Saaye Mein Dhoop : Dushyant Kumar

Saaye Mein Dhoop is a collection of urdu ghazals by Dushyant Kumar, a well known hindi poet.
Although Dushyant Kumar lived a very short life of only 42 years but he succeeded in making his impression on the field of hindi literature.

I am in deep love with this book simply because these poems are seminal & heart touching.

Leaves Of Grass : Walt Whitman

I CELEBRATE myself;
And what I assume you shall assume;
For every atom belonging to me, as good belongs to you.


I loafe and invite my Soul;
I lean and loafe at my ease, observing a spear of summer grass.


Houses and rooms are full of perfumes—the shelves are crowded with perfumes;
I breathe the fragrance myself, and know it and like it;
The distillation would intoxicate me also, but I shall not let it.


The atmosphere is not a perfume—it has no taste of the distillation—it is odorless;
It is for my mouth forever—I am in love with it;
I will go to the bank by the wood, and become undisguised and naked;

I am mad for it to be in contact with me.

'I Celebrate myself ' These lines from the book Leaves Of Grass makes stand Walt whitman tall in comparison to all the poets.

Today, more than a century after the publication of the final edition of Leaves Of Grass, Whitman's place in American literary history often seems as nebulous and enigmatic as the ideas upon which America was founded. Numerous poets since Whitman have consciously either placed themselves in the wake of his tradition or reacted violently against him, and the aesthetic value of Whitman's poetry continues to be a controversial subject. The intention of this exhibit is not to make a critical appraisal of Whitman's work; instead, it is hoped that the materials assembled here will help explain the phenomenon which was Walt Whitman. While the subject matter and themes present in Whitman's poetry reflect the historical attitudes and concerns of his day, the books themselves are also artifacts of a fascination and extremely dynamic period of American publishing history.

This book, I love a lot.

Diwan-e-Ghalib

Diwan-e-Ghalib is for me the very source of all the inspiration regarding the humankind. I could not stop myself still from looking through the pages of this book.

Ghalib is one of the very few poets who has successfully managed to blend more than one themes in his Ghazals. Himself a complete institution in philosophy, ethics, theology, classical literature, grammar and history, his works have been acknowledged in the past and reach out to the future as well. Endowed with unique transcendental vision and a rare intellect Ghalib not only encompassed the inner turmoils of his being within the verses but also recognized the agitations and difficulties of others of his time.



Ghalib’s personal perception of life is definitely influenced by the hardships and struggles faced by him in his earlier days. This is reflected in his ghazals where his grief at times is so intense that he becomes like a dispassionate observer to his sufferings. Not only will the readers relish the artistic and creative genius of the man in portraying the cries of his broken heart and his contempt for the world, embedded within the verses one will also find minute details from the life and times of Ghalib.

Although some of his poetry has been in Urdu, most of Ghalib’s earlier works have been penned in Persian. It is astonishing to comprehend that the poet after 30 years of absence reverted back to Urdu poetry with the greatest of ease, producing gems of Urdu literature that still sparkle to this day.

kisii ko deke dil koii navaa_sa.nj-e-fuGaa.N kyo.n ho
na ho jab dil hii siineme.n to phir muu.Nh me.n zubaa.N kyo.n ho
[navaa_sa.nj-e-fuGaa.N=to cry out]

vo apanii Khuu na chho.De.nge ham apanii vazaa kyo.n
badale.n subuk_saar banake kyaa puuchhe.n ki ham se sar_giraa.N kyo.n ho
[Khuu=habit; vazaa=behaviour; subuk_saar=embarassed; sar_giraa.N=arrogant/proud]

kiyaa Gam_Khvaar ne rusavaa lage aag is muhabbat ko
na laaye taab jo Gam kii vo meraa raazadaa.N kyo.n ho
[Gam_Khvaar=one sho consoles; taab=patience; raazadaaN=confidante]

dil-e-naadaa.N tujhe huaa kyaa hai
aaKhir is dard kii davaa kyaa hai

ham hai.n mushtaaq aur vo bezaar
yaa ilaahii ye maajaraa kyaa hai
[mushtaaq=interested; bezaar=displeased/sick of]
mai.n bhii muu.Nh me.n zabaan rakhataa huu.N
kaash puuchho ki muddaa kyaa hai

jab ki tujh bin nahii.n koii maujuud
phir ye ha.ngaamaa, ai Khudaa kyaa hai

This book, I love a lot.