Jalne do inhein jalte hayn agar aag mein sab hi jalte hayn,
Ek aag mein humbhi bhunte hayn, jalte aur pighalte hayn,
Aur yeh jo jalne wale hayn, yeh to sirf ubalte hayn,
Hum pighal ke peyar ke sanche mein keya roop badalte hayn,
Kabhi chand bhi hum ban jate hayn kabhi tare bake chamakte hayn,
Kabhi panchi ban ke chahakte hayn Kabhi ban ke gulab mahakte hayn,
Kabhi shabnam banker rote hayn, kabhi ghuncha banker hanste hayn,
Kabhi badal banker udte hayn, Kabhi barkha ban ke baraste hayn,
Hum din mein sapne dekhte hayn hum rat mein kavita likhte hayn,
Tum keya jano jatan hamare hum kayse chupkar milte hayn,
Ab yeh to tumhei bata nahin sakte mil kar keya keya karte hayn,
Hawa ka jhonka bhi gar aaye hum darte aur sahamte hayn,
Lekin tum to dost ho apne tumse to nahin hum darte hayn,
Kar lo jo kutch karna hay hum dono muhabbat karte hayn.
(College life! It was cold winter of December. We were sitting on the lawn just in front of girls’ common room. Girls were sitting below a eucalyptus tree. Someone gave a line – Kar lo jo kutch karna hay hum dono muhabbat karte hayn. I was famous for my romantic poetry. He offered tea and samose for all those who were sitting there, if I could write at least 10 lines, in ten minutes, all rhymed according to the given line. I wrote these lines and we all enjoyed tea and samose. What a life it was!)
Translation (Almost, it’s a difficult poem to be translated in rhymes)
When they read your name with my name,
On the black board and on Wall of Shame,
They think excessive,
They speak excessive,
They are jealous, let them burn in fire,
Smile on taunts, laugh at satire,
We are also melting since our lips met in a night,
And we were merged in the moonlit night,
Sometimes we look like a moon on sky,
In inverted Blue Ocean swim and fly,
When I titillate you to see the dimple,
Many stars in your eyes twinkle,
While flying when we hug, like a dove,
We shine like Venus, the star of love,
After having dew’s lovely cold showers,
We are mended in the pink soft rose flowers,
Sometimes we are changed in pearls of tears,
Unforeseen for love are the fears,
Sometimes we are changed in smile of hopes,
And we don’t fear to walk on the ropes,
Sometimes we are clouds to rain on ourselves,
We dream something to pain ourselves,
We write poems in awaken nights,
How we managed to meet in stars’ dim light,
How can I tell what we do in a hide?
Haven’t you seen a full moon tide?
How we are frightened with a windy blow,
As you are a friend I can tell and show,
We love each other do what you can,
She is a woman and I am a man.
(Wall of Shame was actually the wall of nearby hostel on that boys used to write taunts, sometimes vulgar)