"Sultan-E-Qalbam"



"Sultan-E-Qalbam" or "king of my heart" tells the story of a woman Zahir loves. It's another timeless song with a lot of instrumentation backing up its sweet lyrics. Its chorus "Sultan-e-qalbem tu hasti tu hasti/ Darwazi haye dilem rah shikasti/ Paiman yaari tu barman bebasti/ Chashm intezaram" translates to "You're the king of my heart/ You broke my heart's walls/ You made a pact to love me/ My eyes wait to see you."

This song is slower than the dance numbers Zahir is known for, but remains popular because of its rhythm. Although its lyrics are wonderful like "Az barg-e gul qaghaz saazam/ Nama-e shereen be pardaazam" which means "I'll make paper from petals/ To write your sweet name on," most artists who cover this song change the verses. Maybe it's because their old Dari style is unfamiliar to modern audiences since the way Zahir structures sentences varies slightly from what is used colloquially today.

I want to say I love this song solely for its musical complexity or some other intellectual reason, but nostalgia plays more of a role than anything else. My mom played this song for my siblings and I (among many other Zahir songs) throughout our childhoods. Because of these fond memories, it became the first song I specifically requested she play in the car when I was old enough to request songs. This song will never get old because the memories it evokes are timeless as well.



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