unnis wi sadi kaa lakhanau
hindustaan ki gangaa jamuni
lehjeeb ka gehawaaraa thaa
lakhanau us lehjeeb kaa dil tha
aur us dil ki dhadakan thi
umaraao jaan ada magar sitam ye
ke us dhadakan ke sine mein bhi
ek dhadakataa huaa dil tha
jiski awaaj uske jite ji
kisi ne nahi suni
umaraao jaan ki har gazal
unhi dhadakano ki sadaa hai
usi dil ki pukaar hai

Nineteenth-century Lucknow,
a confluence of Hindustan’s rivers,
a cradle of blended grace,
Lucknow, the heart of that grace,
and the heart’s own pulse it was.

Umrao Jaan Ada, alas,
within that very pulse,
another heart beat, unseen,
its voice unheard in life's rush.

Each ghazal of Umrao Jaan,
echoes of those hidden beats,
a call from that secret heart.