===
1370,
1
===
 

{1370,1}

aage to rasm dostii kii thii jahaa;N ke biich
ab kaise log aa))e zamiin aasmaa;N ke biich

1) formerly, the custom of friendship existed, amidst the world
2) now, what kind of people have come, between earth and sky?!

 

Notes:

ke biich : 'In the midst (of), in, into; between, among; during; meanwhile'. (Platts p.207)

*Platts Dictionary Online*

S. R. Faruqi:

The opening-verse is by way of introduction. In this theme, no one could approach the level of Sa'adi [in Persian]:

'Either there was no faithfulness in the world,
Or perhaps no one upheld it in this age.'

FWP:

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Note for grammar fans: There could hardly be a clearer example of the imperfect (so to speak) fit between perfect forms in Urdu and English. The second line literally is 'now, what kind of people came...', which in English just doesn't work. It simply had to be turned into 'have come'. Eventually, of course, English usage may reshape Urdu usage, so that Mir's traditional forms may come to look archaic; but fortunately we're not there yet.