औसान वो कहां हैं (Ausaan Wo Kahan Hain) -- Bahadur Shah Zafar

[Urdu Couplet #33]

थे कल जो अपने घर में, मेहमान वो कहां हैं

जो खो गए हैं यारब, औसान वो कहां हैं

The kal jo apne ghar me, mehman wo kahan hain

Jo kho gaye hain yarab, ausaan wo kahan hain

Bahadur Shah Zafar
(1775 - 1862)

मेहमान (mehman) = guest; यारब (yarab) = Oh God; औसान (Ausaan) = senses, presence of mind

[English Meaning]

Yesterday those who were in our house, where are those guests

Those that are lost Oh God, where are those senses

or

The guests, who were there in our house yesterday, where are they (now)

Oh, God! The senses that were lost, where are they (now)

Note on possible implied meaning: Keeping in mind the political situation during Bahadur Shah Zafar's era and his helplessness under the patronage of the British rule, this couplet can also have an implied meaning. It can also mean the guests (the British rulers) who entered the house (the country) or the guests who won the trust as friends so much so that the senses of the householder (or the poet/the emperor) were lost forever to make a sound judgement.

About the Poet

Bahadur Shah Zafar (बहादुर शाह ज़फर) was the last Mughal emperor in India. A poet by heart and a ruler by birth, he is famous as one of the prominent poets but faced great difficulties as the ruler under the British rule in India. The British were instrumental in his coronation as an Emperor of Delhi sultanate after the death of his father. However, due his involvement in the 1857 uprising, the first battle for India's Independence, the British turned against. He was seized and imprisoned him. Though he was the Emperor, he never had the freedom to rule and had to function within the limits of the British Empire's patronage. This helplessness reflects in his sensitive poetry. Read More...