Here’s one our Ghalib’s best ghazals, open to multiple interpretations and a brilliant demonstration of the complexity yet simplicity that the Urdu language offers.
aah ko chaahiye ik umr asar hone tak
kaun jiitaa hai tirii zulf ke sar hone tak
daam-e har mauj mein hai halqah-e sad kaam-e nihang
dekhein kyaa guzre hai qatre pah guhar hone tak
aashiqii sabr-talab aur tamannaa betaab
dil kaa kyaa rang karuun khun-e jigar hone tak
ham ne maanaa kih tagaaful na karoge lekin
khaak ho jaaeinge ham tum ko khabar hone tak
partav-e khur se hai shabnam ko fanaa ki taaliim
main bhii huun ek inaayat kii nazar hone tak
yak nazar besh nahiin fursat-e hastii gaafil
garmii-e bazm hai ik raqs-e sharar hone tak
gam-e hastii kaa asad kis se ho juz marg ilaaj
shamma har rang mein jaltii hai sahar hone tak
-Mirza Ghalib
An English translation from is below:
A lifetime passes before a sigh shows its effects
Who would wait so long to see you fixing the tangles in your hair
A hundred dragon mouths create a net of waves from a single ocean
Oh what a task it is for a drop to turn into a pearl
Love needs patience but lust is restless
What color should my heart be, till it bleeds to death
I know you will not ignore me, but
By the time you know of me, I would have turned to ash
Each drop of dew is aware that it can be destroyed with the rays of the sun
I will survive similarly, till you glance at me
Your glances can bring my life to end
As dancing sparks bring an end of a fun filled gathering
Life is all suffering, Asad, it can be cured with death
The candle burns in many colors till the morning comes
Some more interpretations of this classic ghazal are at:
1. http://frostedglass.wordpress.com/2010/04/23/a-piece-of-gem-from-ghalib-aah-ko-chahiye/
2. Click here for the English translation from the book “Ghalib: Epistemologies of Elegance” by Azra Raza and Sara Suleri Goodyear: Aah ko chahiye – Ghalib Epistemologies of Elegance” by Azra Raza and Sara Suleri Goodyear
Below is the link to the ghazal from the TV series Mirza Ghalib, where Naseeruddin Shah played Ghalib:
And here is another rendition of the ghazal by the late Jagjit Singh in one of his live concerts:
urduwallahs 
In the matla of ‘Aah ko chahiye etc’ Ghalib speaks of the eternal ma’shooq’s endless involvement with making the universe more beautiful and perfect and hence He has no time to pay attention to our laments and to rectify our woes.By the time He is finished with His present egagement,(which in fact is infinite)we will b no more(like hundreds of thousands who have gone before us).
I think one can write a book, just on this one Ghazal. The beauty of supreme poetry is that it never gets old, it brings a new awareness every time you read it, and every person, based on their development or angle on life finds a meaning in it.
I find this ghazal very spiritual where every line is referring to the Lover, God.
It takes a lifetime of devotion after that initial wish and you are willing to suffer (burn) in every situation, with joy, until the morning of the spiritual awakening.
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Awesome ………………. Beautifull …………………………………… no words for this beauty
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Well done. Beautiful Gazal.
Please add Ali Sethi’s hauntingly beautiful rendition of this ghazal, from Manto’s biopic.
Mr henry hyde’s interpretation is apt as i heaed an elderly pakistani lady saying in ghalib’s mind mankind’ endless suffering and almighty were supreme tks jcm usa
Recite the Ghazal beautifully.