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

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Recitation

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ananth iyer faani

آپ  سا  نہیں  ہوتا ۔ اننت ایّر فانیؔ

۱

سامنے  یوں  تو  کیا  نہیں  ہوتا

تم  نے  بس  دیکھنا  نہیں  ہوتا

۲

علمِ  انسان  کہاں  پہ  ہوتا  اگر

سیب  اُس  دن  گرا  نہیں  ہوتا

۳

پاس  جاؤ  گے  تو  ہی  سمجھو  گے

ہر   کُھلا   در کُھلا  نہیں  ہوتا

۴

تین  بندر  ہی  کیوں  ہیں  باپو  کے

سوچنے  میں  بُرا  نہیں  ہوتا؟

۵

ہے  خوشی  میں  ہی  صرف  چھوٹی  بڑی

غم  میں  چھوٹا  بڑا  نہیں  ہوتا

۶

روٹھ  جاؤں  یا  گِڑگِڑاؤں  میں

“اثر  اُس  کو  ذرا  نہیں  ہوتا”

۷

آئی  سمجھ  میں  فانیؔ  جی؟

ہر  کوئی  آپ  سا  نہیں  ہوتا

आप सा नहीं होता – अनंत अय्यर फ़ानी

१

सामने यूँ तो क्या नहीं होता

तुमने बस देखना नहीं होता

२

‘इल्म-ए इंसाँ कहाँ पे होता अगर

सेब उस दिन गिरा नहीं होता

३

पास जाओगे तो ही समझोगे

हर खुला दर खुला नहीं होता

४

तीन बंदर ही क्यूं हैं बापू के

सोचने में बुरा नहीं होता?

५

है ख़ुशी में ही सिर्फ़ छोटी-बड़ी

ग़म में छोटा-बड़ा नहीं होता

६

रूठ जाऊँ या गिड़गिड़ाऊँ मैं

“असर उसको ज़रा नहीं होता”

७

बात आई समझ में, फ़ानी जी?

हर कोई आप सा नहीं होता

Click here for background and on any passage for word meanings and explanatory discussion. ananth iyer faani (1989-living) dehli, beNgaluru. BSc, Applied Physics followed by MBA. He manages partnerships in a fintech company and is also a writer and precussionist in karnaaTak music. Currently enrolled in a PhD program at IIM, ahmedabad. I don’t know how he got interested in urdu but I find the combination of youth, non-muslim background and urdu fascinating. He started composing around 2022, because while interest in urdu poetry was always in the background, the urge to express began bubbling up from the inside. He chose ‘faani-mortal’ as his taKhallus as a contrast with ‘ananth-without end, immortal’.

ananth iyer faani (1989-living) dehli, beNgaluru.  BSc, Applied Physics followed by MBA.  He manages partnerships in a fintech company and is also a writer and precussionist in karnaaTak music.  Currently enrolled in a PhD program at IIM, ahmedabad.  I don’t know how he got interested in urdu but I find the combination of youth, non-muslim background and urdu fascinating.  He started composing around 2022, because while interest in urdu poetry was always in the background, the urge to express began bubbling up from the inside.  He chose ‘faani-mortal’ as his taKhallus as a contrast with ‘ananth-without end, immortal’.

Everything was right there in front of you.  You just didn’t look.  A reflection on inattentiveness, often the problem isn’t absence, but the lack of attention. What we search for may already be present, unseen only because we never truly looked.  Editorial comment – such an analogy is often used as ‘proof’ of existence of god – you can see him all around you, only if you care to look – so they claim.  I am not sure that poet means it this way.

1.knowledge 2.human 3.apple (reference to the legend of Newton’s apple)

Where would human knowledge be if the apple hadn’t fallen that day?  This verse highlights how one event, Newton’s observation of a falling apple, catalyzed an entire chain of discoveries. Gravity, calculus, and modern physics all trace back to that moment, which underscores how transformative curiosity can be.

1.door (literal and metaphorical: access, opportunity)

You’ll only understand if you get close.  Not every open door is truly open.  A reminder that appearances can be deceptive. Some opportunities or people may seem approachable from a distance, but real access or understanding requires effort and proximity.

1.the three monkeys (see no evil, hear no evil, speak no evil) 2.gandhi 3.think, reflect

Why are there only three monkeys of baapu?  Is ‘wrong thought’ not one of the evils.  This couplet wonders why thought isn’t included among the ‘evils’ to avoid. Seeing, hearing, and speaking evil are addressed, but what about negative or passive thought? The verse also invites questioning, not as rebellion, but as reflection.

1.only 2.sorrow, grief

There are degrees only in happiness, big and small; more and less.  In sorrow, no such distinction exists.  Pleasure can be compared, measured, and classified, but grief tends to overwhelm all in a similar way. The line notes the flattening weight of sorrow: once it strikes, its size becomes irrelevant.

1.take offence, sulk 2.plead, beg 3.effect, impact 4.even slightly

Whether I sulk or plead, it has no effect on them.  An expression of helplessness in love or human connection. The speaker’s efforts, whether distant or desperate, meet with indifference. The emotional gap is complete.  The second misra is quoted from a she’r of momin KhaaN momin.

1.pen-name, taKhallus 2.short for jaisa

Did you understand now, faani ji?  Not everyone is like you.  The closing couplet offers a reflective address to the self. It acknowledges that not all people think, feel, or respond the way the poet does, and that difference is a part of life to be accepted.

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