پریشاں کاروبارِ آشنائی

Pareshan karobar-e ashnai

پریشاں تر مری رنگیں نوائی!

Pareshan tar meri rangin nawai!

The troubled affair of intimacy,
Even more troubled is my melodious voice!

کبھی مَیں ڈھونڈتا ہوں لذّتِ وصل

Kabhi main dhundhta hun lazzat-e vasl

خوش آتا ہے کبھی سوزِ جُدائی!

Khush aata hai kabhi soz-e judai!

Sometimes I seek the pleasure of union,
Sometimes the anguish of separation pleases me!

Context

This couplet encapsulates a core theme in classical Urdu poetry, particularly within the ghazal tradition, where the lover's emotional landscape is often marked by profound paradox. The poet describes a restless state concerning both their relationships ("kaarobar-e-aashnaai") and their creative expression ("rangeen navaai"). A central tension is beautifully articulated: the simultaneous desire for the pleasure of union ("lazzat-e-vasl") and a strange, almost masochistic, contentment derived from the pain of separation ("soz-e-judaai"), a duality often explored in both romantic and mystical contexts.