Sanson ki Maala was made famous by Nusrat Fateh Ali Khan sahib. Although some have attributed this song to Mirabai and Khusro, this is a ghazal that was written by Tufail Hoshiarpuri. Even the wikipedia page says this is a bhajan, when it is actually a ghazal.
Before I share lyrics and translation, let me share the poem this song has inspired:
ame
I sit here, morning light just creeping
Through the window, its photons tracing
The outline of the chair where you sat,
Reading something I never got
around to asking about.
The room is quiet except for the sound
Of my breathing—slow and steady,
Each inhale gathering memories,
Each exhale letting them slip away like birds.
There’s an order to things now,
Though I can’t always say what it is.
A kind of rhythm in the way
I fold yesterday’s thoughts neatly away,
Tuck them in between the lines of today.
I speak your name in silence,
As though it's the only word
That truly means anything.
With every breath,
It returns like a gentle tide,
A thread running through time,
Unseen but strong,
binding us softly,
like rose petals.
On the garland of my breaths
I have rosaried your name.
Selected Shers Sung by NFAK
These are the shers from the ghazal that Nusrat Sahib sings. For the complete ghazal please see below.
Sanson Ki Mala Pe
Simroon Main Pi Ka Naam
Prem Ke Raang Mein Aisi Doobi
Ban Gaya Ek Hi Roop
Prem Ki Mala Japte Japte
Aap Bani Main Shaam
Preetam Ka Kuch Dosh Nahi Hai
Woh To Hai Nirdosh
Aapne Aap Se Batein Karke
Ho Gayee Main Badnaam
Jeevan Ka Shingar Hai Preetam
Mang Pe Hai Sindoor
Preetam Ki Nazron Se Girr Karr
Jeena Hai Kis Kaam
Lyrics with Translation -
Sanson Ki Mala Pe
Simroon Main Pi Ka Naam
On the garland of my breaths
I have bejewelled my beloved’s name
Prem Ke Raang Mein Aisi Doobi
Ban Gaya Ek Hi Roop
Prem Ki Mala Japte Japte
Aap Bani Main Shaam
In the colours of love, I have become so absorbed
That everything appears to be of one reflection
Collecting garlands of love
I have become Shaam
Preetam Ka Kuch Dosh Nahi Hai
Woh To Hai Nirdosh
Aapne Aap Se Batein Karke
Ho Gayee Main Badnaam
It’s not the mistake of my beloved
And he is not to be blamed
Talking to myself like an insane
I have got a bad name
Jeevan Ka Shingar Hai Preetam
Mang Pe Hai Sindoor
Preetam Ki Nazron Se Girr Karr
Jeena Hai Kis Kaam
My beloved is the beautification of life
And also the vermilion in my hair
When fallen in my beloved’s eyes
What use is living?
Sanson Ki Mala Pe
Simroon Main Pi Ka Naam
On the garland of my breaths
I have bejewelled my beloved’s name
Sanson Ki Maala: Full Ghazal by Tufail Hoshiarpuri
sāñsoñ kī maalā par simrūñ nis-din pī kā naam
apne man kī maiñ jānūñ aur pī ke man kī raam
prem ke rañg meñ aise Duubī ban gayā ek hī ruup
shyām kī maalā japte-japte aap banī maiñ shyām
añg-añg meñ rachī huī hai yuuñ mohan kī priit
ek aañkh vrindāvan merī duujī gokul dhaam
prem pyāla jab se piyā hai jī kā hai ye haal
añgāroñ par niiñd aa jaaye kāñToñ par ārām
pītam kā kuchh dosh nahīñ hai vo to haiñ nirdos
apne aap se bāteñ kar ke ho ga.ī maiñ badnām
jaag uThtī hai jab hirday meñ prem kī sachchī jot
is nagrī meñ ho jaatā hai pītam kā vishrām
jī ne jab se jaan liyā hai dukh bhī hai un kī den
paap samajh rakkhā hai maiñ ne lenā sukh kā naam
jīvan kā siñgār hai pirītam maañg kā hai sindūr
pirītam kī nazroñ se gir kar jiinā hai kis kaam
darshan jal kī pyāsī āñkheñ ro ro kar ga.iiñ suukh
añdhiyāroñ meñ Duub ga.e birhan ke sub.h-o-shām
Singing oneness!
