Jo Chashm Keh Hairaan Hui Aaina Ho Uski — Khwaja Haidar Ali Aatish

जो चश्म कि हैरान हुई आईना हो उसकी जो सीना कि सद चाक हुआ शाना हो उस का
— Khwaja Haidar Ali Aatish

Meaning

Let the eye that was filled with wonder have a mirror of its own, and let the breast that was torn into a hundred pieces have a comb of its own.

Explanation

This couplet plays with beautiful reversals. The poet says: an eye that is left stunned and wonderstruck deserves a mirror placed before it, because it is already lost in amazement. And a heart that has been torn into a hundred pieces deserves a comb to tend to it, as if its wounds were strands to be gently set in order. There is tender irony here. Wonder and heartbreak are not treated as pure pain, but as states worthy of care and even beauty. The mirror honours the dazzled gaze, and the comb soothes the shattered heart. It suggests that deep feeling, however overwhelming, has its own dignity and asks to be attended with grace.

Interpretation note: meanings and explanations may be AI-assisted and should not replace a primary text or scholarly edition. See the editorial policy.

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