روبرو جیوں آتے مہر و قمر گَھڑی بھر کو
محض ذکر سے پاکیزہ تیری صفت لکھ دوں
Ruu-b-ruu jyon aate mehr-o-qamar ghadi bhar ko
Mahz zikr se paakiizaa terii sifat likh duun
Just as the sun and moon come face to face, if only for a moment,
The mere mention of you inspires a paean worthy of your grace.
ਗਲੇ ਕੌਣ ਹੀ ਲਾਉਂਦਾ ਬੇ-ਗ਼ਰਜ਼ ਹੁਣ
ਵਿਸਰਦਾ ਨਹੀਂ ਸੇਕ ਤੇਰੀ ਤਲੀ ਦਾ
Gale kaun hi launda be-garaz hun
Visarda nahin sek teri talii daa
No embrace since yours has held me without conditions
How could I forget the warmth your arms once brought me?
ਨਾ ਜ਼ਾਤ ਦੀ ਬੋਲੀ, ਨਾ ਬੋਲੀ ਦੀ ਕੋਈ ਜ਼ਾਤ
ਫੇਰ ਵੀ ਸਾਡੀ ਗੁਰੂ ਤੇ ਲਹਿੰਦੇ ਦੀ ਸ਼ਾਹ ਮਾਤ
na zaat di boli, na boli di koi zaat
fer vi saaDi guru te lahinde di shaah maat
Vernaculars don’t belong to creeds, nor do they have their own caste
We still accepted Gur(mukhi) as our mother, while the West (Punjab) got Shah(mukhi)
ज़मीन पर पड़ी हैं दो आँखें
ज़हरा-ए-शफ़क़ खोजती हैं ये आँखें
Zameen par padi hain do ankhein
Zahra-e-shafaq khojti hain ye ankhein
two eyes lie on the ground
waiting for the dawn, its fearlessness
ਗੱਲ ਹੋਈ ਮੇਰੀ ਇੱਕ ‘ਨੈਨੀ’ ਨਾਂ ਦੀ ‘ਤਾਲ’ ਨਾਲ
ਵੇਖਣ ਉਹਨੂੰ ਬਥੇਰੇ ਆਉਂਦੇ ਨੇ, ਪਰ ਸੁਣਨ ਵਾਲੇ ਵਿਰਲੇ ਹੀ ਨੇ
gall hoi meri ikk ‘naini’ naaN di ‘taal’ naal
vekhan ohnu bathere aunde ne, par sunan waale virle hi ne
I got to talk to a ‘Tal’ named ‘Naini’
Many come over to behold her, but not many lend an ear
जज़्बा ऐसा कि रात को दिन में बदल दें
आलस इतना कि सूरज होते तो ना उगते
Jazba aisa ki raat ko din mein badal dein
Aalas itna ki sooraj hote toh na ugte
Virtuosic enough to turn night into day
Yet so lazy, I'd refuse to rise if I were the sun
One threw a question my way
probing my forebears’ partition tale
but — but I had nothing to say
I wear many hats throughout the day. As a consumer tech journalist, I decipher how everything from smartphones to AI changes our everyday lives. I enjoy digging past the obvious story, challenging assumptions, and figuring out what technology actually means to the people using it. My work has appeared in Android Authority, XDA, and Android Police, among others. I also co-hosted The Bottom Line, a podcast where we explored the ideas shaping the tech industry.
I'm also the co-founder of Qomma, a journalist-led storytelling studio where we help technology companies tell clearer stories and get noticed.
Karandeep SinghWriter.
