Naghma hai gham ko bhi ae dil ghanimat janiye

Be sada ho jayega yeh saz-e-hasti aik din

Grief, too, is a melody, says Ghalib — something to be held close, cherished even, for a day will come when the entire symphony of existence will fall silent. Few couplets in Urdu poetry capture the metaphysics of existence with such simplicity and such shattering depth. In just two lines, Ghalib invites us to reflect on the music that underlies all life, the unseen but persistent rhythm that binds breath to time and consciousness to being.

And nowhere is this rhythm more literal, more fragile, more awe-inspiring, than in the human heart.

The heart is often romanticised as the seat of emotion, the sanctuary of longing, the treasury of joy and sorrow. But behind these metaphors lies a more astonishing truth: the heart is rhythm incarnate. With every beat, it composes a private........

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