Poem composed by the Emperor Bahadhur Shah and addressed to the Governor General's Agent at Delhi Febuary 1843.
[From 'Reminiscences of Imperial Delhi’, an album consisting of 89 folios containing approximately 130 paintings of views of the Mughal and pre-Mughal monuments of Delhi, as well as other contemporary material, with an accompanying manuscript text written by Sir Thomas Theophilus Metcalfe (1795-1853), the Governor-General’s Agent at the imperial court. Acquired with the assistance of the Heritage Lottery Fund and of the National Art-Collections Fund.]
Composed by the Emperor Bahadoor Shah and addressed to the Governor-General’s Agent at Delhi February 1843.
[Poem in Urdu, with the archaic transcription, and the literal and poetical translation.]
Dilon se pas haen – Zahur me go Joodayee hy
Tumasha me isee Alum ke ek Khudayee hy
Pas tere hee ruhega – Dil nashad Moodam
Eh Dil aeega meree Eead tooje Eead Moodam
In heart we are united, tho’ in appearance there is disunion
And this circumstance is perceptible to the whole world.
Near you, will always remain my anxious heart.
This will remind you of me always.
In heart we are united, tho’ ‘tis clear
We. to the world, as if estrang’d appear
My anxious thoughts will ever turn to thee
And this will teach you to remember me.
[Bahadur Shah Zafar (1775-1862) was the last of the Mughal Emperors. He was born in Delhi on October 24 1775 and succeeded to the throne in 1837, at the age of sixty. After Aurangzeb’s death, the Mughal Empire slowly disintegrated. The British East India Company reduced Bahadur Shah Zafar and his family toa state of dependence, with the British Resident holding actual power. During the Uprising of 1857, Bahadur Shah joined the forces trying to throw the British out of India. He was defeated and was sent to exile in Rangoon, Burma, where he died on November 7, 1962. Bahadur Shah Zafar was a prolific Urdu poet and accomplished calligrapher. Under his patronage Urdu poetry flourished.]
- British Library