अपनी हस्तीको गमो-दर्द (Apni Hastii ko Gham-o-Dard) - Shad Azimabadi 'Shaad'

[Urdu Couplet #34]

अपनी हस्तीको ग़मो-दर्द मुसीबत समझो

मौतकी क़ैद लगा दी है ग़नीमत समझो

Apni hastii ko gham-o-dard musibat samjho

Maut ki qaid laga di hai ganiimat samjho

Shad Azimabadi 'Shaad'
(1846-1927) 

हस्ती (hastii) = existence, life; गमो-दर्द (gam-o-dard) = sorrow and pain; मुसीबत (musibat) = trouble; मौत (maut) = death; क़ैद (qaid) = imprisonment, restraint, confinement ; ग़नीमत (ganiimat) = boon, blessing

[English Meaning]

Think of your existence as sorrow, pain and  trouble

Death's confinement has been put, think of it as a boon

Notes:

• The poet has summed up his philosophy about life and death in the verse. He glorifies death as an end to the painful existence. Thus, he considers living as a journey full of troubles that ends only when death comes as a boon to restrain it. The verse also reflects the poet's pessimistic view on the process of living, however, it also reflects his profound views about life & death.

• The word 'qaid': In general usage, the word has a negative tone; a restricting force that stops you from achieving something or that makes you incapable to act. In this verse, this simple word is used in positive sense to portray 'death' as a hero, a saviour, who rescues you from the trouble by the act of imprisoning you in its grip.

About the Poet

Shad Azimabadi 'Shaad' शाद अज़ीमाबादी 'शाद' was one of the prominent pre-modern poets of the 19th century. He hailed from Bihar; born as Syed Ali Mohammad in Azimabad, which is today's Patna. He wrote under the pen name 'Shaad' and is popularly known as Shad Azimabadi. He was a scholar and poet with exceptional talent. He broke the stereotypes of his times and used new and unique ways of expression in his poetry. The central theme in most of his poems was philosophy, mysticism and ethics. He was given a title of 'Khan Bahadur' by the British government for his prowess as a poet and an intellectual.