In continuation with our celebrations of Nida Fazli’s poetry, here is a gem with such simple, beautiful lines:

Uske dushman hain bahut aadmi acha hoga
Woh bhi meri tarah shahar mein tanha hoga

He has many enemies, he must be a good man
Just like me, he too must be lonely in this city

Itna sach bol ke hontho ka tabassum nah bujhe
Roshni khatm nah kar aagey andhera hoga

Tell the truth to such an extent that the smiles don’t leave the face
Don’t drown the light, there will be darkness ahead

Pyaas jis nahar se takrayi woh banjar nikali
Jisko peeche kahin chhod aaye, woh dariya hoga

Whenever I encountered a stream to quench my thirst, it turned out to be a wasteland
The one I left behind, that must have been the sea

Mera baare me koyi rai toh hogi uski ,
Usne mujh ko bhi kabhi tod ke dekha hoga.

He must surely have an opinion about me,
He must have, sometime, deconstructed me in his mind

Ek mehfil mein kayi mehfilein hoti hai shareek
Jis ko bhi paas se dekhoge, akela hoga

Within every gathering of people, there are many gatherings
If you see each individual closely (in the gathering), he would be alone