Ghalib
Hazāroñ Khvāhisheñ Aisī
A famous Ghalib couplet on desire multiplying even after fulfilment.
Why return to it: It gives longing a scale large enough to feel honest, then admits that fulfilment does not exhaust the heart.
Source note: Ghalib is public-domain; this page uses short cited-known lines and an original poetic rendering.
Original / noted line
Hazāroñ Khvāhisheñ Aisī
Hazāroñ khvāhisheñ aisī ke har khvāhish pe dam nikle
Bahut nikle mire armān lekin phir bhī kam nikle.
English transliteration
Transliteration
Hazāroñ khvāhisheñ aisī ke har khvāhish pe dam nikle
Bahut nikle mire armān lekin phir bhī kam nikle.
Poetic English rendering
Rendering
Thousands of desires, each intense enough to take a life. So many wishes found their way out of the heart, and still the heart remained crowded.