The brilliance of Gulzar once again, as he describes a beautiful simple movement of the seasons..

kisi mausam ka jhonka tha jo iss deewar par latki huyi tasveer tirchhi kar gaya hai
gaye saawan mein ye deewarein seeli nahin thi na jaane kyun
is dafa inmein seelan aa gayi hai, daraarein pad gayi hain aur seelan is tarah behti hai jaise khushk rukhsar par gile aansoon chalte hain

ye baarish gungunati thi
issi chhat ki munderon par
ye ghar ki khidkiyon ke kaanch par ungli se likh jaati thi sandeshein
bilakhti huyi si baithi rehti hai ab band roshandaron ke picche

dopaharein aisi lagti hain
bina moharon ke khali khaane rakhein hain
na koi khelne wala hai baazi na koi chaal chalta hai
na din hoti hai ab na raat hoti hai
sabhi kuch ruk gaya hai

woh kya mausam ka jhoka tha
jo iss deewar par latki tasveer ko tirchhi kar gaya hai

An English translation is below:
Was that a flutter of the season
That shook the picture-frame hung on the wall

Last season, these walls did not have water leaking within them
Wonder why, this time, water has crept into the walls, created lines in them
And the water seeps in such a manner, as if tears flow on a dry face

This rain is humming on the rooftops
As if writing a message on the glass of the windows in the house
As if sitting and weeping, behind closed windows

The afternoon seems like the empty squares of a chessboard
There’s no one to play the game, no moves are made on the board

Neither is it day, nor does night come
Everything seems to have come to a standstill

Was that a flutter of the season
That shook the picture-frame hung on the wall

The nazm in Gulzar’s voice, with Shubha Mudgal is available in the link below: