Gulzar, born Sampooran Singh Kalra, is one of India's most celebrated lyricists, poets and film directors. His writing blends Urdu poetic tradition with Hindi lyricism and folk imagery. He has won the Sahitya Akademi Award, Dadasaheb Phalke Award and an Academy Award for 'Jai Ho' from Slumdog Millionaire.
📚 Famous Works
Mere ApneParichayAandhiMaachis
✨ Famous Couplet
"बरखा की बूँदें जब ज़मीं पर पड़ती हैं, मिट्टी की ख़ुशबू दिल में उतरती है।"
❝Some of my belongings still lie with you, some rain-soaked days of the monsoon are kept there, and a night wrapped inside one of my letters lies there too, extinguish that night, return to me my things.❞
❝What life gave was more than enough, but the absence of what it withheld remained. Behind every joy there lived a sadness, and at every turn loneliness was gained.❞
❝When mother called out the house felt like a home, now everyone is there but home it is not. That voice no longer comes from that room, that is why that room feels empty and forgot.❞
❝To have you beside me on a moonlit night, that is all I ask — just this simple prayer. To have your hand held within mine, that is all the wealth I wish to wear.❞
❝Life is a beautiful journey to savour, who has known what tomorrow will bring. At every turn something new awaits us, that is the reason we keep wandering.❞
❝Some things in life stay unsaid and unspoken, some memories come to the heart uninvited. With time everything changes and shifts around, but some moments stay beside you lifelong and united.❞
❝I understand the language of your eyes, before words they speak their own skies. In every glance of yours lives a world, in that world I remain forever lost.❞
❝What after all has happened to those friends, even this city has been lost to them now. We were here first, they were here first — but now everything has simply gone to sleep somehow.❞
❝The heart again seeks those leisurely days and nights, When we sat lost in thoughts of the beloved. A cigarette burns, the wind heaves sighs — Time stands still somewhere, while we have moved on.❞
❝If I had more life I would have lived more — but if asked for a lifetime's account, what would I give? I never wept, I never laughed — I only had one dream that shattered.❞
❝I have seen the fragrant scent of those eyes — do not touch it and then blame it on a relationship. This is only a feeling — sense it with your soul — let love remain love; give it no name.❞
❝In the rustling of leaves there is a secret held, even in the silence of winds there is a voice. Learn from nature the art of living well — for every season it dances with its own choice.❞
❝Without you there is truly nothing at all, this world without you is empty and bare. I remain drowned in thoughts of you — like a season parched because rain is not there.❞
❝I have seen the fragrant warmth of those eyes, Do not touch it and then blame it on relationship. This is only a feeling — let the soul feel it, Let love remain love — give it no other name.❞
❝Take away my fair complexion, give me the colour of the dark-skinned one. I will hide in the night itself — just give me the company of my beloved one.❞
❝When the raindrops fall upon the earth, the fragrance of soil descends into the heart. Every colour of nature is unique and wondrous, every flower tells a story — each playing its part.❞
❝My name will fade, this face of mine will change someday, My voice alone remains my identity, if you remember it I pray. In life everyone loves, that is nothing new, Even in death I shall love you, if you remember this too.❞
❝Without you I have no complaint with life — but without you life is not really life. If you were not there, then what? the heart asks — there is a scene but no spectacle here.❞
❝Some bonds break without any noise or sound, some wounds are inflicted without force or blow. Their departure shatters the heart into pieces — but life still continues with its own flow.❞
❝Without you I have no complaint against life I say, But without you life isn't really life anyway. Whoever meets me asks me how I am today, What do I tell them — you are all I think each day.❞
❝When you are near, the winds seem to pause — Is it time stopping, or your fragrance spreading? When I look at you, the whole world seems to stand still — This is love's magic — that is all I mean to say.❞
❝When raindrops fall on the roof — an old memory awakens in the heart. Your memory in the rainy season — like the fragrance that awakens in the earth.❞
❝The world shrinks into the pages of books — a whole human life compressed. Those things that could not be said elsewhere — they become words and arrive on paper.❞
❝In the heart is a longing of your memories — it will not leave no matter how much one reasons. I yearn for just one glimpse of you — but that moment does not return — this is the grief.❞
❝Without you there is no complaint about life itself, but without you life — is it really life? Light comes to this house when you arrive, when you leave this house is no longer home.❞
❝Without you my heart finds no rest here, Everything exists but nothing when you're not near. In my world you are the only light I know, Without you this world is dark wherever I go.❞
❝Your memory comes to me in moonlight's glow, When the cool night breeze begins to blow. Your face appears to me within the clouds, When a raindrop on my cheek falls and endows.❞
❝Meeting you felt so wonderful to me, As if something lost had been found, so free. What bond is this between us two, I wonder, The account of this life has been settled yonder. Some moments, some words, some dreams there were, Meeting you, my emotions began to stir, My soul found peace, my heart found rest, Meeting you, my feelings came alive with zest.❞
❝Some relationships are like this in life, They break without breaking — in quiet strife. They live forever in the heart's core, But never make it to the lips anymore.❞
❝When sleep doesn't come in the dark of night, Close your eyes and dream with all your might. In those dreams you are always there, Waking brings loneliness — the same despair.❞