Every Alig knows the opening line by heart: Ye mera chaman hai mera chaman, main apne chaman ka bulbul hun. The AMU Tarana is sung at university functions and alumni gatherings around the world, and for many Aligs it is the sound of Aligarh itself. Here is the full Tarana in Roman script, what it means, and the story of how a poem that was once stopped mid-recital became the university’s anthem.
AMU Tarana: quick facts
| Poet | Asrar-ul-Haq Majaz, an AMU student from 1930 to 1936 |
| Original poem | Nazr-e-Aligarh, written in 1936 |
| Set to music by | Ishtiaque Ahmad Khan, a B.Ed student, in 1954 |
| First sung as the Tarana | 17 October 1954, Strachey Hall |
| English translation | Dr. Sami Rafiq, Department of English, AMU, in her book Aahung (2014) |
| Language | Urdu |
The story behind the AMU Tarana
Asrar-ul-Haq Majaz, one of AMU’s most famous students and an Urdu poet of the highest calibre, wrote Nazr-e-Aligarh in 1936. He first recited it the same year in the Union Hall, in the presence of the Pro-Vice-Chancellor, A.B. Ahmed Haleem.
Haleem stopped the recital when Majaz reached the lines “Yahan hum ne kamanden daali hain, yahan hum ne shabkhoon maare hain; yahan hum ne qabaayen nochi hain, yahan hum ne taaj utaare hain” (we have scaled walls here and carried out night raids here, we have torn robes here and pulled off crowns here), and walked out. The students asked Majaz to carry on, but he did not. He gave in later and completed the poem on the lawns between Morrison Court and the Union building.
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How the poem became the university song
Majaz left the campus, but his poetry stayed with its students. One of them was Ishtiaque Ahmad Khan, a B.Ed student in 1954-55. An address by the Vice-Chancellor, Dr. Zakir Husain, to final-year students inspired him to leave something lasting for the university. He decided to set Nazr-e-Aligarh to music, confident it would become the university song.
Khan composed the tune in the last week of September 1954 and asked the Students’ Union President, Ahmad Saeed, for permission to present it. Saeed refused angrily when he heard the poet’s name, because Majaz was a progressive writer. The Vice-Chancellor, however, agreed and called it one of Majaz’s better works.
On 17 October 1954, Sir Syed Day, Ishtiaque Ahmad Khan walked onto the stage at Strachey Hall with Saleh Naiyyar, Ghulam Haider Ejaz and Fasih. Izzat Yaar Khan, Secretary of the S.S. Hall Music Club, started the tune on the harmonium, and the hall soon rang with “Ye mera chaman”. The Vice-Chancellor was impressed, and Saeed apologised to Khan for his earlier stand. That evening the Aligarh Tarana was born. Majaz died in December 1955, a little over a year later.
To read more about the poet himself, see our profile: Who wrote the AMU Tarana? The life of Majaz.
AMU Tarana full lyrics in Roman script
Ye mera chaman hai mera chaman, main apne chaman ka bulbul huṅ
Sarshaar-e-nigaah-e-nargis huṅ, paabasta-e-gesoo-e sumbul huṅ
Ye mera chaman, ye mera chaman, Ye mera chaman hai mera chaman,
main apne chaman ka bulbul huṅ!
Jo taaq-e-haram mein roshan hai woh shama yahan bhi jalti hai,
Iss dasht ke goshey goshey se ik jooy-e-hayat ubalti hai
Ye dasht-e-junuṅ deewanoṅ ka, ye bazm-e-wafaa parwanoṅ ki
Ye shehr-e-tarab roomanoṅ ka, ye khuld-e-bareeṅ armaanoṅ ki
Fitrat ne sikhayee hai humko uftaad yahaṅ parwaaz yahaṅ
Gaaye haiṅ wafaa ke geet yahaṅ, chheda hai junuṅ ka saaz yahaṅ
Ye mera chaman hai mera chaman, main apne chaman ka bulbul huṅ!
Iss bazm mein tegheiṅ khiṅchiṅ hain, is bazm mein saaḡar todey haiṅ
Iss bazm mein aankh bichhaayee hai, iss bazm mein dil tak jodey haiṅ
Har sham hai shaam-e-Misr yahaṅ, har shab hai shab-e Shiraz yahaṅ
Hai saarey jahaṅ ka soz yahaṅ aur saarey jahaṅ ka saaz yahaṅ
Zarraat ka bosa lene ko sau baar jhuka aakaash yahaṅ
Khud aaṅkh se hamne dekhi hai baatil ki shikast-e-faash yahaṅ
Ye mera chaman hai mera chaman, main apne chaman ka bulbul huṅ!
Jo abr yahaṅ se utthega, wo sarey jahaṅ par barsega
Har jooy-e-rawaaṅ par barsega, har koh-e-garaaṅ par barsega
Har sarw-o-saman par barsega, har dasht-o-daman par barsega
Khud apne chaman par barsega, gairoṅ ke chaman par barsega
Har shahr-e-tarab par garjega, har qasr-e-tarab par kadkega
Ye abr hamesha barsa hai, ye abr hamesha barsega
Ye abr hamesha barsa hai, ye abr hamesha barsega
Ye abr hamesha barsa hai, ye abr hamesha barsega
Barsega, barsega, barsega!
Roman transliteration source: Inam Abidi Amrohvi.
What the AMU Tarana means
The Tarana is a love letter to Aligarh. In the opening lines, the poet calls the university his garden (chaman) and himself its nightingale (bulbul). He goes on to say that the same light that shines in the holiest places also burns here, and that a stream of life rises from every corner of this land.
The poem ends with its most famous image: a cloud that rises from Aligarh and rains on every garden and every desert, on its own garden and on others’. Ye abr hamesha barsa hai, ye abr hamesha barsega means “this cloud has always rained, and it will always rain”. It is a picture of Aligs carrying what they learnt at Aligarh out into the world, which is why the last lines are sung loudest.
When is the Tarana sung?
The Tarana is sung at major university functions, most famously on Sir Syed Day on 17 October, the same date it was first performed in 1954. Alumni associations across India and abroad sing it at their Sir Syed Day dinners and reunions, often in the black sherwani. For more on AMU traditions, history and admissions, see The AMU Guide.
Frequently asked questions
Who wrote the AMU Tarana?
Asrar-ul-Haq Majaz, the Urdu poet who studied at AMU from 1930 to 1936. He wrote it in 1936 as the poem Nazr-e-Aligarh.
Who composed the music of the AMU Tarana?
Ishtiaque Ahmad Khan, a B.Ed student, set the poem to music in September 1954.
When was the AMU Tarana first sung?
On 17 October 1954, Sir Syed Day, at Strachey Hall.
What is the first line of the AMU Tarana?
“Ye mera chaman hai mera chaman, main apne chaman ka bulbul hun”, which means “This is my garden, my garden, and I am the nightingale of my garden.”
Is there an English translation of the AMU Tarana?
Yes. Dr. Sami Rafiq of AMU’s Department of English translated it into English in 2014 in her book Aahung.
Sources: Majaz Lakhnawi, Wikipedia; Aligarh Muslim University. Read more on The Aligarian: Who wrote the AMU Tarana?
