Lutf Uthao | Aziz Shameem

A short nazm on the importance of enjoying the small (and big) moments in life. Some of the ideas that I have expressed here are very close to my heart, and affect a lot of decisions I make in my day-to-day life. “Take joy in the daily activities” expresses not just a plea to not be overcome with anxiety about the uncertainties and hurdles of the future, but also gives a way to get most out of the things we experience, because lets face it, only so much that happens to you is in your control.
Although the entire poem is in a mix of Urdu and Hindi (since that is the language I think in), I present it here in Devanagri script so that more people can read it. I also follow it up with a line-by-line english translation for the non-hindi speaking readers.
I have tried to follow each paragraph with some commentary to convey the theme of the few lines preceding it.
(English translation courtesy of ChatGPT)

लुत्फ उठाओ                                                   Enjoy, Cherish, Relish

लुत्फ उठाओ अल्फाज़ों का,                                        Enjoy the beauty of words,   
धुनों का, लिहाज़ों का,                                           Of melodies, of emotions,    
भूली भुलाई आवाज़ों का,                                          Of lost and forgotten voices,     
मीक़ातों का, नमाज़ों का,                                         Of moments and prayers,      
मज़ारों का, नज़ारों का,                                           Of shrines and sights,    
छोटी मोटी तक़रीरों का,                                          Of minor misunderstandings,    
फूलों का, बहारों का,                                            Of flowers and springs,    
यारों का, रिश्तेदारों का !!                                        Of friends and family !!    

Explore the beauties in the small-er things, in conversations you partake, in songs you listen to and how if affects your emotions, in travels and sceneries and monuments and structures, in weather and other conditions, and in the company you get to be around, both at and away from home

लुत्फ उठाओ रोज़ाने का,                                          Enjoy the daily struggles,    
मुश्किलों के आने-जाने का,                                        The onset and offset of hardships,    
वो काम के लिए घर से दूर बनाए ठिकाने का,                          That distant place made for work,    
वो न पा सके निशाने का,                                         The missed opportunities,    
वो आधे अधूरे अफसाने का,                                        The unfinished stories,      
वो हर दूसरे दिन घर जाने के बहाने का,                              The excuses to visit home every other day,     
और जब घर पहुँच जाओ, तो घर के खाने का !!                       And when home, the joy of home-cooked meals !!    

Then there are the struggles, the hardhips that occasionally (yet periodically) take you in their hold. Enjoy those too, for what would the ups mean if not for the downs? The having to travel for work, the painful regrets you harbour of the past, the want to return home (in abstract, to your comfort zone, away from the constant push and pull). Enjoy both the chill of discomfort away from home, and the warmth at home

लुत्फ उठाओ उन रातों का,                                         Enjoy those nights,     
वो दिल से गहरी बातों का,                                         Those deep heartfelt conversations,     
वो बीमारी का, वो परेशानी का,                                      The sickness, the worries,    
ये सब हिस्सा हैं तुम्हारी कहानी का !!                                 For they are all a part of your story !!     

Enjoy the memories, the nostalgia, the times spent not doing somethings tangibly productive, yet productive in its own way. Enjoy them not as something that happened and is over, but something that the situation made you undertake and therefore made you who you are. Enjoy the setbacks of the past too, both physically and mentally, since they have all contributed to what you have or will become.

लुत्फ उठाओ उन ख़्वाबों का,                                        Enjoy those dreams,  
वो बेसवाल जवाबों का,                                            Those answers begging for a question,  
वो बेहिसाब हिसाबों का,                                             Those endless calculations,  
लुत्फ उठाओ उन गुलाबों का, जिन्होंने तुम्हारी ज़िंदगी का कोई हिस्सा महकाया,   Enjoy the roses that lent your life fragrance,   
और वो ज़हरीले तालाबों का, जिन्होंने तुम्हें इनकी क़द्र करना सिखाया !!        And the toxic swamps that taught you its value !!  

The aspirations, some of which were fulfilled while others gave way for better things to come. Enjoy both the good/upbeat parts of your journey as well as the bad/downbeat parts, since it is the valleys that make the sceneries from the crest much more breathtaking

लुत्फ उठाओ जीने का,                                           Enjoy life and living,  
हर आँसू का, हर पसीने का,                                      Every tear, every drop of sweat,  
कभी हँसना, कभी रोना, कभी जीतना, कभी खोना,                     The laughter, the sorrow, the victories, the losses,  
कभी अंधेरा, कभी नूर, कभी उदासी, कभी सुरूर,                      The darkness, the light, the despair, the joy,  
लुत्फ उठाओ, इज़्ज़त करो इन सब की,                              Enjoy them, respect them all,  
बाक़ी तो अब जो मर्ज़ी हो रब की !!                                For the rest is in the hands of fate !!  

Lastly, enjoy life as it is, live it in its stride. The efforts, the up-and-down of times and emotions, enjoy them all. For the rest, were they in your control anyway ?

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