Insha jee aab uttho..

Ibn-e-Insha's poem, insha jee aab uttho, which saw the three men most closely associated with it (the poet and both Amanat Ali Khan and his son, Asad Amanat Ali Khan, who rendered it widely) die untimely deaths has been placed in a somewhat macabre context and its hard to shake of tang of irony as you read it..

Insha jee utho ab kooch karo, iss shehar maiN jee koe lagaana kya Vehshee koe sakooN say kya matlab, jogee ka nagar maiN thekaana kya Pher hijar kee lumbee raat yahaN, sanjoog key toe bus aik ghaRhee Joe dil maiN hay, lub par Aanay doe, sharmana kya, ghabrana kya Iss dil kay dareeda daaman maiN, dekho toe sahee, socho toe sahee Jiss jholee maiN saw chaid hou'ay uss jholee ka phelaana kya Shub guzree, chaand bhee doob gaya, zanjeer paRee darvaazay par KyuN dair ga'ay ghar Aa'ay hoe, sajnee say karo gay bahaana kya Rehtay hoe joe hum say door bohat, majboor hoe tum, majboor bohat Hum samjhoN ka samjhaana kya, hum behloN ka behlaana kya Jub shehar kay loag na rasta daiN, kyuN bun maiN na jaa bus raam karaiN DeevanoN key see na baath karay toe aur karay deevaana kya

Source: http://www.paklinks.com/gs/archive/index.php/t-156651.html In Urdu: http://www.personal.kent.edu/~rmuhamma/Personal/Urdu-Ghazal/Insha/cooch.gif The last couplet is particularly good, DeevanoN key see na baath karay toe aur karay deevaana kya... More on Asad Amanat Ali Khan (including videos) here: pakistaniat.com