The school of love… مکتبِ عشق

“Maktab-e-ishq ka dastoor nirala dekha”

uss ko chutti na mili jiss nay sabaq yad kia.

 

مکتبِ    عشق    کا   دستور   نرالا    دیکھا

اس کو چھٹی نہ ملی جس نے سبق یاد کیا

 

The school of love has strange ways

The brightest ones are put in detention

 

A friend pointed out this verse and asked me to explain the meaning. As best as I could, I did and in my limited understanding of the words I felt that it shows how the rules of the schools of love are mysterious. In the real world, once you are done with school, you graduate. You don’t have to go back to school if you don’t want to. In fact, there is only so much schooling you can engage in (as my friends engaged in post-doc research will agree with) before they kick you out. On the other hand, for the more mythical/mystical schools you can stay in and will probably be kept in if you are good at what you do. As I was thinking on the verse, the Zameen of the first line appealed to me greatly and I formed a few verses out of it as follows;

مکتبِ عشق کا دستور نرالا دیکھا

جہاں  پے لا تھا  وہاں اللہ دیکھا

The school of love

Has strange ways

Where there was nothing

I saw nothing but God

 

گھر تو کعبہ  پر مکاں  دلِ  عاشق؟

رب کے رہنے کا انداز نرالا دیکھا

A house of worship

Is said to be God’s house

Yet strangely she resides

In the heart of a lover

 

بے ادبی کی جا کہاں تیرے سامنے

گستاخ نے اپنا  ہی مونھ  کالا دیکھا

Who can dare to be rude?

In manner towards you

Those who are

Find themselves debased

 

انتظارِ یار میں کچھ حاصل نہ ہوا

کئیں بار کاٹ کے یہ چللہ دیکھا

Little was ever gained

Waiting for her

I tried doing that

So many times

 

استاد  تو اب  ملتا  ہی نہیں ہمیں

ہر جگہ میں نے اسے بلا دیکھا

I can not find myself

Anywhere

Even though

I invited myself to many places