. A two-line satire on hypocrisy that has never gone out of date.
अर्थ: जो वाइज़ (उपदेशक) मयख़ाने को बुरा कहता है, ग़ालिब उसे ही मयख़ाने में दाख़िल होते देख लेते हैं। पाखंड पर इससे तीखा व्यंग्य क्या होगा।
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.
