Original Urdu
Tanha dil pyaasa hai phir se shayad yeh sham dhalne ko hai
Saje mehfil mein mai ki dariyaa behene ko hai!
Maikade mein chiraagon ki raqs-e-shauq hone lagi hai
Jaise pehli baar falak par ek mahtaab aane ko hai!
Bazm-e-dil ki mehmaan hai unke naam pe jaam ho jaaye
Sadiyon se sukhe hont pe koi jumbish hone ko hai!
Umr bhar ki aahein lekar kab se muntazir hai yeh dil
Kisi gham-guzar se shayad aaj mulaqaat hone ko hai!
Jalti hui shamma se hai jawaab ki umeed barson se
Shayad is parwaane ko aaj ek ishaara milne ko hai!
Mai ke saath tanhaayi bhi ho toh baat samajh lena saqi
Shayad woh puraane zakhm aaj phir taaza hone ko hai!
English Translation
The solitary heart feels parched again. It seems the evening is here.
An abundant river of wine is poised to flow in your ornate gathering.
The lamps have commenced their dance of desire in the tavern,
as if they await the maiden appearance of a moon in the sky!
She is a guest of this conclave of hearts, let’s offer a toast in her honor –
let these lips, parched since ages, feel some gentle tremors of life!
The heart has been waiting for so long, carrying a lifetime of sighs –
maybe today it will meet an empathizing companion!
Years have passed in the hope for an answer from the burning flame –
maybe today the moth will earn a hint it’s been seeking!
When wine and solitude are together, you must understand, Saqi,
there might be a parade of forgotten wounds, raw again.