Chupke Chupke Raat Din

Chupke Chupke Raat Din, Aansu Bahana Yaad Hai !

A Landmark Ghazal by Hasrat Mohani.


A very common Ghazal, and by my understanding of the people response, its very under estimated also. Hope this article will dust off any misconceptions, of this gem being a mediocre literal piece!

First the Ghazal in all its opulence,


Chupke chupke raat din aansoon bahaana yaad hai
Hum ko ab tak aashiqui ka woh zamaana yaad hai


Tujh se milte hi woh bebaak ho jaana mera
Aur tera daanton mein woh ungali dabaana yaad hai


Chori chori hum se tum aa kar mile the jis jagaah
Muddatein guzareen par ab tak wo thikaana yaad hai


Khench lenaa wo mera parde ka konaa daffatan
Aur dupatte mein tera woh munh chhupaana yaad hai


Tujh ko jab tanhaa kabhii paana to az raah-e-lihaaz
Haal-e-dil baaton hi baaton mein jataanaa yaad hai


Aa gaya gar vasl ki shab bhi kahin zikr-e-firaaq
Woh tera ro-ro ke bhi mujhko rulaana yaad hai


Dopahar ki dhoop mein mere bulane ke liye
Woh tera kothe pe nangey paaon aana yaad hai

Dekhanaa mujhako jo bargashtaa to sau sau naaz se
Jab manaa lenaa to phir Khud ruuTh jaanaa yaad hai 

BeruKhii ke saath sunaanaa dard-e-dil kii dastaa.N

Aur teraa hatho.n me.n vo ka.ngan ghumaanaa yaad hai

Waqt-e-ruKhsat alvidaa kaa lafz kahane ke liye
Wo tere sukhe labo.n kaa thar-tharaanaa yaad hai

Baah-a-zaaraa.N iztiraab-o-sad-hazaaraa.N ishtiyaaq

Tujhase vo pahale pahal dil kaa lagaanaa yaad hai 

Baavajuud-e-iddaa-e-ittaqaa ‘Hasrat’ mujhe

Aaj tak ahad-e-havas kaa ye fasaanaa yaad hai

Hasrat Saa'ab was very different in his approach compared to his contemporaries. He was very bold in his expressions and very straight-forward in his portrayal. While most of the poets of the era wrote Ghazals about a heart-broken Lover, or his betrayal, Hasrat Saa'ab, chose to write about the small but beautiful aspects of Love. He did not believe in holding back his thoughts and broke the convention of shyness. Unlike others, he never hid the gender of his lover, and also liked to bring to his audience, in a simple way, Love with all its beautiful little emotions!

This ghazal is a landmark ghazal because of its difference to other poetic pieces of the same era. A neat, simple and most importantly a heart touching portrayal of the encounters in Love!

Ghulam Ali Saa'ab has sung this very beautifully. He has selectively sung few verses of the Ghazal, which i think could be keeping the audience in mind and also the 'meter' aspect of the tune in which the ghazal was.

Starting with the translation,

Chupke chupke raat din aansoon bahaana yaad hai
Hum ko ab tak aashiqui ka woh zamaana yaad hai

Simple. Sweet. I still remember those Romantic times, when I used to lament (can be because one is unable to meet his lover, or when love is unable to meet public acceptance).

The poet sits back and gets nostalgic over the times when he was in love!

Tujh se milte hi woh bebaak ho jaana mera
Aur tera daanton mein woh ungali dabaana yaad hai

When i met you, I remember how confident, how bold i would become.

(Bebaak menaing Bold, confident). The poet means to say, that in-front of our loved ones, we are just ourselves. Aur tera daanton mein woh ungali dabaana yaad hai. And I remember on my becoming bold, you always used to shy away. How you used to byte your fingers, how you used to shy away from my advances! 

This is all to imagine rather than write about. A simple situation brought out very beautifully!

Remark: Ghulam Ali Saa'b has added 'kuch' in the intial line of the Sher.
Tujh se milte hi woh kuch bebaak ho jaana mera
 I think it was done to probably set the lyrics to the tune. 


Chori chori hum se tum aa kar mile the jis jagaah
Muddatein guzareen par ab tak wo thikaana yaad hai

Back then, I remember how, we secretly used to meet at "that" place..
And even now, although its been a long time (Muddatein guzareen), I still very much remember that place, very clearly in my thoughts!

Imagine the poet sitting and just flipping back through his memories and as each page passes by, he tries to re-create it and soaks in that nostalgic euphoria that memories weave in front of him! Romance at its best.

Khench lenaa wo mera parde ka konaa daffatan
Aur dupatte mein tera woh munh chhupaana yaad hai

One has to imagine this.. Beautifully expressed.

Poet remembers how she used to suddenly (daffatan) pull the corners of the curtains and then tried to shy away and hide her face in her dupatta/veil.

I fail miserably in describing this, but this is all to be imagined. These are very romantic moments, and these nuances of love have been very well brought out by the poet.

In all these lines poet is just trying to remember how shy his lover used to be. Its like, she was holding herself..

Tujh ko jab tanhaa kabhii paana to az raah-e-lihaaz
Haal-e-dil baaton hi baaton mein jataanaa yaad hai

Poet says, "whenever i got lucky to find you alone(tanha), then I used to, with utmost care(az raah-e-lihaaz), describe my feelings in the veil of a casual talk. 

Just imagine this situation. Both love each other, and both are holding their feelings back, only to let it become evident through these small romantic encounters!

He uses this word here, az raah-e-lihaaz,  meaning, "with utmost care". This is very beautifully used to show the delicate moment. He has found her alone after a long time, and this is his chance to show his emotions and let her know how much he loves her, but he also does not want her to know that he is desperate about her. So, he acts very casual but also makes sure that through what he speaks, she comes to know his love for her! Ah, sweet moment, isn't? Haal-e-dil  (state/condition of the heart) baaton hi baaton mein (casually) jataanaa yaad hai .. 

Aa gaya gar vasl ki shab bhi kahin zikr-e-firaaq
Woh tera ro-ro ke bhi mujhko rulaana yaad hai

Beautiful, yet again!

He says, I remember that if even the mention of taking leave used to come in the evening when we would be together, you used to weep badly, and that in turn, used to bring tears in my eyes..! Aa gaya gar vasl (meeting, time when were together) ki shab (evening) bhi kahin zikr-e-firaaq( mention of seperation)..

Dopahar ki dhoop mein mere bulane ke liye
Woh tera kothe pe nangey paaon aana yaad hai

Again, a very small moment, which poet captures and brings out very beautifully.. Its as if, these moments might be small, but for him they showed how much she loved him, and that used to make that moment the most special one!

He says, It used to be blazing hot, and I remember how you used to come running to the terrace(kothe) to call me, all bare foot. Poet tries to show how he would see her love in these small moments of care. She used to crave to see him, be in his company.. and whenever she got one, she just managed to control her emotions! As in this case, not even the hot sun tamed her emotions.. she ran to call him bare feet, showing that she just could not wait to see him, and this "calling him" was a great excuse she got. She never showed her emotions directly, and always tried to portray a casual demeanor  but that love always spilled over through her mannerisms!

Dekhanaa mujhako jo bargashtaa to sau sau naaz se
Jab manaa lenaa to phir Khud ruuTh jaanaa yaad hai 

Beautiful Thoughts! 
Here poet says, that whenever you saw me upset(bargashtaa meaning upset here) , with all your love(sau sau naaz se), you used to cheer me up. Then as soon, you could see that I was doing fine, you turned upset! As if my turn was over and now it was your turn, and I should cheer you up and pamper you.  (Jab manaa lenaa to phir Khud ruuTh jaanaa yaad hai )

Beautiful, isn't? Moments of love, of care, of simplicity, but so charming and so very well expresses. It just re-instills your faith on the fact that Love is all about these small precious moments of togetherness..!

BeruKhii ke saath sunaanaa dard-e-dil kii dastaa.N

Aur teraa hatho.n me.n vo ka.ngan ghumaanaa yaad hai

Ah! Berukhi meaning indifference. Poet says, when i used to tell you about how difficult it is to live without you, how I wish i could always be with you(sunaanaa dard-e-dil kii dastaa.N) - you always acted as if you are indifferent to it. Fact being - you used to love listening to me, but you never let it be evident from your expressions. To top that - you used to playfully engage yourself in tinkering the ornaments in your hand (Aur teraa hatho.n me.n vo ka.ngan ghumaanaa yaad hai), as if saying - " I don' care what you are saying.." . 

Try to picture these moments. One cannot help but soak in the wonderful emotion that poet weaves here. Simple moments, but so very touching and real!


Waqt-e-ruKhsat alvidaa kaa lafz kahane ke liye
Wo tere sukhe labo.n kaa thar-tharaanaa yaad hai

In the moment-to-depart(Waqt-e-ruKhsat) , when the time to say good bye(alvida) for the day came(alvidaa kaa lafz kahane ke liye) , I still remember, how your lips would get dry (sukhe labo.n kaa meaning dry lips) and would shiver(thar-tharaanaa), as if they just could not utter the word. I still remember how weak you went!

How touching! Mesmerising.. As if you see all this happening in-front of you!

Baah-a-zaaraa.N iztiraab-o-sad-hazaaraa.N ishtiyaaq

Tujhase vo pahale pahal dil kaa lagaanaa yaad hai 

My favourite sher of the ghazal.

Baah  meaning : Lust (positive way).
Zaar  in -a-zaara- meaning : Desire
Iztiraab meaning: Anxiety

Poet says - I still very much remember the times I first felt for you(Tujhase vo pahale pahal dil kaa lagaanaa yaad hai ). It was a feeling fueled by lustful desires and anxiety(Baah-a-zaaraa.N iztiraab). An un-explainable restlessness that overtook everything within. It was a time marked with hundred-thousand(sad-hazaaraa.N) desires and longing( ishtiyaaq) for you!

I don't think anyone can put this feeling in words more beautifully than Hasrat Saa'b has done. Very truly emoted! One must take keen observation that Hasrat Sa'ab was never shy of expressing his feelings through poetry. Here he uses strong words like 'Baah' - which were necessary to emote the truthfulness of the situation.

Baavajuud-e-iddaa-e-ittaqaa ‘Hasrat’ mujhe

Aaj tak ahad-e-havas kaa ye fasaanaa yaad hai

In this 'maqta' of the ghazal, Hasrat Sa'ab again proves his worth. Wonderful sher.

Baavajuud-e-iddaa-e-ittaqaa meaning - In-spite(Baavajuud) of my claims(iddaa) of abstinence.(ittaqaa ). Poet speaks to himself and says- Hasrat, in-spite of all your claims that I do not remember, and I have long forgotten - the fact is that with all sense and sensibility(havas ), I still remember very clearly the promise(ahad) of love that I did then. This tale of love(fasaanaa) is very clearly etched out in my memories, and that, will always remain the truth!


I hope you agree that Hasrat Mohani Sa'ab has truly penned a masterpiece in form of this ghazal. With Ghulam ali singing this - you can easily picture the while tale happening in front of your eyes. 

Romance at its purest.


-Amit