“Kabhi kabhi intezaar hi mohabbat ka aakhri hissa hota hai,
– Zulfikar Inamdar
aur mulaqat sirf ek khwaab ban kar reh jaati hai…”
“Sometimes, waiting is the only part of love we ever get,
and the meeting we dream of… was never meant for us.”
“Beqadar Nazar – Intezaar Ka Aakhri Mod”:
Arz kiya hai ke…
Uske aane ka intezaar, aankhen bichhaye main beinteha karta raha,
Har guzarte lamhe ko uske qadmon ki aahat samajhta raha…
Din dhalta raha, raat gehri hoti rahi,
Par main har andhere mein bhi uski roshni dhoondta raha…
Kabhi hawaon se uska naam poocha,
Kabhi khamosh deewaron se uska zikr kiya,
Main apni hi tanhaayi ko uski mehfil samajh kar jeeta raha…
Har mod pe laga ke shayad ab wo nazar aa jaaye,
Har chehre mein uski jhalak dhoondta raha…
Aur jab thak kar rukne laga,
Dil ne phir kaha — “thoda aur sabr kar…”
Aur main phir se wahi intezaar ka diya jalata raha…
Phir ek din… wo saamne thi,
Bilkul waise hi jaise meri duaon ne tasveer banayi thi,
Waqt ruk gaya, saansein tham gayi,
Aur meri duniya us ek lamhe mein simat gayi…
Dil ne chaaha ke uska naam le loon,
Us pal ko apni zindagi bana loon,
Magar kismat ne phir ek khamosh sa mazaak kar diya…
Wo guzri… bilkul kareeb se guzri,
Magar uski nazar ne mujhe chhua tak nahi…
Jaise main hawa tha… ya ek anjaan sa saya,
Jo sirf dekh sakta hai… par mehsoos nahi hota…
Us ek lamhe ne sab kuch sikha diya,
Ke har intezaar ka sila mohabbat nahi hota…
Jo hum dil se chaahte hain,
Zaroori nahi ke wo humein pehchaane bhi…
Main wahan khada raha… der tak,
Uske jaane ke baad bhi us raaste ko dekhta raha,
Jaise waqt wapas mud kar mujhe ek aur mauka de de…
Magar kuch kahaniyaan wapas nahi aati,
Bas yaadon mein bas jaati hain…
Ab main intezaar nahi karta,
Par phir bhi har guzarta hua chehra ek sawaal ban kar rehta hai,
Ke kya kabhi wo pal bhi aayega…
Jab koi mujhe dekh kar ruk jaaye…?
Aur main… aaj bhi wahi hoon,
Bas thoda sa toot kar, thoda sa samajh kar,
apni khamosh mohabbat ka janaza uthata raha…
___________________________________
English Version:
“The Unreturned Glance – A Silent Ending”:
A Request is…
I waited for her, endlessly…
With my eyes laid down like a path she could walk upon,
Turning every passing moment into the illusion of her arrival…
Days faded into nights,
And nights into deeper silences,
Yet I kept searching for her light in every shadow…
I asked the wind about her,
Spoke to empty walls as if they knew her name,
And lived my loneliness like it was her presence…
At every turn, I thought — maybe now,
Maybe this time she will appear,
And even when I grew tired,
My heart whispered… “wait a little more…”
Then one day… she was there,
Exactly as my prayers had imagined her,
Time froze,
And my entire world fit into that single moment…
I wanted to call her name,
To turn that second into a lifetime,
But fate… had other plans…
She passed by,
So close… yet so far,
And her eyes never once found mine…
As if I were nothing more than air,
Or a shadow that exists… but is never felt…
That moment taught me everything,
Not every wait ends in love,
Not every longing is returned…
I stood there long after she was gone,
Still looking at the road she left behind,
As if time might turn back…
But some stories don’t return,
They just settle quietly into memories…
And now I no longer wait,
Yet every passing face still carries a question…
Will there ever be a moment,
Where someone stops… just to look at me?
And I… I’m still here,
A little more broken, a little more aware,
Carrying the silent funeral of a love… that was never seen…
Sher O Shayeri 