Wajid Ali Shah

Lo, we cast a lingering look on the doors and wells, Fare thee well, my countrymen, we are going afar!

Nawab Wajid Ali Shah (Urdu: واجد علی شاہ‎), also known as his nom de plume Akhtar, (30 July 1822 – 1 September 1887) was the tenth and last Nawab of Awadh, holding the position for 9 years, from 13 February 1847 to 11 February 1856.

Quotes

Shedding tears we spend the night in this deepening dark,
Our day is but a long struggle against an uphill path,
Not a single moment goes when we don't bewail our lot,
Lo! we cast a lingering look on these doors and walls.

Poetry

• Shedding tears we spend the night in this deepening dark,
  Our day is but a long struggle against an uphill path,
  Not a single moment goes when we don't bewail our lot,
  Lo! we cast a lingering look on these doors and walls.
  Fare thee well, my countrymen, we are going afar!
  We wish you well, O friends, leave you to His care,
  And entrust our Qaiser Bagh to the blowing air,
  While we give our tender heart to terror and despair.
  Fare thee well, my countrymen, we are going afar!
  I am betrayed by my friends, whom should I excuse?
  Except God the gracious, I have no refuge,
  I can't escape exile, under any excuse.
  Lo, we cast a lingering look on the doors and wells,
  Fare thee well, my countrymen, we are going afar!
  I have been told this much too, ah! the scourage of time!
  The servant calls his master 'mad,' a travesty of the mind.
  As for me, I cannoy help, but rot in alien climes.
  Lo, we cast a lingering look on these doors and walls,
  Fare thee well, my countrymen, we are gong afar!
  This is the cause of my regret, to whom should I complain?
  What wondrous goods of mine are subjected to disdain,
  My exile has raised a storm in the whole domain.
  Lo we cast a lingering look on the doors and walls,
  Fare thee well, my countrymen, we are going afar!
  You cannot help but suffer, O heart, the sharp strings of grief,
  They didn't spare even the things essential for the mourning meets,
  In the scorching summer heat, I've no cover or sheet.
  Akhtar now departs from all his friends and mates,
  There is little time or need to dwell upon my fate,
  Save, O God, my countrymen from the dangers lying in wait!
  Lo, we cast a lingering look on these doors and walls,
  Fare thee well, my countrymen, we are going afar!
  • Masterpieces of Patriotic Urdu Poetry, p. 63-67

External links

• K. C. Kanda: Masterpieces of Patriotic Urdu Poetry: Text, Translation, and Transliteration, Sterling Publishers, New Delhi, 2009