Sher on Raqeeb

In your letter, whose was that new greeting you included?

If it wasn’t a rival, then whose name was written there after all?

The speaker reads the beloved’s letter and is jolted by a “new سلام” and an unfamiliar name, sensing a hidden third person. The letter becomes evidence, and the new greeting a metaphor for shifting loyalties. By denying “raqib” yet insisting on an explanation, the couplet captures the ache of love mixed with suspicion. Its emotional core is jealous doubt: the fear that affection is no longer exclusive.

In your letter, whose was that new greeting you included?

If it wasn’t a rival, then whose name was written there after all?

The speaker reads the beloved’s letter and is jolted by a “new سلام” and an unfamiliar name, sensing a hidden third person. The letter becomes evidence, and the new greeting a metaphor for shifting loyalties. By denying “raqib” yet insisting on an explanation, the couplet captures the ache of love mixed with suspicion. Its emotional core is jealous doubt: the fear that affection is no longer exclusive.

Bowing to that footprint has disgraced me in countless ways.

I even went headlong into the rival’s street, in utter submission.

The beloved’s footprint becomes a symbol of extreme worship: the lover’s reverence is so excessive that it turns into public humiliation. The second line intensifies the shame—he lowers himself so completely that he even enters the rival’s lane, where his pride should have stopped him. The couplet captures love as obsession that breaks dignity and makes one cross forbidden boundaries. The emotional core is helpless devotion mixed with self-awareness of disgrace.

Bowing to that footprint has disgraced me in countless ways.

I even went headlong into the rival’s street, in utter submission.

The beloved’s footprint becomes a symbol of extreme worship: the lover’s reverence is so excessive that it turns into public humiliation. The second line intensifies the shame—he lowers himself so completely that he even enters the rival’s lane, where his pride should have stopped him. The couplet captures love as obsession that breaks dignity and makes one cross forbidden boundaries. The emotional core is helpless devotion mixed with self-awareness of disgrace.

I was compelled to go to the rival's door a thousand times.

I wish I had never known the path that leads to you.

The poet expresses deep regret over the humiliation suffered in his pursuit of love. Knowing the beloved's address became a curse, as it compelled him to visit repeatedly, forcing him to seek access or news through his rival, thereby stripping him of his self-respect.

I was compelled to go to the rival's door a thousand times.

I wish I had never known the path that leads to you.

The poet expresses deep regret over the humiliation suffered in his pursuit of love. Knowing the beloved's address became a curse, as it compelled him to visit repeatedly, forcing him to seek access or news through his rival, thereby stripping him of his self-respect.

Why are you gathering all my rivals in one place?

This has become a public spectacle, not a heartfelt complaint.

The poet addresses the beloved, asking why they have assembled his rivals to witness their interaction. The intention was to express a private grievance (gila) about love, but the presence of an audience has turned this intimate moment into a mockery and a public show (tamasha), stripping it of its sincerity and dignity.

Why are you gathering all my rivals in one place?

This has become a public spectacle, not a heartfelt complaint.

The poet addresses the beloved, asking why they have assembled his rivals to witness their interaction. The intention was to express a private grievance (gila) about love, but the presence of an audience has turned this intimate moment into a mockery and a public show (tamasha), stripping it of its sincerity and dignity.

Why did you send me a bouquet of Narcissus flowers through the hands of a stranger?

If your intention was just to 'show eyes' (express anger), you should have done so with your own gaze.

The poet uses a clever play on words involving the Narcissus flower (Nargis), which is metaphorically compared to an eye in Urdu poetry, and the idiom 'to show eyes' (meaning to glare or show anger). The lover complains that if the beloved wanted to scold him, direct eye contact would have been preferred over sending symbolic 'eyes' via a rival.

Why did you send me a bouquet of Narcissus flowers through the hands of a stranger?

If your intention was just to 'show eyes' (express anger), you should have done so with your own gaze.

The poet uses a clever play on words involving the Narcissus flower (Nargis), which is metaphorically compared to an eye in Urdu poetry, and the idiom 'to show eyes' (meaning to glare or show anger). The lover complains that if the beloved wanted to scold him, direct eye contact would have been preferred over sending symbolic 'eyes' via a rival.

Alright, you did give a rather harsh reply, but even that I can bear.

Yet don’t recount to me the enemy’s message or words.

The speaker accepts the beloved’s bitter response, but draws a boundary: he won’t tolerate hearing an adversary’s “message” delivered through the beloved. “Adu” (enemy/rival) hints at a rival in love; repeating his words would feel like humiliation and a betrayal of intimacy. The couplet turns on self-respect—pain from the beloved is endurable, but disgrace via the rival is not.

Alright, you did give a rather harsh reply, but even that I can bear.

Yet don’t recount to me the enemy’s message or words.

The speaker accepts the beloved’s bitter response, but draws a boundary: he won’t tolerate hearing an adversary’s “message” delivered through the beloved. “Adu” (enemy/rival) hints at a rival in love; repeating his words would feel like humiliation and a betrayal of intimacy. The couplet turns on self-respect—pain from the beloved is endurable, but disgrace via the rival is not.