It is said that if one wants to work on their Urdu, then one must read Urdu poet Ismail Merathi's nazms. Since a lot of his poems are part of Urdu syllabus in schools, those who have studied Urdu formally, remember reading his nazms.
His poems like 'Humaari Gaayein' (Our Cow), 'Kachhua aur Khargosh' (Tortoise and the Rabbit), and 'Ek Waqt Mein Ek Kaam' (One Job at a Time), are some of his poems we grew up reading even if we had not studied Urdu in school.
On the occasion of Children's day, we thought of picking out one of his iconic nazms 'Nasihat' — a lesson in moral courage and the power of forgiveness.
'Nasihat' by Ismail Merathi
Kare dushmani koi tum se agar
Jahaan tak bane tum karo darguzar
Karo tum na haasid ki baato'n pe ghaur
Jale jo koi us ko jalne do aur
Agar tum se ho jaaye sarzad qusoor
To iqraar-o-tauba karo bizzaroor
Badi ki ho jis ne tumhaare khilaaf
Jo chaahe muaafi to kar do muaaf
Nahin, balki tum aur ehsaan karo
Bhalai se us ko pashemaa'n karo
Hai sharmindagi us ke dil ka ilaaj
Sazaa aur malaamat ki kya ehtiyaaj
Bhalaai karo to karo be-gharaz
Gharaz ki bhalaai to hai ik maraz
Jo muhtaaj maange to do tum udhaar
Raho vaapsi ke na ummeed-vaar
Jo tum ko Khudaa ne diyaa hai to do
Na khissat karo is mein, jo ho so ho...
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