Mehfil-e-Rashid محفلِ رشید
GHAZAL III

For a Smile

ایک تبسم کے لیے

Ek Tabassum Ke Liye

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پنجابی 0:00 / 0:00

The Story

Rashid Mughal sits beside his son Imran in front of a wall of family photographs, an arm around his shoulders, laughing as Imran smiles

Dad lived for my smile. He would do anything to make me smile, or to get a laugh out of me. And I knew this, but oddly never wanted to give him the joy of knowing he had succeeded. This was the mischief of our love. I would fight to hold in a smile, or suffocate the laugh, only to ensure it didn’t give him license to keep trying. But he never stopped. He told jokes and hurled expertly crafted puns, claiming his right to jab puns by virtue of being Punjabi.

He spent his life weaving tales and telling jokes. At the heart of it was a man committed to making the world a better place by spreading joy wherever he went. As a youth I was embarrassed that he spoke to strangers with such familiarity and fondness. Only later in life did I realize he had an open heart that was fearless. He was immensely curious and connected with people in a way I’ve never seen before.

This ghazal inverts the classical arrangement: in the tradition, the beloved withholds and the lover persists. Here, Dad is the tireless aashiq and the son plays the coy beloved, refusing the smile so the courtship never ends.

  1. He would have shifted heaven and its spheres for a smile;
    I barred the gate and posted mutineers for a smile.

    وہ فلک سے چاند تارے توڑ لاتے، ایک تبسم کے لیے
    ہم مگر اپنی ہنسی کو چھپاتے، ایک تبسم کے لیے

    Wo falak se chaand taare tod laate, ek tabassum ke liye
    hum magar apni hansi ko chhupaate, ek tabassum ke liye

    He would have plucked the moon and stars from the sky, for one smile; and I kept hiding my own laughter, for one smile.

    سارا جہان اوہ سانوں کر دیندے نثار، اک مسکان واسطے
    تے اساں نہ دِتا ہاسا، کیتا انکار، اک مسکان واسطے

    ਸਾਰਾ ਜਹਾਨ ਓਹ ਸਾਨੂੰ ਕਰ ਦੇਂਦੇ ਨਿਸਾਰ, ਇਕ ਮੁਸਕਾਨ ਵਾਸਤੇ
    ਤੇ ਅਸਾਂ ਨਾ ਦਿੱਤਾ ਹਾਸਾ, ਕੀਤਾ ਇਨਕਾਰ, ਇਕ ਮੁਸਕਾਨ ਵਾਸਤੇ

    sārā jahān oh sānu kar dende nisār, ik muskān wāste
    te asāṅ nā ditta hāsā, kītā inkār, ik muskān wāste

    The whole world he would sacrifice for us, for a smile; and we, we would not give the laugh, we refused, for a smile.

  2. Punjabi born, he claimed the pun as birthright, as art;
    each groan, applause that only mischief hears, for a smile.

    پنجاب کی مٹی نے بخشی تھی جگت کی سند ان کو
    وہ لطیفے پہ لطیفہ یوں سناتے، ایک تبسم کے لیے

    Panjab ki mitti ne bakhshi thi jugat ki sanad un ko
    wo lateefe pe lateefa yun sunaate, ek tabassum ke liye

    The soil of Punjab itself had granted him his licence in wordplay; joke upon joke he told, for one smile.

    پنجاب دی مِٹی توں مِلی اُنہاں نوں جُگت دی جاچ
    ہر جُگت، سچ جاݨو، سی پیار دا ہتھیار، اک مسکان واسطے

    ਪੰਜਾਬ ਦੀ ਮਿੱਟੀ ਤੋਂ ਮਿਲੀ ਉਨ੍ਹਾਂ ਨੂੰ ਜੁਗਤ ਦੀ ਜਾਚ
    ਹਰ ਜੁਗਤ, ਸੱਚ ਜਾਣੋ, ਸੀ ਪਿਆਰ ਦਾ ਹਥਿਆਰ, ਇਕ ਮੁਸਕਾਨ ਵਾਸਤੇ

    Panjāb dī miṭṭī toṅ milī unhāṅ nu jugat dī jāch
    har jugat, sach jāṇo, sī pyār dā hathyār, ik muskān wāste

    From the soil of Punjab he got the knack of wordplay; every joke of his, believe me, was a weapon of love, for a smile.

  3. He spoke to strangers like the long lost kin of his heart;
    what fortress needs a heart that has no fears, for a smile?

    دل کے دروازے پہ ان کے کوئی زنجیر نہ تھی
    اجنبی کو بھی وہ اپنا سا بناتے، ایک تبسم کے لیے

    Dil ke darwaaze pe un ke koi zanjeer na thi
    ajnabi ko bhi wo apna sa banaate, ek tabassum ke liye

    There was no chain on the door of his heart; even a stranger he would make his own, for one smile.

    اُنہاں دی ہر گل مُکدی، گل نال جپھی پا کے
    ہر اوپرا اوتھے ہی بݨ جاندا اُنہاں دا یار، اک مسکان واسطے

    ਉਨ੍ਹਾਂ ਦੀ ਹਰ ਗੱਲ ਮੁੱਕਦੀ, ਗਲ਼ ਨਾਲ ਜੱਫੀ ਪਾ ਕੇ
    ਹਰ ਓਪਰਾ ਓਥੇ ਹੀ ਬਣ ਜਾਂਦਾ ਉਨ੍ਹਾਂ ਦਾ ਯਾਰ, ਇਕ ਮੁਸਕਾਨ ਵਾਸਤੇ

    unhāṅ dī har gall mukdī, gaḷ naal japphī pā ke
    har opra othé hī ban jāndā unhāṅ dā yaar, ik muskān wāste

    His every joke ended in a hug thrown around the neck; every stranger became his friend right there, for a smile.

  4. He asked the world its story, and the world told him all,
    for curiosity is love that peers, for a smile.

    تجسس ان کا عبادت کی طرح تھا گویا
    ہر کہانی کے لیے وہ رک ہی جاتے، ایک تبسم کے لیے

    Tajassus un ka ibaadat ki tarah tha goya
    har kahani ke liye wo ruk hi jaate, ek tabassum ke liye

    His curiosity was a kind of worship; for any story he would always stop, for one smile.

    ہر شے دی، ہر بندے دی، اوہ سار لَیندے پھِردے
    اہ کھوج نہیں سی، سی عشق دا اظہار، اک مسکان واسطے

    ਹਰ ਸ਼ੈ ਦੀ, ਹਰ ਬੰਦੇ ਦੀ, ਓਹ ਸਾਰ ਲੈਂਦੇ ਫਿਰਦੇ
    ਇਹ ਖੋਜ ਨਹੀਂ ਸੀ, ਸੀ ਇਸ਼ਕ ਦਾ ਇਜ਼ਹਾਰ, ਇਕ ਮੁਸਕਾਨ ਵਾਸਤੇ

    har shai dī, har bande dī, oh saar laindé phirde
    eh khoj nahīṅ sī, sī ishq dā izhār, ik muskān wāste

    He went about taking the news and the care of every thing and every soul; this was no idle searching, it was love declaring itself, for a smile.

  5. My sealed lips were a veil, and yet the veil was a kiss;
    refusal is how worship perseveres, for a smile.

    لبوں کی مہر بھی اک پردۂ الفت تھی
    ہم انکار میں بھی چاہت کو نبھاتے، ایک تبسم کے لیے

    Labon ki muhr bhi ik parda-e-ulfat thi
    hum inkaar mein bhi chaahat ko nibhaate, ek tabassum ke liye

    Even the seal on my lips was a veil of love; even in refusal I kept faith with the loving, for one smile.

    میرے بُلھاں دی چُپی، اک پردہ وی، اک چُمّی وی
    میں ہار کے وی جِتیا، سچ، ہر وار، اک مسکان واسطے

    ਮੇਰੇ ਬੁੱਲ੍ਹਾਂ ਦੀ ਚੁੱਪੀ, ਇਕ ਪਰਦਾ ਵੀ, ਇਕ ਚੁੰਮੀ ਵੀ
    ਮੈਂ ਹਾਰ ਕੇ ਵੀ ਜਿੱਤਿਆ, ਸੱਚ, ਹਰ ਵਾਰ, ਇਕ ਮੁਸਕਾਨ ਵਾਸਤੇ

    mere bulhāṅ dī chuppī, ik parda vī, ik chummī vī
    maiṅ hār ke vī jittiā, sach, har vaar, ik muskān wāste

    The silence of my lips was a veil, and a kiss too; and losing, I still won, every single time, for a smile.

  6. Laugh now, Imran; the debt is due, the teller's gone home;
    he waits where laughter settles its arrears, for a smile.

    عمران، اب تو ہنس دے، ہنسانے والے لوٹ گئے
    وہ وہیں ملیں گے، باہیں پھیلاتے، ایک تبسم کے لیے

    Imran, ab to hans de, hansaane wale laut gaye
    wo wahin milenge, baahein phailaate, ek tabassum ke liye

    Imran, laugh now; the one who made us laugh has gone home. He will be there waiting, arms spread wide, for one smile.

    ہُݨ ہس وی لَے، عمرانا، اوہ ہساوݨ والے گئے پار
    اوتھے بیٹھے نے اُڈیکدے، باہاں کھِلار، اک مسکان واسطے

    ਹੁਣ ਹੱਸ ਵੀ ਲੈ, ਇਮਰਾਨਾ, ਓਹ ਹਸਾਉਣ ਵਾਲੇ ਗਏ ਪਾਰ
    ਓਥੇ ਬੈਠੇ ਨੇ ਉਡੀਕਦੇ, ਬਾਹਾਂ ਖਿਲਾਰ, ਇਕ ਮੁਸਕਾਨ ਵਾਸਤੇ

    huṇ hass vī lai, Imrānā, oh hasāuṇ vālé gaye paar
    othé baiṭhé ne uḍīkde, bāhāṅ khilār, ik muskān wāste

    Now go on and laugh, Imran; the one who made us laugh has crossed over; there he sits waiting, arms flung wide, for a smile.