The Fickleness of Spring & Autumn
Used in conjunction with khizaan (autumn), bahaar reinforces the life principle as in this sher by Shakeel Badayuni:
Miri zindagi pe na muskura mujhe zindagi ka alam nahin
Jise tere ġham se ho waasta woh ḳhizan bahaar se kam nahin
Don’t smile at my life, I have no affliction in life
He who has your grief autumn is no less than spring
Here’s another version of the popular bahaar-khizaan trope with Arsh Malsiyani stressing the fickleness of both:
Nairangi-e-bahaar-o-khizaan dekhte rahey
Hairat se hum tilism-e-jahaan dekhte rahey
I watched the fickleness of spring and autumn
In amazement I beheld the illusion of the world
Faiz Ahmad Faiz has the last word on the possibilities bahaar offers and the terrible sadness that comes in the wake of a spring that is unlike any other:
Na gul khile hain na unse miley hain na mai pii hai
Ajeeb rang mein abke bahaar guzri hai
The flowers have not bloomed nor have we met her or drunk wine
This spring has passed by in the…