For word meanings and explanatory discussion in English click on the tabs marked “Roman” or “Notes”.

https://urdushahkar.org/wp-content/uploads/2025/10/kgm-aaj-ki-raat-audio.mp3

Recitation

آج  کی  رات  ۔  کرشن  گوپال  مغمومؔ

۱

جس  طرح  صبح  بہاراں  کی  گلابی  کِرنیں

سہنِ  گلزار  میں  کُچھ  اور  نِکھر  جاتی  ہیں

جیسے  شبنم  کی  تراوش  سے  چمن  میں  کلیاں

پہلی  کرنوں  کے  تبسُّم  سے  سنور  جاتی  ہے

جیسے  اک  لمحے  کو  جنگل  میں  زرافشاں  کرنیں

گنگناتے  ہوئے  پانی  میں  اُتر  جاتی  ہیں

یوں  تیری  یاد  سے  ہے  نور  فشاں  آج  کی  رات

۲

گھنٹیاں  بجتی  ہوئی  جیسے  کِسی  مندِر  میں

دلِ  حق  کیش  میں  طوفان  اُٹھا  دیتی  ہیں

جیسے  ساون  کی  گھٹاؤں  سے  ٹپکتی  بوندیں

دلِ  مینوش  میں  اِک  دھوم  مچا  دیتی  ہیں

جس  طرح  کوئیلیں  طوفانِ  نواسنجی  سے

کِسی  مہجور  کو  تحریکِ  نوا  دیتی  ہیں

یوں  مرے  ساز  پہ  ہے  نغمہ  رواں  آج  کی  رات

۳

جیسے  لب  تشنہ  کسی  رِند  پہ  میخانے  میں

اِلتفاتِ  نگہِ  ساقیِ  مستانہ  ہو

دیکھ  کر  جیسے  کسی  بزم  میں  شمعِِ  روشن

سر  بکف  ذوقِ  فنا  میں  کوئی  پروانہ  ہو

جیسے  محبوب  کی  صرف  ایک  جھلک  کی  خاطر

پھاڑ  کر  اپنا  گریباں  کوئی  دیوانہ  ہو

یوں  تیرا  شوق  ہے  سرمست  و  جواں  آج  کی  رات

۴

یک  بیک  جیسے  لَق  و  دَق  کسی  ویرانے  میں

ذرّہ  ذرّہ  مہِ  کامل  سے  درخشاں  ہو  جائے

جس  طرح  کُلہِ  کہسار  کی  برفِ  شفّاف

صبح  کی  پہلی  شعاؤں  سے  گل  افشاں  ہو  جائے

جیسے  ہر  موجہِ  آبی  میں  ہو  بجلی  کی  لپک

جیسے  گنگا  کے  کناروں  پہ  چراغاں  ہو  جائے

یوں  شبستاں  ہے  مرا  رنگ  فشاں  آج  کی  رات

आज की रात – कृष्ण गोपाल मग़्मूम

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Click here for background and on any passage for word meanings and explanatory discussion. krishn gopal baava maGhmum (1916-xxxx), aTak district (now in pakistan). His father was a scholar of urdu and faarsi and grandfather (tulsidas) was also an urdu shaa’er. Ill-treatment by his stepmother drove him to seclusion and reading. All the books at home including religious texts were in urdu. He read up all of them and learnt to write too. Interest in shaa’eri started from childhood. In college he was class fellow of jagan nath azad and through him became a disciple of tilok chand mahroom. Continued education incluing Public Service Commission exam. Worked for the government of panjab and later haryana, retiring in 1974. At least 10 collections of his shaa’eri including Ghazal, rubaaii and nazm. This nazm is linked to the collection ‘aaj ki raat‘ on the Refrain Index page. This is probably, like the others in the collection, a celebration of the night of an important mushaa’era to which the shaa’er was invited.

krishn gopal baava maGhmum (1916-xxxx), aTak district (now in pakistan).  His father was a scholar of urdu and faarsi and grandfather (tulsidas) was also an urdu shaa’er.  Ill-treatment by his stepmother drove him to seclusion and reading.  All the books at home including religious texts were in urdu.  He read up all of them and learnt to write too.  Interest in shaa’eri started from childhood.  In college he was class fellow of jagan nath azad and through him became a disciple of tilok chand mahroom.  Continued education incluing Public Service Commission exam.  Worked for the government of panjab and later haryana, retiring in 1974.  At least 10 collections of his shaa’eri including Ghazal, rubaaii and nazm.  This nazm is linked to the collection ‘aaj ki raat‘ on the Refrain Index page.  This is probably, like the others in the collection, a celebration of the night of an important mushaa’era to which the shaa’er was invited.

1.spring morning 2.light rays 3.courtyard of the garden 4.washed, freshened 5.dew 6.dripping 7.smile 8.embellished 9.moment 10.glittering, shining 11.light-spreading, radiant

We have to start with the last misra … yuN teri yaad se hai noor fashaaN aaj ki raat … the night is radiant with the beloved’s memory like this … how … like the golden rays of a spring morning freshening up even more in the garden courtyard; like buds washed with dew are embellished by the smile/sparkle of the first rays of sunlight; like for a fleeting moment, the sparkling rays of sunlight descend into the murmering waters of the jungle stream … that is how memories of the beloved make the night radiant.

1.seeker of truth/the divine spirit 2.spring 3.clouds 4.dripping 5.drops 6.wine-drinker 7.cuckoo 8.melodious singing 9.exiled, rejected 10.proposal, invitation, inspiration 11.voice, sound 12.musical instrument, music 13.flowing Ghazal

Again, we start with the last misra … yuN mere saaz pe hai naGhma-saraa aaj ki raat … the night is singing/reciting Ghazal to the tune set by the poet’s saaz like this … how … like a storm of devotion rising in the heart of the seeker of the divine spirit upon hearing temple bells; like a tumult rising in the heart of a wine-drinker upon feeling the first drops of spring clouds; like the melodious song of the cuckoo inspiring the migrant to sing of home … that is how the night is reciting/singing Ghazal to the music of the poet.

1.thirsty lips 2.wine-lover, reveler 3.tavern 4.kindness, courtesy 5.glance 6.cupbearer 7.intoxicating 8.gathering 9.candle, lamp 10.lit, shining 11.head in hand, ready to die 12.desire, passion 13.annihilation 14.moth 15.beloved 16.only 17.glimpse 18.for the sake of 19.collar, shirt-front 20.wish, desire 21.intoxicating 22.youthful, vigorous

Tonight the desire/longing for the beloved is intoxicating and vigorous like … the intoxicating glance of kindness of the saaqi towards the thirsty wine-lover; like the moth willing to die, circling its beloved candle-flame in a gathering; like a lover going mad and tearing his collar for a single glance of the beloved … that is how the desire/longing for the beloved is intoxicating and vigorous.

1.suddenly, all at once 2.barren desert 3.desolation 4.every particle grain (of sand) 5.full moon 6.brilliant, glittering 7.peak 8.mountain 9.clean, clear 10.rays (of light) 11.flower scattering, colourful 12.wave 13.watery 14.lightning 15.leap 16.illuminated 17.night-chamber 18.colour spreading

How does the poet’s seclusion chamber glow colourfully this night … as if in a desert every grain of sand suddenly begins to sparkle in the moonlight; like the pure snow on the mountain peak begins to reflect colours with the first rays of the morning; as if on the banks of the Ganges, lightning leaps in the rippling waves of water  … that is how the poet’s realm spreads colour tonight.

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