Saraab means illusion or a mirage
Mir Taqi Mir creates magic yet again with this beautiful ghazal, that introduces us to this mystical word, saraab.
Hasti Apni Hubaab Ki Si Hai
Ye numaaish saraab ki si hai
My Life, like a bubble, is transient
This show, like a mirage, evanescent
Naazuki us ke lab ki kya kahiye
Pankhudi ek gulaab ki si hai
Exquisite, those lips that lie in repose
Delicate as the petals of a rose
Baar baar us ke dar pe jaata hoon
Haalat ab iztiraab ki si hai
Again and again I go to that door
In a state of panic, need I say more?
Main jo bola kaha ke ye aawaaz
Usi khana-kharaab ki si hai
I spoke and everyone guessed that this sound
Belonged perhaps to that wretched, cursed hound
Mir, un neem-baaz aankhon mein
Saari masti sharaab ki si hai
Those half-lidded eyes of that love of mine
Mir, they bear all the headiness of wine
Source: The Taste of Words: An Introduction to Urdu Poetry. Edited and Translated by Raza Mir
Nustrat Fateh Ali Khan renders this ghazal in his signature style. Brilliant!
urduwallahs 
I m a ghazal enthusiast frm Bangladesh following ur blog few days back,tnx for ur effort to keep alive the legends,hope one day u will do a complete encyclopdia in this regard.
Your effort it commendable but i would like that before you try to translate Mir’s Ghazals in the form of poetry you give a literal translation.
Because the verses do not accurately reflect the nuances of the meaning of the original couplets; it is a fiendishly difficult task but to change the meaning of the words takes away from the author which is unfair I feel
For example:
Naazuki us ke lab ki kya kahiye/
Pankhudi ek gulaab ki si hai//
if literally translated means ” how to describe the delicacy of his lips which are like a petal of rose’ which is simply lost in the verse which you have given.
Again:
Baar baar us ke dar pe jaata hoon :- again and again i go to his/her door
In the next couplet
Main jo bola kaha ke ye aawaaz :-when i spoke; he said this voice (kaha denotes a singular person) is like that vagabond’s only (usi ki si hai; like his only), khana kharab:- homeless person
this might look like a quibble but neem baaz could be half veiled/open even dreamy for while translating it is very important to be aware of the rhythms of English also.
Further more Mir nowhere says that it is about his love; it is implied no doubt but half the beauty of Mir’s poetry is that he paints a beautiful picture with minimal strokes and says not much explicitly.
I hope you will take the above as an effort to better a brilliant website you have created with such passion and love
Danish
Hello Danish – thank you for your detailed response and inputs – it is truly appreciated and encourages us to do better. We typically rely on existing sources for translations as we do not consider ourselves as experts in Urdu, more as proponents of this beautiful language and culture. In this particular post, we actually missed out on mentioning the source, which is always cited in our posts. The translation was taken from the book “The Taste of Words: An Introduction to Urdu Poetry” – edited and translated by Raza Mir and this has been updated on the post now. If there is a better translation or interpretation that is easily accessible to our readers to enhance their understanding of the ghazal, please do let us know.
Thanks and please do keep sharing your feedback with us on other posts as well.
Dasht-e-tanhaee main ai jaan-e-jahaan larzaan hai
Teri aavaaz kay saaey, teray honton kay saraab
Faiz on ‘saraab’ – exquisite